I'm going to throw my type A personality out the window for a few moments and go out of chronological order while I play catch up on life's most recent adventures. I hope everyone can handle it. We had such a great extended Australia Day weekend (think 4th of July American friends) exploring Victoria that I was anxious to sort through all the photos and recap it here.
Pretty much since the day Steve and I went to our first Grand Slam tournament (the US Open back in 2006) we've been scheming how to get to all four slams. It worked out pretty nicely when we lived in Europe that we could hop over to Roland Garros and Wimbledon. But we never seriously knew if or when we would make it to the Australian Open (hence the AO). Well low and behold then we moved to Australia, and so, it became a priority on our travel itinerary. Last year was well, not really possible, that whole having a baby right around the same time made it difficult. So this year we waited and marked our calendars for the ticket on sale date so we wouldn't miss out.
Sunset at the Twelve Apostles
It just so happened that it timed out perfectly to plan a trip over the holiday weekend and so we were able to snag some extra time to drive the Great Ocean Road (and if you're catching up to speed now this is the GOR). This was somewhere that I wanted to make sure Steve got to experience since I had been fortunate enough to visit once before back in 2003. However, my tour before was a jam packed day trip along the roughly 243 km stretch of scenic coastline. This time we managed to plan it out over the course of 3.5 days, staying in a different town each night so we could maximize our ability to explore the area and not push the limits of driving with two young children in the car!
Our trip started early on a Wednesday morning with a just over one hour flight down to Melbourne. While Steve travels frequently to Melbourne for work, he often flies into the other Melbourne airport. This time upon our arrival at the Avalon Airport (we love our discount airlines), we disembarked on the tarmac and seriously felt like we had arrived in the middle of the outback considering the flat, dry, empty terrain stretching for miles around the airport. Luckily we were quickly assured that this was indeed the outskirts of Melbourne.
First view of Victoria leaving the airport... did we accidentally go to the outback?
With one big suitcase, two car seats, a stroller, baby cot and a couple of carry-on bags (I'm pretty sure we had just as much stuff for our three week trip to southeast Asia as we did for this five day getaway) securely packed into our rental car we took off. It was a 45 minute drive into the city from the airport and we found our hotel and lunch. Our mission from there was naps for everyone so that we could stay awake (and preferably happy) for the night session that we had tickets for. With some success we were ready to go and make the quick 15 minute walk to the grounds of the Australian Open!
It was a beautiful evening and actually extremely cool in comparison to the heat the Australian Open is typically known for in late summer here. We got there as soon as we were allowed in to explore the grounds, play at the kids area and grab dinner before the featured men's quarterfinal match started on Rod Laver Arena.
Donating a gold coin for a used AO ball.
Thankful I captured the moment, before an epic mom fail moment shortly thereafter when I lost them both (the balls, not the kids that is)...
Practicing for future press interviews?!
So much fun in the kids area!
Family photo in front of the legend, Rod Laver.
So excited about her "big" AO ball, which I didn't lose.
While we were excited to be there for such a late round match (all the other tournaments we have been to in the first few days of the fortnight) it also meant that in the evening there are hardly any matches remaining on the side courts to watch. That was ok as we were very happy to get to see Rafael "Rafa" Nadal play for the first time.
Intent fans
We were also thankful Morgan fell asleep within the first 15 minutes of the match starting and for Emma's good spirits and genuine interest watching the match and cheering for "Rafa!" While our seats were near the top of the arena, Rod Laver arena is relatively intimate in comparison to say Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York so we still felt very close to the action. Luckily in typical Aussie attitude, all the other spectators seemed just a little more relaxed than some of the other tournaments we visited and not too annoyed that we had dared to bring children to the match, gasp, especially in the evening!
Emma did a great job and only needed a few gentle reminders to speak quietly and Morgan slept the entire singles match . She actually woke up, albeit happy, at about 10:30 to watch the start of the men's doubles match that then took the court. While we stayed for a little bit of the doubles match, over half of the rest of the audience cleared out before it even started. We made it for the first set before we all decided it was best to call it a night as well.
It was a great time and we were sad to see it come to a close. Although it was fun to go as a family, I might be plotting ways to go back next year sans kids as well. Having completed our "grand slam" it's difficult to say which tournament is my favorite. They all are special for different reasons. It's hard to compete with getting engaged in NYC the day before we went to the US Open, celebrating Emma's first birthday at Wimbledon, being lucky enough to watch some of the greatest of all time (Roger and Serena - yes I'm on a first name basis with them) at the French, and now getting to bring our two little girls with us to the Australian Open. I think it's fair to say they will all hold a special place in our heart.
Rod Laver Arena
Go "Rafa!"
Raonic in action!
Nadal in action!
Yes, Morgan slept the entire Nadal v Raonic match.
One last photo on our way out...
... And then the walk back to the hotel at 11:30 pm, Emma needed the hat over her eyes in order to sleep.
Amply tired to say the least we all slept late on Thursday morning, took advantage of a big buffet breakfast at the hotel and a swim in the pool to kick off our Australia Day. Then we checked out and hit the road to start our journey down the Great Ocean Road.
Post swim time!
The Great Ocean Road officially begins about 100 km southwest from Melbourne in the surf city of Torquay. The beaches there are immense, surf waves big and wind strong in this section of the Great Ocean Road. It is affectionately known as the "Surf Coast" until you reach Cape Otway.
While we drove quickly down to Torquay to the starting point it didn't take long to figure out that we were going to be stopping a lot for photo ops from there on out. We started with an overlook spot at Bells Beach before finding our way for an afternoon treat at the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery. I would highly recommend the stop for anyone, but especially those with kids. We only enjoyed the treats, but there was a great lawn full of games and activities to give kids a break from sitting in the car.
View over Bells beach
Photographer in training
Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery success.
Morgan takes her eating seriously.
No idea the name of this beach that we randomly pulled off on the side of the road for, but I do know it was beautiful.
From there the next planned destination was Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet where we took a short walk around, but unfortunately had arrived too late in the day to walk to the top of the lighthouse.
Split Point Lighthouse
Exploring around the lighthouse
So many gorgeous surfing beaches
And beautiful rock formations
View from near the lighthouse
Next up was the town of Lorne. While we would have liked to stay longer and walk around the quaint town, we were starting to lose steam (especially those seated in the back of the car) so we settled for a quick dash just up to Teddy's Lookout. From there the coastline got much steeper as the road clung tightly to the oceanfront curving along steep hills and thick trees.
View from Teddy's Lookout outside Lorne
We were thankful to escape the last stretch with only one mild case of motion sickness in the back. We felt slightly better when we pulled over at one of the few spots to stop along this stretch and just behind another car with a young child, doing the exact same thing as us.
We finally reached Apollo Bay just in time for dinner, having drove about 200 km that day (only 100 km of which was actually on the Great Ocean Road). We found the spot to be for Australia Day at the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse and enjoyed dinner before driving up out of the valley to our Airbnb for the night. It was a beautiful spot complete with no mobile service, pet deer, beautiful birds and many other types of wildlife. Unfortunately we didn't spot the koala that lives somewhere on the owners property. Nonetheless we were very thankful for a quiet, relaxing spot to crash for the night, but not without first attempting to watch a throwback VHS on a 12 inch TV screen before Steve and I passed out too tired to watch the whole movie.
Our welcoming committee at our airbnb outside Apollo Bay... pet deer.
Love the beautiful birds in Australia!
Day two on the Great Ocean Road and we started our day with takeaway coffees, bacon & egg rolls and pastries from the Apollo Bay Bakery and enjoyed them at the beach side playground. We were far from disappointed with our breakfast choice so we promptly turned back around and got takeaway sandwiches to bring with us on the road for lunch later. We got in the car for the quick 20 minute drive to Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, which was absolutely beautiful and a great 30 or so minute easy walking trek.
Loved the huge trees at Maits Rest Rainforest Walk
Could even explore inside some of them!
Can't keep the camera away from her now!
Girls pose in front of a big tree!
Back on the road we found Castle Cove Lookout for more stunning bright blue waves before driving a bit further and picking a random patch of grass for our picnic lunch.
Halfway into the Great Ocean Road drive seems a little late for a sign posted about which side of the road to drive on...
Castle Cove Lookout
When you find a random spot on the side of the road for your picnic lunch and you decide someone needs to get some energy out so you start having races.
From there the goal for the afternoon was to make it to the changing coastline that is referred to as the "Shipwreck Coast" and the famous Twelve Apostles (about 90 km total from where we had started the morning in Apollo Bay). Of course arriving in mid afternoon it was hot in full sun and jam packed with tour buses. While it was enjoyable, we were constantly being bumped by people and found the views not as good with the sun at that time of the day. It left the "stacks," as the rock formations are termed, looking a bit dark. Still gorgeous, we knew we had plans to come back later so we weren't too worried about it.
First view of the Twelve Apostles mid-afternoon
Two lone stacks separated to the east... known as Gog and Magog
Loves riding on her daddy's shoulders
Me and my girls
Instead we made our way just a few minutes back on the road to Gibsons Steps, which is a steep staircase down the vertical cliff to the beach. In many ways it reminded me of our arrival several years ago by ferry when we visited the Greek Island of Santorini and the dramatic sheer face cliffs. We threw a few sand toys in a bag and enjoyed the gorgeous views and surf from "below" most other vantage points on the road. We definitely could have stayed down there all day if we had planned accordingly, but the tides were really too strong there for swimming much anyways so we just enjoyed getting our feet wet, digging for crabs and chasing seagulls.
The beach at Gibsons steps
The stuff summer holidays are made of
That night we were staying just a little further inland from the nearby town of Port Campbell at another quaint Airbnb (seriously Airbnb is the way to stay in Australia). We enjoyed making our own dinner that night before throwing pajamas on the girls and heading back for sunset at the Twelve Apostles. Amidst everyone's growing tiredness we debated going for a few minutes, but once there, were more than happy with our decision to go.
Another adorable Airbnb find along the Great Ocean Road
Gorgeous colors at sunset
My happy traveling baby
Happy daddy, happy girls
On day three it was time to pack our bags again to explore the last section of the Great Ocean Road. While the day started a bit overcast we still made one last quick stop at the Twelve Apostles to see them again in different light before making our way onto a series of dramatic rock formations along this section of coast. It was easy to see why it was termed shipwreck coast for anyone so unfortunate to get caught on a boat in a storm near those cliffs and "stacks" that jutted out of the water.
There were so many amazing spots to stop, it would be easy to spend countless days in the area exploring all the different areas. We made it to Loch Ard Gorge, the Arch, London Arch (formerly London Bridge), the Grotto, and the Bay of Islands.
One more stop at the Twleve Apostles the following morning to see the different colors
The Razorback near Loch Ard Gorge
Tom and Eva Lookout near Loch Ard Gorge
Another view of The Razorback
Playing on the beach at Loch Ard Gorge
View from the beach of Loch Ard Gorge
The Arch
The former London Bridge... now called London Arch, because, well, it fell down.
The colors of the water and rock formations are stunning
The grotto... photo compliments from Emma. When I told her she didn't get the archway in the background she replied and told me there were people in the way and she didn't want other people in the photo. She's getting good!
The photographer sits for her own portrait at The Grotto
Bay of Islands
From there with a little time left in the afternoon we made a pit stop at Cheese World just outside of Warrnambool, which is deemed the last city on the Great Ocean Road. Our expectations were not high for Cheese World and we only stopped because we were all hungry and heard they had great cheap milkshakes. It was amply corny and a little outdated as expected, but the milkshakes and ice cream didn't disappoint any of us so we gave it a two thumbs up. With renewed energy levels we stopped at the massive Lake Pertobe Adventure Playground. This playground was no joke with several different play areas that included massive play structures, a maze for children and adults to find their way out, a water splash area, two big flying foxes (ziplines for Americans), a pond with paddleboats, the list went on and on. For many it could be a solid day outing and likely several episodes of lost children.
Flying fox!
We spent an hour playing before the short drive further onto Port Fairy, our final destination (100 km total driving from where we had started the morning). We had decided to go just a little further as we heard what a nice, quaint town it was and we were not disappointed. While we missed the resident seal at the marina when we went to dinner, we instead had a memorable sunset stroll around Griffith Island, which was teeming with wildlife to discover.
Enjoying a sunset family walk on Griffith Island in Port Fairy
Port Fairy Lighthouse at sunset
Starfish and crab catcher!
New friends spotting wildlife together
I used to think I was a mountain person, but sunset walks at the beach are getting me. I might become a beach person.
Such a peaceful last night.
The next morning we awoke and after finding a great local breakfast spot (Australian breakfasts are still probably one of my favorite parts of living here) and we hit the road for the fast "inland" route back to the airport. As the girls did great on the 2.5 hour car ride back we had extra time to stop in the town of Geelong to play.
They love swinging with each other
From there it was back to the airport and home, just in time to watch the epic final match of Federer vs Nadal on tv when we got home and wonder why we hadn't bought tickets to the finals instead. While sad that our holiday had come to an end, I can't lie I was pretty happy to be home and know I didn't have to pack or unpack that suitcase one more time. Until our next adventure that is...
