Melbourne Road Trip Day 6 – Driving the Great Ocean Road from Port Campbell to Lorne

16 May 2019

I was looking forward to more fun on the second day of our drive along the Great Ocean Road. We planned to stop over at Loch Ard Gorge, 12 Apostles, Gibson Steps, Otway Lighthouse, Apollo Bay, Kennett River and spent the night at Lorne.

We had instant cup noodles for breakfast in our room at the Port Campbell Motor Inn before we hit the road again. We also filled up our car at Port Campbell. I regretted not doing it in Warrnambool as the petrol price was slightly higher at Port Campbell.

The Loch Ard Gorge, Razorback and Mutton Bird Island

The first place we visited was The Loch Ard  Gorge, located just 8 km from Port Campbell. This is a place full of history, geology and nature. Information boards told the story of a ship wreck and two survivors.

The Loch Ard  Gorge.

There are actually 3 easy themed walks that we could do on trails that start from the car park. 

Loch Ard Gorge and beach.

One of the trails included steps leading down to the beach in Loch Ard Gorge. The beach in this “secret lagoon” was one of my favourite places along the Great Ocean Road.  We spent some time doing a little photo-shoot on this beach.
 

Extremely fine and soft sand on the beach in Lord Arch Gorge.

Stalactites hanging from the cliffs on the end of the gorge.

After visiting the beach, we took the trail to the Loch Ard Wreck Lookout.

View of Loch Ard Gorge and beach on the trail to the Loch Ard Wreck Lookout.

We read about how this part of the coast is known as “Shipwreck Coast” due to the treacherous cliffs and large waves that caused many ships to be wrecked. 

In 1878, a clipper ship called the Loch Ard was sunk off the cliffs of Mutton Bird Island, located just outside the mouth of the gorge.

The clipper ship Loch Ard was sunk just off the cliffs of Mutton Bird Island (the island on left side).

Of the 54 people on board the ship, only two survived. The first survivor was Tom Pierce, a ship apprentice. He drifted for hours under an upturned lifeboat after the ship sunk. A change of luck and tide caused him to be swept, badly bruised and battered, into the gorge. He made it safely to the beach in the gorge.

He then saw Eva Carmicheal, a 18 year old passenger, who was clinging to a spar. Tom struggled for an hour to bring Eva to shore. Thereafter, this gorge was named the Loch Ard Gorge.

There was a geology themed trail that led to the Tom and Eva Lookout, where we could see two limestone stacks named after the two survivors.

View from Tom and Eva Lookout. The two limestone stacks known as Tom and Eva are the remnants of the Island Arch that collapsed in 2009.

The same trail to the Tom and Eva Lookout ends at the Razorback Lookout.

At the Razorback Lookout.

The Razorback is the name given to a long and slim limestone stack that stands in a cove that is constantly subjected to the forces of wind and waves.

Waves hitting the Razorback.

The cove and part of Razorback.

More limestone stacks could be seen beyond the Razorback. In due course, constant erosion could turned this into the future 12 Apostles of the Great Ocean Road.

Close-up of one of the highly eroded limestone stacks next to the Razorback.

After returning by the same trail to the Loch Ard Gorge car park, we took a short drive to another car park near the Mutton Bird Island. From there, a short trail led to the lookout point where we could get close up views of Mutton Bird Island.

Mutton Bird island. This island is where the clipper ship Loch Ard got grounded and sunk.

The mutton bird is also called the short-tailed shearwater. The island is home to 12,000 to 50,000 mutton birds but we saw not a single bird. 

We were a month too late. These migratory birds would roost on the island only from October to April. By now, they were on their way to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska!

We also learnt how the mutton birds kept the same burrow and partner and would return every year to Mutton Bird Island to breed. A single egg is laid in November and will hatch between 10th and 20th January. The parents will feed the baby for 6 weeks till it reaches almost 1 kg and heavier than the parent bird.

Illustration of the sizes of the baby mutton bird and parent.

All the adults will leave the island in early April for their yearly migration north. The babies are all left behind, unable to fly and without food. The fat reserves in their bodies ensure they continue to grow rapidly and they will learn to fly by end April. They will then fly solo northwards to join their parents. A remarkable 15,000 km journey, guided only by instinct. Many will perish. Nature’s way of selecting only the strongest, smartest and luckiest for the next generation.


View of the entrance to Loch Ard Gorge from Mutton Bird Island Lookout point.

Overall, we spent more than an hour in the Loch Ard Gorge area. There were only a few other visitors in the morning. We had a very relaxing time walking the trails, enjoying the sights and learning a bit about mutton birds. The volume of tourists in this area peaks around 3 PM when the tour buses from Melbourne arrive so it was good we came in the morning.

Return to the 12 Apostles

The 12 Apostles is a short drive from Loch Ard Gorge. We had already visited this site the previous day in the hours before sunset.

It is good to return in the morning as the lighting condition for photography was different. There were also less people in the morning.

12 Apostles in the morning sun.  Where are the crowds?

The rocks stacks of the 12 Apostles lit up by the morning sun.

We did not stay very long at the 12 Apostles. The Gibson Steps is located very close to the 12 Apostles. There was a sign at the 12 Apostles Visitor Centre providing information on a 2.1 km return walking trail from the 12 Apostles car park to the Gibson Steps. We checked Google Map and confirmed that there is a small car park at Gibson Steps. We took a 2-minutes drive instead of hiking.

Gibson Steps

An 86-step staircase led down the cliff face from the car park to the beach below. As we walked the steps down, we could touch and feel the powdery limestone cliff.

This is a place where we could walk on the soft sand, see the surf hitting the beach and listen to the roar of the ocean.

Two rock stacks off the beach of Gibson Steps.

Beach is accessible and walkable at low tide.

Koala Spotting at Cape Otway and Kennett River

We had seen a lot of wild kangaroos in Grampians and we hope to see some wild koalas as well. We read that wild koalas could often be seen on the road (C157) leading to the Cape Otway Lightstation and that was where we went next.

From Gibson Steps, it was a 76 km drive to Cape Otway. Unfortunately, we did not spot any koalas on the 10-minutes drive along the narrow and winding road leading to the Otway Lightstation in Cape Otway.

Road leading to Cape Otway Lighthouse. No koalas to be seen in these bald trees.

We decided not to tour the lightstation (entry fee of AUD 19.50 per person) and have lunch at Apollo Bay instead. It was another 35 minutes of driving to the town.

Apollo Bay is a coastal town that offers both swimming and surf beaches as well as a good selection of restaurants and cafes along the esplanade. We chose to eat at the Scallop Pie Bakery. We had lunch of chunky beef pie and scallop mornay pie with a pot of tea.  

From Apollo Bay, it was another 23 km to Kennett River. I had read that this is one of the best places to see wild koalas in Australia. The drive from Apollo Bay to Kennett River was scenic with constant view of the ocean.

Typical view of the drive between Apollo Bay and Kennett River.

We parked outside the Kafe Koala and General Store and take a walk up to Grey River Road. There were many colourful King parrots, white cockatoos and other birds on a feeding frenzy around some tourists who had bought bird seeds from the cafe.

We did not feed any birds. But I had fun taking photos of the birds who were lured by the food but yet quite camera shy (especially the red king parrots).

Photographing a flock of wild cockatoos and sparrows.

The parrots would stand on your head and arms, just to get some bird seeds.

We next took a stroll up Grey River Road, keeping our eyes peeled for signs of any koalas up on the eucalyptus trees lining both sides of the road. Even though there is a large population of wild koalas living in this area, it was not easy to spot them in the dense leaves of the tall trees. Most of the time, they were motionless or sleeping.

A lady who was staying in the caravan park next to the road called out to us and pointed us to a tree with a sleeping koala. Once we spotted the first koala, spotting the next became easier.

Cute sleeping koala.

We walked further up the Grey River Road and spotted one more koala. This koala was initially sleeping. It woke up and did what most animal would do after a long sleep. It peed.

Warning: Do not stand directly beneath a koala when it just woke up.

It then started to feed on the leaves, in slow motion.

More visitors were walking up the road and we pointed out this koala to the new arrivals.

We had a great time at Kennett River. Koalas spotted, mission accomplished.

We continued on our scenic coastal drive to Lorne. This stretch of the Great Ocean Road was quite fun to drive. The winding road hugs the shoreline. With cliffs on our left and views of the ocean on our right, the 22 km drive to Lorne seemed so short.

Dinner at Lorne

Like Apollo Bay, Lorne is also a seaside town that offers swimming beaches as well as a good selection of restaurants and cafes along the esplanade.

We had dinner at Marks Restaurant. We both ordered the chargrilled eye fillet steak on mash and peppercorn sauce and Shiraz to go with the steak.

Chargrilled eye fillet steak on mash and peppercorn sauce.

Complimentary fresh green lettuce.

After a day of driving, we really enjoyed a relaxing evening at this cosy restaurant with warm, friendly service and excellent food.

Where we stayed in Lorne

We stayed at the Chatby Lane Lorne. This luxurious condo hotel offers studio rooms with a spa bath. We even had cockatoos visiting us at the terrace in front of our room.

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Melbourne Road Trip Day 7 – Driving the Great Ocean Road from Lorne to Torquay

17 May 2019

This would be the 3rd day of our road trip along the Great Ocean Road. It was also our last day touring Melbourne and the surrounding attractions.

We planned to be at the airport by 2.15 PM to return our rental car, do the flight check-in and have lunch. We had the whole morning to complete our Great Ocean Road drive from Lorne to Torquay before heading to the airport, about 1.5 hour driving time from Torquay.

Impromptu “breakfast” with the cockatoos

The day started with breakfast in our suite at Chatby Lane Lorne. 

We saw a pair of white cockatoos in the veranda. I went out to take photos of them and they did not fly away. After seeing the cockatoos at at Kennett River the previous day, I reckon they were hoping for some food.

I had a couple of plums for breakfast and decided share a plum with them. One of them pick the piece of plum from my palm gently, ate the flesh but not the skin of the plum. Maybe the smart bird was trying to tell me the skin is not worth eating. Or it is loaded with pesticides!

More cockatoos soon joined in.

The bird on the lounge chair was the first to interact with me and was the calmest of the lot.

Even with many cockatoos waiting to be fed, they remained respectful and well-disciplined. All waiting for their turn.  No fighting for food on my palm. The cockatoo closest to my palm will take the piece of plum offered to it gently with the tip of its beak while the neighbouring cockatoos watched.

I had only 2 tiny plums to share with all of them, so they each got a tiny bit only.

Teddy’s Lookout

Before leaving Lorne, we took a short drive to the top end of George Street at the back of Lorne where a scenic spot known as Teddy’s Lookout is located. A viewing platform offers scenic views of the Great Ocean Road, mountainous peaks and the Saint George river winding itself into fern covered valleys and gorges.

Along the tree-lined George Street, just before arriving at the lookout point, I saw a koala on a tree directly above me. We stopped to observe it after visiting Teddy’s Lookout.

View of the Great Ocean Road from Teddy’s Lookout.

View of the surf breaking into the mouth of the Saint George River.

Spot the koala on the gum tree. Along George Street in Lorne.

Zoomed in photograph of the cutie.

Memorial Arch at Eastern View

The Memorial Arch at Eastern View with a statue of ex-servicemen constructing the Great Ocean Road.

The Memorial Arch at Eastern View commemorates the building of the Great Ocean Road as a memorial to Victorians who served in the First World War, 1914 to 1918.

About 3,000 ex-servicemen worked with picks and shovels and natural materials of the area to construct the Great Ocean Road. It fulfils the dream to link up the seaside settlements, open up the coast for development and provide us with “one of the most beautiful ocean drives in the world”.

Most day tour buses from Melbourne will arrive at this site at about 10 AM. It was good that we managed to arrive at Memorial Arch at about 9.50 AM. The tiny car park was almost full of cars but we managed to get a parking space. 

We only stayed for 10 minutes to take some photos and learnt about how we had driven on a 200 km long war memorial over the past 2 days.

By 10 AM, more buses and cars arrived. We were glad to leave the car park before the mayhem of people, cars and buses overrun the tiny car park.

Split Point Lighthouse and Tea at Willows Tea House

Continuing our scenic drive along the B100 or Great Ocean Road, we arrived at Aireys Inlet. We followed signs that led us to the Split Point Lighthouse.

The car park was located a few hundred metres away from the lighthouse, at the intersection of Lighthouse Road and Federal Street. This day was the warmest over the past few days along Great Ocean Road and the red and white structure of the lighthouse was beautiful against the clear blue sky.

Split Point lighthouse and the Willow Tea House.

This lighthouse was built in 1891 and towers 34 metres above the coastline.

For a fee, visitors could join a guided tour and a chance to climb up to the top of the lighthouse.

There is also a viewing platform called the Eagle Rock Lookout where we could get beautiful views of the coastline. I tried but failed to spot any whales in the blue ocean.

Views of the coast from Eagle Rock Lookout.

We stopped for tea and scones at the Willows Tea House. Willows Tea House is located just a few minutes’ walk from the lighthouse. It was a perfect day to sit in the outdoor garden of the English-style cottage. There are nice wooden tables with potted plants and colourful chairs set out on the lawn, giving the place a rustic countryside look.

Pot of Earl Grey tea for 2 and 2 scones for AUD 17. Scones were excellent with soft inside and flavourful. The scones were served with fresh raspberry jam and light fluffy cream. Better than the scones we had at Dandenong, I think.

Bells Beach

Our last stop for the day was at Bells Beach, near Torquay. This beach is one of Australia’s best surf beaches. There are viewing platforms which offer great vantage points to watch the surfers in action.

I had never done any surfing. The sport seems dangerous and required guts, great skills and sense of balance. It was fun watching the many surfers challenging the surf on this warm day. I also enjoyed the splendid views of the beaches.

Where we stayed along the Great Ocean Road

We chose the stay overnight at Port Campbell and Lorne on our 3 days/2 nights road trip.

Port Campbell is a small coastal town along the Great Ocean Road. It is an excellent location to explore the nearby attractions along the Great Ocean Road, namely Bay of Islands, Grotto, The Arch, London Bridge, Loch Ard Gorge, Tom and Eva Lookout, 12 Apostles and Gibson Steps. In Port Campbell, we stayed at the Port Campbell Motor Inn.

Outside the reception at Chatby Lane Lorne.

In Lorne, we stayed at the Chatby Lane Lorne. This luxurious condo hotel offers studio rooms with a spa bath.

For those with more time, Apollo Bay would also be a nice seaside town to stay for the night. It is the gateway to the Great Otway National Park.

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Trip Overview – 6 days in Siem Reap with old school mates

Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples in Siem Reap were high in the list of places that my wife and I wanted to see. Since we had a great time with our old school mates during a trip to Chiang Mai in 2018, I was happy to organise another trip for the same group of friends to Siem Reap.

Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom – one of the more popular temples in Angkor Archaeological Park.


We figured that we would need to a few days to visit the “must-see” and iconic sites within the Angkor Archaeological Park which includes Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan and Banteay Srei. Our temple exploration itinerary would also include “must do" activities like viewing the sun rising behind Angkor Wat and watching the sunsets from Phnom Bakheng and Pre Rup. Anything else in between would be bonuses.

With temples and ruins spread out over a large area, most visitors planned their trips based on a “Small circuit” or “Big circuit” route. We did likewise. The “Small Circuit” or “Small Circle” route would include key sites within Angkor Thom (in local language means Great City) and Angkor Wat (City of Temples), while the twenty-six kilometer “Big Circle” route is an extension on the Small Circle route, focusing on sites spread out further away from Angkor Thom.

Most people would plan to see the temples over 1 to 3 days. To make our trip a leisurely one, we chose to stay in Siem Reap for about a week.

Entry Pass to the Angkor temples

We bought the 3-day temple pass for USD 62 per person that allows us to visit the temples within the Angkor Archaeological Park for up to 3 days (no need to be consecutive days) within 10 days from issue date.  These would allow us to do the Small Circle route, Big Circle route, plus a day to cover some of the more distant temples like Banteay Samre and Banteay Srei.

Local transport in Siem Reap

Typical tuk-tuk in Siem Reap

Travel within Siem Reap city area is easily done via cheap and plentiful tuk-tuks. Each tuk-tuk can take up to 4 adults and each journey cost between USD 2 to 3 depending on the distance. It is good practice to always agree on the price with the driver before making the journey.

Tuk-tuks could also be hired for the whole day for tours to the temples. However, instead of tuk-tuks, we hired an air-conditioned van with English speaking driver for 4 of the days to ferry us around Siem Reap. An air-conditioned van that is large enough to carry our group of 8 persons is much preferred over a couple of tuk-tuks. The mode of transport makes a huge difference in the hot and humid Siem Reap weather in March.

On two of the days when we visited the Angkor temples, we also engaged a licensed English speaking guide so we could better appreciate the history and culture of the places we were visiting.

Data Sim

Cambodia has one of the cheapest 4G mobile data services. It made sense to buy local data SIM card for our mobile phones at the airport instead of using expensive roaming services.

Our itinerary in Siem Reap.

Day 1 (18 March 2019)

We arrived at Siem Reap airport at 11.30 AM.
Koulen Hotel provides free airport transfer service and we were received by Miss Chew from Koulen Hotel for our transfer.

We spend the rest of day at leisure, roaming the streets and shops near our hotel and ending with dinner and drinks at the famous Pub Street.

Pub Street in Siem Rep – popular eating and drinking place. Lined with restaurants and bars selling cheap beer and reasonable food.

Day 2 (19 March 2019)

We did the “Small Circle” tour that focuses on visits to the key sites within Angkor Thom in the morning, followed by Angkor Wat in the afternoon and ending with sun set viewing at Phnom Bakheng.

Notable sites within Angkor Thom include Bayon (my favourite), Phimeanakas, Baphuon, Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King.

Trip report: Small Circle tour of Angkor temples covering Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat and sunset viewing at Phnom Bakheng.

Day 3 (20 March 2019)

This is the day of the Spring Equinox where the sun will rise directly behind Angkor Wat. Hence, this is a good day to wake up early to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat.

We spent the rest of the day touring the more distant temples like Banteay Samre, Banteay Srei and Roluos Group. We also visited the Cambodia Landmine Museum located close to Banteay Srei.

Trip Report: Sunrise at Angkor Wat on day of Spring Equinox.

Trip Report: Banteay Samre, Banteay Srei, Landmine Museum and the Roluos Group.

Day 4 (21 March 2019)

After two days of temple touring, we had a break on this day where we woke up late and had a relaxing time at the hotel. Some of the group did line dancing practice in the spacious living room of our apartment in Koulen Hotel.

We had lunch at Spoons Restaurant. Spoons is no ordinary restaurant. Dining at Spoons is an easy and delicious way to contribute to the personal and educational development of underserved Cambodian young adults.

Besides delicious Cambodia food, we enjoyed the friendly hospitality of the wonderful young staff at Spoons

Spoons restaurant serves as a training facility and multipurpose space for EGBOK(Everything is Going to Be OK) students to gain hands-on experience while providing guests with authentic Cambodian cuisine and hospitality.

Another thing to enjoy while in Siem Reap is the relatively inexpensive massages. We had two hours of full body massage at Samathi Spa, followed by dinner at Pub Street again.

Day 5 (22 March 2019)

Ta Prohm Temple.

Our itinerary for the day includes Ta Prohm (also known as the “Tomb Raider Temple”), Ta Keo, Preah Khan, Sras Srang reservoir, Neak Pean, Ta Som and ending with a visit to Rep Rup at sunset. This is known as the “Big Circle Tour” focusing on sites spread out further away from Angkor Thom.

Additional temples that potentially could be visited along the way include East Mebon and Banteay Kdei ( Citadel of Chambers).

Trip report: Doing the Big Circle Tour of Angkor Temples.

Day 6 (23 March 2019)

A visit to Siem Reap offers an opportunity to visit Tonle Sap, largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and is the second most popular attraction in Siem Reap, after Angkor Wat. 

We saw the fascinating local communities and their stilt houses and floating villages at Kampong Khleang in the morning.

On the way back, we visited the jungle temple of Beng Mealea.

We ended the day with a swim and happy hour cocktails at the hotel’s pool and dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.

Trip report: Stilt village of Kampong Khleang and floating village on Tonle Sap lake.

Trip report: Exploring the jungle temple of Beng Mealea.

Where we stay in Siem Reap

Koulen Hotel is one of the few “apartment-hotel” in Siem Reap that offers apartment-sized rooms with full hotel services.
We stayed in a 4-bedroom apartment that features 4 bedrooms with double beds and attached bathroom. Each couple in our group enjoyed a private bathroom that comes with a shower, slippers, bathrobe and free toiletries.

The apartment has a fully equipped kitchenette with a microwave oven and a fridge. There is also a large dining table in the living room.

Our apartment is fully air-conditioned and includes a terrace and/or a balcony, flat screen TV and tea/coffee making facilities. In-room dining services are also available but we did not make use of this. Instead, we chose to have dinner at the hotel’s restaurant on two of the nights.

With the friendly staff of Koulen Hotel during an afternoon tea session by the pool.

Besides the facilities, Koulen Hotel offers excellent service staff that goes out of the way to please their guests.

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