Melbourne, Australia

Ad and I arrived in Melbourne via a quiet and easy overnight train from Sydney. Melbourne is south west of Sydney situated along the coast. Deemed as the “world’s most livable city,” Melbourne is filled with hip cafes, delicious restaurants, trendy culture and beautiful gardens. The rapidly growing city (over 1500 people move to the city on a monthly basis) is easy to navigate and filled with friendly and active people.

Once we stumbled out of the downtown train station, we walked to our hotel located in East Melbourne next to the beautiful Fitzroy Gardens. As we walked down the street, we stopped in a cute café located down one of the many alley ways in Melbourne and enjoyed a little breakfast to help wake us up and get us going. After breakfast, we enjoyed the morning walk through the city to our hotel.

During the first few days, we walked around an enjoyed delicious (but expensive) food from some of the city’s restaurants. After stuffing ourselves with delicious Italian, Chinese and local cuisines, we decided to venture out of the city and enjoy a wine tour through the Yarra Valley.

Our first stop on the tour was to the well-known French winemaker, Domaine Chandon. After tasting some delicious sparkling wines, crackers and cheese and enjoying the surrounding hillside views, we headed onto to the next winery, Rocheford Winery.

Only a few scenic miles from Domaine Chandon, we arrived at Rocheford. The winery offered a variety of red and white wines, yet is known more for their whites and in particular, their Chardonnay. Besides wine, the winery also has delicious fudge and gave out samples of over 15 different flavors. After a few tastings, Ad and I opted for the Jaffe, chocolate and orange flavored; it was delicious!

After Rocheford, we headed to Yering Farm Winery, located on a beautiful fruit farm with scenic background views of the mountains, rolling hills and vineyards. Yering is a boutique vineyard and offers a more intimate country-style tasting room as well as an onsite bed and breakfast. After a few tastings, we found their dessert wine t be the most delicious.

Once we finished at Yering Farm, we headed to our final stop on the tour, the Kellybrook Winery, known as both an apple orchard and winery. Among the many wines, this small winery also featured a very delicious cider that tasted like a light apple cider with a kick (7% alcohol). It was delicious (better than the wines) and we decided to buy a few bottles for the trip back to Melbourne.

In addition to our wine tour, we also booked a tour to see Australia’s Great Ocean Road (a must if you come to Australia). The highway was built in 1918 as a dedication to those who served in WWI and offers a ton of scenic highlights. Our first was Bells Beach, famous for its international surfing competition and its feature in the movie Point Break. As we drove up the coast, we were also able to see several kangaroos hopping around “the bush” (or fields) as the Aussies like to say.

After Bells Beach, we headed to Split Point Lighthouse to take in the fantastic coastal views. Our tour driver explained that every lighthouse has its own unique light signal; this is so sailors know exactly where they are on the coast. Next, we headed to Kennet River where we got a chance to see a few small, very cute cuddly koalas.

We were only a few hours into the tour and already had a full day’s worth of sights. Our next stop was Maits Rest, a cool temperate rain forest with a few walking trails. On the trail, we walked under a canopy of huge and very old (a few hundred years) ferns, Myrtle Beech trees, and towering Mountain Ash and Blackwood trees; it was pretty awesome!

Our next stop was the beginning of the infamous Twelve Apostles; dramatic limestone rock formations located along the coastline. We walked down the Gibson Steps to the beach to get a close-up view of the first two Apostles and marveled at the sheer height and beauty; they were pretty amazing!

After Gibson Steps, we headed to the remaining six Apostles. Originally, there were 12 Apostles yet due to erosion there are only eight remaining with the most recent one falling in 2009. [Side note- the formations were originally called the Sow and her Piglets and eventually were renamed the Twelve Apostles when Australia didn’t think the name truly represented their beauty].

To really enjoy the natural beauty of Twelve Apostles, Ad and I decided to take a helicopter ride around the amazing formations. We were blown away by their beauty, especially with the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. I couldn’t help but giggle and smile at the 360 degree views of this amazing natural wonder.

Our last stop took us to the Loch Ard Gorge which has a beach and cave where only two survivors took refuge after a tragic shipwreck in late 1800s. We also viewed the Razorback, Island Arch and the remains of the London Bridge. The London Bridge (a natural limestone bridge) collapsed into the ocean in the 90’s while two people were crossing, but lucky for them they survived the fall.

During our stay in Melbourne we stayed with our friend Belinda (thanks for the connection Bridget!) who was an incredible host and treated us like family; did I mention she’s also an amazing chef (she really is a chef) and treated us to a few very tasty meals! OMG were they delicious! Thanks Belinda, we are sincerely grateful.

We enjoyed our time in and around Melbourne, and hope you do too when you check out our photos!

Love to all,

Cathy and Adam