2024 Chinese New Year 12-Day Australia Free Travel Record - Part 1: Melbourne + Great Ocean Road

📍 Melbourne · 👁 3363 reads · ❤️ 5 likes

Let me first talk about the overall itinerary. Because we have acquaintances in Melbourne who can put us up, we first flew to Melbourne, and after staying in Melbourne for 4 days, we left our large luggage and purchased souvenirs at a friend's place, then traveled light to Cairns and Sydney, and finally returned to Melbourne to pick up our luggage and go back to China. For a normal trip, you could consider the order: China - Sydney - Cairns - Melbourne - China, or China - Melbourne - Cairns - Sydney - China. We didn't go to Brisbane and the Gold Coast because they are mainly for beach activities, and Sydney has the better Bondi Beach. Also, our group consisted of 3 adults and 1 child, including elderly and a kid, so we didn't pack the schedule too tight, leaving plenty of free time for a relaxed vibe.

Let's talk about preparations before departure. Passports, visas, flight tickets, and hotels go without saying; let me mention other things to prepare.

1. SIM card. Buying a SIM card on Taobao is definitely cheaper than roaming. I bought one with 70GB for 15 days, costing over 70 RMB. However, I recommend enabling international roaming in advance just in case you need to receive verification codes—receiving SMS while roaming is free.

2. Driver's license translation. If you plan to drive on the Great Ocean Road, you'll need this. For short trips, you can drive in Australia with a translation of your Chinese driver's license. The translation must be done by a NAATI-certified translator, which can also be arranged on Taobao for about 40 RMB. After translation, print it out and carry it with your driver's license.

3. Get a Visa or Master Card credit card in advance. In Australia, basically only airports and some large shopping malls accept UnionPay. Hotels, restaurants, etc., mostly only accept Visa/Master Card or cash. You can exchange a small amount of cash for emergencies, but 99% of payment scenarios can be handled with a credit card. Also, booking rooms on Booking.com is cheaper than on XC, but you also need a Visa/Master Card.

4. Power adapter. Australia's voltage is 230V, 50Hz, so Chinese appliances can be used, but the socket interface is different. You need to buy an adapter. I got mine as a freebie with the SIM card.

5. Book various tickets in advance. Some tickets are in high demand and need to be booked early, like boat tickets for the Great Barrier Reef and tickets for watching the penguin parade at Phillip Island. I booked everything myself on the official websites, also using a Visa/Master Card.

6. Prepare some apps you'll need, such as Booking (for overseas hotels), Uber (for rides), Google Maps (or other foreign map apps), and also set up your email on your phone, as most booking confirmations and verification codes are sent via email.

That's all I can think of for now. I'll update if I remember anything else.

Day 1: Nothing much to say. At 12:40 noon, we flew from Lianyungang to Haikou, then transferred in Haikou to fly to Melbourne.

The plane took off around 2:00 PM Beijing time and landed at around 2:30 PM local time in Melbourne, with a flight time of 9 hours. On the plane, the flight attendants provided arrival cards, which need to be filled truthfully, mainly regarding medicines, plants, and meat (you can search online for detailed guides, there are many). We declared ibuprofen and tea leaves for friends. At customs, we took out the declared items separately, showed them to the officer, had a brief conversation, and they let us through. I saw some people having their luggage checked, not sure if it was random.

After leaving the airport, you can take Uber or the SkyBus (double-decker bus) to Melbourne's CBD, then transfer to the tram to other places. After arriving, we went to a friend's home to spend New Year's Eve, took a casual walk nearby, had New Year's Eve dinner, and rested. The 9-hour flight was quite tiring.

Day 2 (Feb 10): Great Ocean Road Day 1 + Phillip Island

At 9:00 AM, we went to pick up the car from the pre-booked rental company. I booked the car on the AVIS official website; it's one of the larger chain rental companies in Australia. Hertz also seems to have many branches. I rented a Volkswagen T-Cross, a small SUV. All costs came to about 170 AUD per day. During self-driving, you may encounter highway tolls. In Melbourne, tolls are automatically recorded by license plate; you don't need to worry—the rental company will deduct it from the credit card you used to pay for the rental.

After picking up the car, we first went to a supermarket to buy a case of bottled water and some Tim Tam biscuits as souvenirs for relatives and friends back home. Then we drove to Phillip Island, about 1.5 hours from Melbourne city center. On the island, we first passed by the Chocolate Factory, but because we left late (the kid was still jet-lagged and slept in until after 10), we arrived on the island around 1 PM, and many attractions close at 5 PM, so we went straight to the later attractions. If you have time, you can bring kids to play here.

Our first stop was the Koala Conservation Centre. The ticket for 3 adults and 1 child was 81 AUD. Inside, there are mainly two boardwalks where you can see many koalas. However, koalas mostly sleep during the day; occasionally you can see one stretching.

Next was The Nobbies. Driving out from the Koala Conservation Centre, you soon see the ocean, with beautiful coastal views all the way. Occasionally, a few large birds that look a bit like swans block the road.

After driving a bit further, you reach The Nobbies. You can walk along the coastal boardwalk to enjoy the sea view. However, since it's a cape, the sea wind is strong, so bring a jacket.

The third stop was the Wildlife Park. The ticket for 3 adults and 1 child was over 70 AUD. Here, you can mainly feed kangaroos. Everyone gets a bag of kangaroo feed. There are also parrots and koalas to see. The kangaroo area is large; the ones near the entrance may be fed a lot and aren't very interested in food. Further in, there are many hungry kangaroos you can feed. While they eat, you can pet their backs.

Phillip Island is most famous for the penguin parade. Tickets must be booked online in advance. During our days in Melbourne, the tickets were sold out early, so we had to comfort ourselves by saying we'll leave some regrets for the next trip.

In summer, the penguin parade typically starts around 7-8 PM, while other attractions on the island close at 5 PM. So we left the wildlife park around 5 PM and returned to Melbourne city center. After dinner, we rested early to prepare for the Great Ocean Road trip the next day.

Day 3 (Feb 11): Great Ocean Road Day 1

One of the most anticipated parts of the trip to Australia, besides the Great Barrier Reef, is the Great Ocean Road. The kid was still lazy and slept in, so we didn't leave until after 10 AM. On the way, we passed through Geelong, a small town near Melbourne, which has some Instagram-worthy spots, but we didn't stop and drove straight to the first stop: Split Point Lighthouse, also known as the Little Red Riding Hood Lighthouse in Chinese social media. It's about 1.5 hours from Melbourne city center.

After leaving the lighthouse, our next stop was Teddy's Lookout. The Great Ocean Road has many viewpoints; whenever you see a lookout sign, you can stop and take a look. Teddy's Lookout is said to be the best lookout on the Great Ocean Road. Follow the navigation to Lorne, then keep going uphill to reach it.

Not long after leaving Teddy's Lookout, you reach the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch. This arch is quite inconspicuous and easy to miss. Continue driving for about another hour to Apollo Bay, a relatively large town along the Great Ocean Road, where many people choose to stay overnight. We also chose to stay in Apollo Bay, booking a motel online in advance. Originally, we planned to go to Kennett River before Apollo Bay, but the road to Kennett River was a dirt road and not easy to drive, so we gave up. Thus, we arrived at Apollo Bay around 3 PM, about 2 hours earlier than planned. The beach at Apollo Bay is very nice, though the seawater is a bit cold.

We played with the kid on the beach for a while, then had dinner in town. It was still before 6 PM when we finished. We estimated the time and realized we could still make it to Gibson Steps and the Twelve Apostles for sunset. So off we went to the Twelve Apostles!

Apollo Bay is quite far from the Twelve Apostles, about an hour's drive. Sunset is usually around 8 PM. Only then did we feel that staying in Apollo Bay wasn't ideal; it would have been better to stay in a town closer to the Twelve Apostles.

First, we arrived at Gibson Steps. This is the prelude to the highlight of the Great Ocean Road: the Twelve Apostles. Descending the steps along the cliff, you can walk onto the beach and get a close-up view of two rock pillars. The sun was already setting, and mist began to rise from the sea. In the haze, the distant giant rocks looked like giants emerging from the sea to land.

Leaving Gibson Steps, we reached the most famous landmark of the Great Ocean Road: the Twelve Apostles. When we arrived, many people had already gathered, all waiting for sunset. These rock pillars standing by the sea are sedimentary rocks eroded by seawater and wind. Originally there were twelve, but now only seven remain, and you can still vaguely see the bases of the fallen pillars. In the sunset, the pillars stood there silently, telling the story of thousands of years of wind and rain they had endured.

After watching the sunset at the Twelve Apostles, we returned to Apollo Bay. The Great Ocean Road has no streetlights at night, and the road from the Twelve Apostles back to Apollo Bay is a mountain road, not easy to drive. I almost hit a kangaroo on the way, but luckily I reacted quickly and swerved... So if any friends want to follow my itinerary, I suggest choosing a hotel closer to the Twelve Apostles. We got back to the motel around 10 PM. The town had little light at night, so we could see a beautiful starry sky, with the three stars of Orion's Belt clearly visible.

Day 4 (Feb 12): Great Ocean Road Day 2 + Return

Since we had already seen the Twelve Apostles, today we planned to return via the inland route. In the morning, we saw we had time, so we took a detour to Great Otway National Park. Around noon, we arrived in Geelong, and in the afternoon, we returned to Melbourne. Day 11 was quite tiring, so we didn't plan many activities today.

Day 5 (Feb 13): Melbourne City Walk

Today's itinerary was to check off the landmarks in Melbourne city center. We took the tram from our friend's place to Flinders Street Railway Station. Across from the station is St. Paul's Cathedral. Continuing north is Federation Square and the State Library of Victoria. To use public transport in Melbourne, you need to get a card in advance, which can be done at most major stations. Our friends had already prepared one for us. However, Melbourne's public transport is quite expensive; later we calculated that for four people, it wasn't much cheaper than taking Uber...

After sightseeing, it was noon. We ate something at the Melbourne Central shopping mall opposite the library. The kid saw a piano in the mall, hesitated a bit, but at our encouragement, went up and played a piece called "Summer." Although it was a bit stumbling, many foreigners stopped to watch, some even took photos, and they applauded when he finished.

In the afternoon, we took a taxi to a science museum that my wife found on Little Red Book. It was just average—the exhibits were similar to those in Guangzhou and Shanghai science museums, but the tickets were much more expensive. Since we had to catch a 6 AM flight to Cairns the next day, we also went to bed early.

With that, the Victoria trip comes to an end. The Cairns and Sydney leg will be covered in the next part. If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment, and I'll try to reply.

Table of Contents:

1. Overall Itinerary

2. Departure to Melbourne

3. Phillip Island (1 day)

4. Great Ocean Road (2 days)

5. Melbourne City Walk

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