Day 23: The great ocean road is a must see in Melbourne. We didn’t realize that there would be nowhere to stay out on the road around Christmas. People were advertising their garden shed as an “off grid eco home”. So, we did it in one day with a lot of driving and unfortunately had to cut a good portion of the scenic drive. The highlight of the Great Ocean Road is the 12 Apostles, a set of magnificent columns emerging from the ocean. This experience reminded me of many easily accessible natural wonders… completely overrun with thousands of tourists taking selfies that try to give the impression that they are not in a human cattle run. After our turn at taking a few pictures, we took Gibson’s Steps down to the beach. This was the experience we were looking for; few tourists and 95% of the natural beauty. Bryce and I played in the water and threw rocks. This is the part of the experience that I will remember.
Day 24: Another jam packed day at Camp Davis. We hired a driver for the day and the first stop was the Healesville Sanctuary. Bryce had his second experience with the Australian wildlife before falling asleep in the carrier from all the excitement. Whenever we say Kangaroo or Wallabies, he hops.
It happens that Healesville is located in the heart of the Yarra Valley, one of Australia’s premier wine regions. Danielle, Ali, Bryce, Dennis (our driver) and I visited 3 wineries across the valley: Innocent Bystander (great lunch), Oakridge, Yering Station. I am impressed that in our late 30’s, we weren’t sleeping in the car on the way to the second winery.
Our last day in Melbourne was spend relaxing and seeing some of the “Lanes” and tourist sites in the city. And just like that, our time in Australia comes to an end. If I am lucky, we will return when Bryce can do a little more walking on his own. Next Stop… NEW ZEALAND, and I couldn’t be more excited.