Melbourne Self
Drive!
En route to the wedding of the year in the very trendy
suburb of Fitzroy, Melbourne, we decided to do a
bit of a self drive holiday in Victoria.
Having always wanted to check out the Twelve Apostles, and Jon’s
love of Wine, we thought we’d combine the Great Ocean Road and Mornington to make
the perfect 4 day driving tour of Victoria.
We headed straight from Melbourne
Tullamarine Airport,
south to Geelong
for a bite to eat, before reaching our first destination, Lorne. Taking only a couple
of hours to reach the entrance to the Great
Ocean Road, we were very pleasantly surprised at
how easy the drive was to this point and how funky and pretty Lorne was.
We took up camp at the Mantra Beach Resort, Lorne, in a
gorgeous One Bedroom Ocean View Apartment. As the name suggests, we were right
on the beach, and if staying in Lorne, the Mantra is a must.
What amazed us about Lorne was how instantly relaxed you
felt here, and all the great restaurants and shops on the main strip. This is
certainly a great destination for a long weekend, even if you don’t want to
drive any further…
But we did, and the next day we took on the Great Ocean Road.
And the weather gods were certainly on our side, as we had perfect weather,
which I was extremely thankful for, as not only is the view spectacular, but
the roads are very windy.. So make sure you buckle up J J
From Lorne to the Twelve Apostles, you are looking at about
a 3 hour drive (one direction), but along the way there are PLENTY of towns to
stop. There is also the gorgeous Otway
National Park, great pit
stop, there is a very cool old lighthouse to climb and if your lucky, dozens of
Koalas in their natural habitat.
But ofcourse, the star of the Great Ocean Road are the Twelve Apostles.
And having it been one of my childhood dreams to see them, I was not
disappointed.
My suggestion – if you can avoid doing it in a day tour, and
can afford a night in Lorne and some car hire, then this is the far better way
to see it. The drive will be much nicer and you will certainly enjoy the
experience more!
From Lorne, we headed East over to the Mornington Peninsula.
From Lorne to Portsea, in a car, then the Ferry (with the car on board) it took
about 3 hours. We had a lunch stop at the Portsea Hotel, very famous to the
Victorians and the food (and view) was delicious!
After lunch, it was all about hitting the wineries. And they
did not disappoint! Jon was very excited – his credit card was not….
We had a lovely night at the 5 star Peppers Moonah Links,
before hitting the tourist spots the next day. We checked out the Hot Springs and the
Lavender and Maze farm and of course the gorgeous beach huts along the coast
line! (My highlight)
Having only the one night in Mornington, I’m not sure we did
it justice. If you’re going to do it, allow at least 2 nights…
From Mornington we headed back to Melbourne…
We all know how amazing Melbourne is, so I won’t go in to too much
detail.
Except to recommend:
The Mercure Treasury Gardens Hotel! Fantastic location,
fantastic rooms and I was extremely surprised!
And check out the Yarra Valley Wine Trip for a great day out
J
