[mayankverma]

This travelogue has taken some time to come to our beloved forum due to the ongoing situation, but I really wanted to share this experience with you as its very close to my heart & my family. This trip happened in March 2020, yes it was the month when Covid lock down started in India and we were very lucky to arrive back from Australia, just a week before the country shut down. Since I have taken a lot of tips and ideas from the wonderful travelogues posted on team-bhp, I would like to share my wonderful experience. This post is jointly compiled with my dear wife and its our first attempt at a travelogue so any feedback is welcome.

Small background of the trip:
This was my second trip to Australia in just over 3 months as my wife was working in Brisbane at that time but it was 1st international trip of my parents (can guess the excitement right? ) and so we thought to make the most out of it. We decided to spend 4 days in Sydney & 3 days in Melbourne out of which i am sharing my experience of two road trips from Melbourne.

Arriving in Melbourne & Europcar pickup:

We had booked our car online through Europcar Rental, and selected Melbourne airport as pick-up point. We had taken early morning flight from Sydney to Melbourne so that we have full day to explore. Tullamarine Airport has a dedicated car rental building (housing Europcar, Hertz etc ) cum parking so we can assume how popular car rentals are there. After some quick document check (India driving licence is acceptable) & credit card validation, I was handed over the keys to Kia Sportage which would remain with us for the next 2 days. Its a big parking so it took a while for me to locate the car, take it out of the parking and towards the city.

About the car-It was in pristine scratch less condition, run only about 10K, duly washed & interiors cleaned up. The reason I chose a Kia SUV was that during my last trip to Brisbane in Dec-Jan'19(We rented a Nissan X-Trail that time & I will try to post a separate thread about my & wife's Sunshine coast road trip) I noticed a lot of desirable Kia cars on the road and since Kia had made its India entry with Seltos I wanted to try out a Kia car. Sportage came within our budget. Rental was AUD 409 including deposit, insurance & GST for 2 days. It had a full tank of fuel & its best to return in same condition.

Our ride. All images clicked on Oneplus 7 & 6T.


We reached our stay on Collins street near Southern Cross station in around 30 mins from the airport. I parked in a 2 hour parking lot on Collins street and checked-in to our stay with the intention to come down within 2 hours and leave for Phillip Island. But that didn't happen...We overslept due to fatigue from the last 5 days and got up at around 1 PM. And had to pay AUD 83 penalty as a result, it hurt me, but rules are rules !!

Day-1 Philip Island

So, My Wifey dear had heard about this Penguin Parade and it intrigued our interest to see penguins in their natural habitat, outside of cages, that we generally see in Zoo/Sea world.

This drive was a round trip of around 290 kms with below route map.



The drive was smooth once we got out of the city traffic. Add the convenience provided by the Petrol AT and cruise control in the car. It had Lane assist as well which was quite exciting for me.
Saw a lot of barns on the way. Once we reached Philip Island and I saw the magnificent Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit, we decided.. no I decided to go for go karting.

We reached Philip Island Go-Kart by around 4:30 PM at I enjoyed Go Karting on their brilliant miniature replica track alongside the F1 track.. It wasn't busy at that time of the day and I was the only one riding at that time.

Some snaps of the circuit:





That's Me about to start my Go-kart experience.



Display cars
1929 Austin 7




After completing the exciting Go-karting we moved to Nobbies Centre which is the very tip of the peninsula & boasts spectacular clifftop view. On our route we also saw Kangaroo's, Rabbits, wallabies and few other animals.



Papa at Nobbies Centre


Lastly we reached at Philip Island Nature parks to witness Penguin parade where Penguins emerge from the sea after hunting for food & walk towards their burrows at dusk & dawn .

Penguin Sand art


Penguin watch out. There were a lot of people there to watch the penguins. There was a special box to watch the returning penguins up close but we decided to skip that and took a regular seat.


Some pics of the penguin parade



The Penguin parade ended around 9PM filling our hearts with so much love for these lovely little birds. We arrived back to our stay in the city late in the night.


Day-2 Great Ocean Road- 12 apostles & Lock Ard Gorge.

This journey was a long thought decision, because travelling such long distance (500 km round trip) with parents is not an easy task and was a first for us, but i am truly delighted that this day happened.

Little bit about the Great Ocean Road(source: Wikipedia):
The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 243-kilometre (151 mi) stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Allansford. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 and dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I, the road is the world's largest war memorial. Winding through varying terrain along the coast and providing access to several prominent landmarks, including the Twelve Apostles limestone stack formations, the road is an important tourist attraction in the region.

This was the route we followed from Melbourne city on the Great ocean road to 12 Apostles & Lock Ard Gorge


Not to say much about the clean and ditch free roads, the journey itself was a beauty with refreshing view & beautiful weather. We also got to experience the famous constantly changing Melbourne weather. That day it was bright & sunny when we started in the morning & changed to windy followed by drizzle and eventually more chilly than what we were prepared for making our travel more enticing.

It took us around 1:15 hrs to reach close to Torquay/Anglesea from where Great Ocean Road begins. We all were mesmerized by the beauty of this place. With fresh air, clean shores, clear blue water, lots of greenery and drizzling rain we fell in love with this place in an instant.

I will let the pics do the talking about the trip..

After touching the GOR

Wifey having her fun



With parents


Its me at the Memorial Arch, Eastern view


Drive through pics along the GOR






Lorne Pier: It was so windy here that we could barely stand still on the pier.


We had a nice lunch of Fish n chips and Kebab(what we call Shawarma) at Lorne Fish & Chips, mountjoy parade. Food was well prepared & tasty to fulfill our appetite.

Few more pics down the road








The 12 Apostles


My family, very happy to reach this spot after a really long road trip in a foreign land


Lock Ard Gorge-our last spot for the day


After an awesome day we reached back city around 9:30 pm, had a lavish dinner and retired peacefully on our beds.

Parting shot: Day & Night view of Melbourne city from our stay @ 64th floor




Next day morning we returned Sportage to Europcar in the Southern cross station premises. Just park the car in their allotted parking space and hand over the keys to their office. No other formalities.

Later that day was mostly about local city tour. We visited the MCG, Federation square, St. Paul's Cathedral, shopped at DFO. We took our return flight from Avalon Airport the next day and returned back safely to Delhi via a connection at Kuala Lumpur.

So thats all about our road trips down under.
Hope to visit this lovely country again in the future and explore more. Cheers Mate!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[zebo]

Nice travelogue and pictures, reminded me of our times while we lived in Melbourne 2 decades ago. Numerous visits to Philip Island and GOR. BTW, Phillip Island is not an F1 track, the only international racing event conducted here is MotoGP, other than motorcycle racing only very few local car events take place here. It is a different world there during MotoGP weekends as thousands of motor cyclists from all over Ozzy land and many even from abroad gather here for a week long of camping and biking activities.

[Drive Head]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

Day-2 Great Ocean Road- 12 apostles & Lock Ard Gorge.

This journey was a long thought decision, because travelling such long distance (500 km round trip) with parents is not an easy task and was a first for us, but i am truly delighted that this day happened.

My 11 day family trip to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in June 2020 got marred due to the COVID situation. Although i got all my bookings refunded but the anticipatory pleasure of driving from Melbourne on the Great Ocean road to the 12 Apostles and back, is what still makes me sad.

Heard a lot about the Australian open roads and hopefully will drive soon on them.

Any first hand idea if Brisbane - Sydney OR Sydney - Melbourne is doable in a day? Just to get the road experience of driving down on the Australian sea side. Both the drives are around 1000 + kms.

[mayankverma]

Originally Posted by zebo

It is a different world there during MotoGP weekends as thousands of motor cyclists from all over Ozzy land and many even from abroad gather here for a week long of camping and biking activities.

Thanks for correction about the F1. I didn't know that Phillip island had a track so the go karting was a pleasant surprise. But money well spent. And they have nice people managing the arena.

Originally Posted by Drive Head

Any first hand idea if Brisbane - Sydney OR Sydney - Melbourne is doable in a day? Just to get the road experience of driving down on the Australian sea side. Both the drives are around 1000 + kms.

Sorry no outright experience. We did single day trips from Brisbane to Byron bay and Brisbane-sunshine coast-Noosa heads in dec'19. Very pleasant drives. Speed limits are generally 80~100 and only occasionally above 100. So 1000 kms in a day may be a stretch. Hope that helps

[SS-Traveller]

Good to see a travelogue from Australia, and a few familiar pics.

Originally Posted by mayankverma

I parked in a 2 hour parking lot on Collins street and checked-in to our stay with the intention to come down within 2 hours and leave for Phillip Island. But that didn't happen...We overslept due to fatigue from the last 5 days and got up at around 1 PM. And had to pay AUD 83 penalty as a result, it hurt me, but rules are rules !!

Indeed - parking around the CBD is so expensive. It makes sense to rent an Airbnb with its own parking slot if one is planning to rent a car and keep it for a few days.

Day-1 Philip Island

Here's the link to our travelogue to Phillip Island in July 2019 (Australia: A road-trip to Phillip Island, Victoria)

Some pics of the penguin parade

As I'd mentioned in my travelogue, photographing the penguins isn't allowed, but we all manage to sneak in a couple of bad quality shots in the dark. On the other side, if we want to get a few good dSLR shots of these same penguins in extremely low light without flash, the St. Kilda Pier in the heart of Melbourne is the place to go to.

Day-2 Great Ocean Road- 12 apostles & Lock Ard Gorge.

I love the Great Ocean Road - curvy, with a speed limit of 80 kmph, and it takes skill to keep the car in its lane at that speed, and not block others coming up behind you - else you get gesticulated at (that happened on our first trip, with a loaded Mazda CX-9). We've covered the whole length of the Great Ocean Road in our daughter's Toyota Yaris, travelling from the South Australia-Victoria border, Warnambool, Allansford, and multiple stops along the coastline, right back to Torquay and then to the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne. That's a travelogue I'm yet to write, because there are so many pictures, it just tires me out just thinking about processing and posting them!

...the famous constantly changing Melbourne weather. That day it was bright & sunny when we started in the morning & changed to windy followed by drizzle and eventually more chilly than what we were prepared for making our travel more enticing.

Indeed, we've learnt to always have a warm jacket and an umbrella / raincoat in the car when travelling in that region.

Parting shot: Day & Night view of Melbourne city from our stay @ 64th floor
Attachment 2153438

Zoom in on the pic and find the KPMG Building. The smaller building to the left of it is called Collins Square, and our daughter used to work in an Italian restaurant in that building.

...shopped at DFO.

Which one - South Wharf or Spencer Street DFO?

Hope to visit this lovely country again in the future and explore more.

Not in 2021, it seems, maybe not even in the first half of 2022.

Originally Posted by Drive Head

Any first hand idea if Brisbane - Sydney OR Sydney - Melbourne is doable in a day? Just to get the road experience of driving down on the Australian sea side. Both the drives are around 1000 + kms.

We've driven From Melbourne to Sydney along the Princes (not Princess) Highway, in about 14 hours (could have done it in 12 if we didn't stop so many times to enjoy ourselves), with stops at multiple places including the Bega Cheese Factory (Journeying across Australia with food on our mind). The speed limit on the Princes Highway is 100 kmph in most regions, but it passes through small towns, with speeds dropping to 40 kmph. OTOH, it's a scenic road, with glimpses of the coast at multiple places.

On the way back, we had taken the Hume Freeway, a boring 110-kmph road that brought us back to Melbourne in about 10 hours. There were so many road trains on the highway, all running at 107 kmph, and for us to overtake them was such a challenge - with speed cams flashing you at 112 kmph, there was too little speed difference to cross those long vehicles before running out of road!

We haven't been from Sydney to Brisbane, but yes, that is also doable in a day easily.

[Drive Head]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

We've driven From Melbourne to Sydney along the Princes (not Princess) Highway, in about 14 hours (could have done it in 12 if we didn't stop so many times to enjoy ourselves), with stops at multiple places including the Bega Cheese Factory (Journeying across Australia with food on our mind). The speed limit on the Princes Highway is 100 kmph in most regions, but it passes through small towns, with speeds dropping to 40 kmph. OTOH, it's a scenic road, with glimpses of the coast at multiple places.

On the way back, we had taken the Hume Freeway, a boring 110-kmph road that brought us back to Melbourne in about 10 hours. There were so many road trains on the highway, all running at 107 kmph, and for us to overtake them was such a challenge - with speed cams flashing you at 112 kmph, there was too little speed difference to cross those long vehicles before running out of road!

We haven't been from Sydney to Brisbane, but yes, that is also doable in a day easily.

Thank you for the first hand and useful info.

But, the speed limits are a curse. They are quite below my expectation of at least 120 or more for major part of the journey.

12 to 14 hours is too long with family. Hope there are places to break the journey into two days and enjoy the beauty along the way.

I know a friend's friend who took a camper and took 5 days or so to roam around the places. The idea seems interesting, if time permits.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Drive Head

Any first hand idea if Brisbane - Sydney OR Sydney - Melbourne is doable in a day? Just to get the road experience of driving down on the Australian sea side. Both the drives are around 1000 + kms.

When my parents visited Australia, we did these trips easy. all in a day, ie Brisbane-Sydney and Sydney - Melbourne. Ofcourse, it did help that my wife drove too, so we could split the driving duties between us. We did factor in regular breaks to refresh as my parents were along, and it was good to have the chance to get out of the car and just stretch or walk around.

Here's a pic clicked along the Great Ocean Road.

[Drive Head]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

When my parents visited Australia, we did these trips easy. all in a day, ie Brisbane-Sydney and Sydney - Melbourne.

Oh WoW ! Thank you very very much.

Driving hours for me is not a problem; family boredom is. I have driven non-stop up to 18 hours, with very little bio break, that too solo, but family wouldn't be able to endure it.

Would you be able just elaborate a bit about your trip, about the time taken, pit stops, difficulties, speed limits, precautions, car rental advises etc.

My plan was to do Brisbane - Sydney, Sydney - Melbourne and Melbourne - Great Ocean road etc. Hopefully, will be able to stick to the same plan when I plan next.

I will bookmark your post for future reference.

Thanks in advance.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

We did factor in regular breaks to refresh as my parents were along, and it was good to have the chance to get out of the car and just stretch or walk around.

Originally Posted by Drive Head

...pit stops, difficulties, speed limits, precautions, car rental advises...

Benny, I can't find pics of those rest stops along every highway at 5-10 km distance, but would you have any? Those are the perfect stops to stretch one's legs, visit the loo (they're sparkling clean, and even have a suppy of toilet paper - just don't be an Indian an filch them!), and even have a quick picnic at the tables and benches put up and maintained by the local councils (unless one stops at a Macca's or Hungry Jack's).

Difficulties: It's daunting to keep to one's lane, especially while passing one of those road trains that are 30-50 metres long, travelling close to the 110-kmph speed limit. Waver from your lane too much and someone behind you will report you to the cops on the phone or with a video, and you will be penalized.

Speed limits: Very stringent. You can break the limit by only 2 kmph, before they click your pic and send you a neat penalty of 350 - 500 AUD. And you cannot squirm your way out of it.

Precautions: Apart from driving well, park well. There are miles of parking space in most places, so do not door the car next to you. If you are noticed, a very irate 6'5" Aussie might dent your wallet pretty badly. Aussies love their cars a lot more than Indians do.

Car rental advice: Never rented one there, so I'll leave it to the others to elaborate.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Here's a pic clicked along the Great Ocean Road.

Your pic just tempted me to go through our trip folder. Just a few pics to whet others' appetite, to not just travel till the 12 Apostles, but carry on further to more of those beautiful cliffs along the coastline the GOR passes by.

Bay of Islands

London Arch

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Drive Head

Would you be able just elaborate a bit about your trip, about the time taken, pit stops, difficulties, speed limits, precautions, car rental advises etc.

My plan was to do Brisbane - Sydney, Sydney - Melbourne and Melbourne - Great Ocean road etc. Hopefully, will be able to stick to the same plan when I plan next.

Being based in Brisbane, this was our trip agenda. While we had a rough schedule in mind, we didn't specifically lock in dates, so we had the flexibility to extend stay in a particular place if we chose to. Accommodation was booked via Booking.com as well as AirBnB.

Brisbane -> Sydney : Halted at Coffs Harbour which is midway between Brisbane and Sydney, and is a great coastal town with attractions such as Dolphin center, and also The Big Banana.

Coffs Harbour -> Sydney

Sydney -> Canberra : Easy trip, just about 4 hours or so. Watch out for cop cars with radars which literally hide among the bushes, waiting to pounce on their prey.

Canberra -> Melbourne

Melbourne -> Great Ocean Road : Day trip

Melbourne -> Sydney : Did this in one go, about 12-14 hours all inclusive with split driving duties.

Sydney -> Brisbane : Did this as well in one go, as above.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Benny, I can't find pics of those rest stops along every highway at 5-10 km distance, but would you have any? Those are the perfect stops to stretch one's legs, visit the loo (they're sparkling clean, and even have a suppy of toilet paper - just don't be an Indian an filch them!), and even have a quick picnic at the tables and benches put up and maintained by the local councils (unless one stops at a Macca's or Hungry Jack's).

I dont have pics of the restroom facilities as such, but have some pics from the rest stops. As you mentioned, these were mostly well-maintained with play areas for kids in some places, as well as picnic facilities.

Picnic at one of the rest stops along the way. Sorry i had to blur faces as this is a non-flattering image, and wasnt intended for posting in public.







Watch out for these - Average Speed Cameras



Highway pic



Route to Toronto, if you choose



Waiting for the next target



Target found



Rest stop on the way from Sydney to Canberra with an awesome view.





Regarding rental experiences, i'll add in a separate post.

[Drive Head]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Brisbane -> Sydney : Halted at Coffs Harbour which is midway between Brisbane and Sydney, and is a great coastal town with attractions such as Dolphin center, and also The Big Banana.

Coffs Harbour -> Sydney

Sydney -> Canberra : Easy trip, just about 4 hours or so. Watch out for cop cars with radars which literally hide among the bushes, waiting to pounce on their prey.

Canberra -> Melbourne

Melbourne -> Great Ocean Road : Day trip

Melbourne -> Sydney : Did this in one go, about 12-14 hours all inclusive with split driving duties.

Sydney -> Brisbane : Did this as well in one go, as above.

Thank you very very much. This will be quite helpful for me.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Difficulties: It's daunting to keep to one's lane, especially while passing one of those road trains that are 30-50 metres long, travelling close to the 110-kmph speed limit. Waver from your lane too much and someone behind you will report you to the cops on the phone or with a video, and you will be penalized.

Speed limits: Very stringent. You can break the limit by only 2 kmph, before they click your pic and send you a neat penalty of 350 - 500 AUD. And you cannot squirm your way out of it.

Precautions: Apart from driving well, park well. There are miles of parking space in most places, so do not door the car next to you. If you are noticed, a very irate 6'5" Aussie might dent your wallet pretty badly. Aussies love their cars a lot more than Indians do.

Car rental advice: Never rented one there, so I'll leave it to the others to elaborate.

Thank you very very much to you too. This is the kind of information I was hoping for.

Now this thread is going to my personal archive for my future references.

[mayankverma]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Indeed - parking around the CBD is so expensive. It makes sense to rent an Airbnb with its own parking slot if one is planning to rent a car and keep it for a few days.

While booking Airbnb I did not ask for a parking as we had planned the road trip by then. Found a cheaper, AUD10 paid parking quite close for the next day

We've covered the whole length of the Great Ocean Road in our daughter's Toyota Yaris, travelling from the South Australia-Victoria border, Warnambool, Allansford, and multiple stops along the coastline, right back to Torquay and then to the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Would love to read about your experience. Even I wanted to continue further from Lock Ard Gorge but time didn't permit. Turned back even before London Bridge as parents were restless about driving till late in unknown territory

Which one - South Wharf or Spencer Street DFO?

Sorry for late reply. DFO South Wharf it was. Didn't shop much as it was close to end of day and they were wrapping up. I was really surprised how early they close as compared to malls here in India.

Not in 2021, it seems, maybe not even in the first half of 2022.

I was planning for one last trip before visa expired in Oct'20. Covid had other plans. But the country and the people will remain with me for a long time. Whenever it happens again, GBR is first one the list

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

Didn't shop much as it was close to end of day and they were wrapping up. I was really surprised how early they close as compared to malls here in India.

This took me by surprise as well, when I first came to Australia. Later realised how people here really value their time away from work, making time for outings, family and the outdoors in general. Soon enough, we were able to work our shopping and timelines around these.

In addition, life starts pretty early in Australia, as opposed to India which kind of explains why things close early too.

[SS-Traveller]

Found some low-res photos from our first drive to the Great Ocean Road...