Sunday, August 21, 2016

Melbourne Travelogue 06: Fun at Beach + The Bottle of Milk + Erskine Falls

A recent craze took over Singapore by storm and I was also playing the game too. Yes, Pokemon Go - the latest craze that kept me/us rather busy catching the pokemons which lead to me neglecting the blog. While I don't go to various locations specifically to hunt for it, I do enjoy the satisfaction when catching a rare pokemon or one with high CP. Before I neglect this space further, let me reminisce the GO journey.
On the way to Lorne, we drove past a beach and we made an impromptu decision to park the car and head down for a walk. It was the beginning of spring, so I suppose it was still too cold to head out so the beach was relatively empty, apart from some people walking their dogs. 
 
Ha, Leecher caught my oh-my-god-it's-so-cold look. Even though I had walked barefooted in the water previously, but the coldness of the water still caught me by surprise.  
Wearing Leecher's slippers! Yeah, I got him to join me since he missed out on the joy.
Needless to say, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Yeah!
With the best travel buddy, though he is quite annoying at times. We spent a quiet late morning at the beach before our tummies grumbled to remind us that it was time for lunch.
 
We headed to The Bottle of Milk for lunch. The place was crowded when we arrived, but we managed to get a table for 2. We would love to sit outdoors and enjoy the weather, which explained why outdoor tables were filled up at a faster rate than indoor tables.
 
Since we weren't that hungry (I blame the snacks in the car), we ordered a burger and smoothie to share.  
 
Leecher ordered the Fire Engine and the burger came with prime beef, tasty cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, house mayo and homemade chilli paste. This burger was da bomb! I loved it so much that I devoured almost 3/4 of it. The burgers are served in freshly baked organic, sourdough bun which makes it slightly different from the rest of the burgers we tasted thus far. 
The Bottle of Milk
52 Mount Joy Parade, Lorne
Tel: +61 3 5289 2005
Opening Hours: 8AM till 8PM daily
 
After filling our tummies, we decided to work off the calories. We drove over to Erskine Falls and hiked to the waterfall.
 
The upper lookout is an easy 5-min walk from the car park. The lower lookout was a pretty easy hike initially, given that we just followed the steps down to the lookout. The real "adventure" came at the bottom of the waterfall, as you inched to get closer. We had to cross through a small river by stepping on rocks. The water was relatively shallow, but the rocks were slippery. I almost lost my balance when I stepped on a loose rock. Thankfully, I reacted in time but my shoes were wet :( 
  
One of the most popular waterfalls in the Otways, the Erskine Falls plunges 30m into the lush tree-fern gully of the Erskine River. As we ventured through, we tried our best to stay on the walking path instead of stepping on the ferns. This is one of the ways that we can help to preserve nature.
 
Our view after a mini hike - totally worth it to feel the cool mist on our faces with a grand view of the waterfall.
Erskine Falls
Erskine Falls Access Road, Lorne 
VIC 3232, Australia

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Melbourne Travelogue 05: Split Point Light House (Aireys Inlet) + Devil's Elbow

 
I spent the week in London for the Sales Conference, which probably explains my absence in this space. Now that I'm home, it's now back to the daily grind of work and I just had to sneak some time to update the blog to keep the momentum going. While editing pictures for this blog, I got bored and spent sometime updating my drama list on 2015 instead, ha! I also put together a list for 2016 since I have finished a couple of dramas this year. Now, let us continue on Day 2 of our GO drive
 
Since we were on a self-drive trip, I decided to try out AirBnB for the first time. We booked the private room, so we get to stay with the hosts. I will read up on the reviews and scanned through the pictures of the accommodation before confirming the booking. For those who are new to AirBnB, sign up using my link (www.airbnb.com.sg/c/caihongl) to get some travel credits! This will help to offset part of your booking, so why not?  
We checked into our first accommodation at Lorne and had a good night rest. The next morning, our host left out some breakfast for us before she left for work. We ate our breakfast, packed our bags and continued our journey. 
  
We had to make a detour to visit the places which we skipped yesterday. So, we drove past memorial archway again and head towards Aireys Inlet.
Parking is basically free here, but be careful of where you parked. We followed the cars till the end of the line and parked the car. Leecher even had problem parking the car as we were sandwiched between 2 cars. Imagine our surprise when we saw a parking coupon stuck to the wind shield for parking at an unauthorised area. Hefty fine which burnt a hole in our pocket, but haiz ...
 
Anyway, we continued the journey and walked over to Split Point Lighthouse.
For those who are not rushing for time, do drop by Willow Tea House (next to the lighthouse) for their famous scones. If the weather is good, head outdoors to enjoy a bit of sunshine!
Willow Tea House
7 Federal Street, Aireys Inlet, Victoria 3231
Ta-dah! Can you feel our excitement, ha! The lighthouse make a really good backdrop, with the ivory white tower and red roof. It certainly stood out against the blue sky.
We were greeted by a display of vintage cars just as we stepped foot into the compound. These vintage cars were absolutely gorgeous! It felt like an entourage of vintage cars on parade, but it was really just one big extended family dropping by the lighthouse for a visit. Definitely an eye-turner on the road.  
 
The lighthouse is opened daily from 11AM till 2PM, each tour is around 45 min. We explored the surrounding areas first ... just because this scene captured my heart.
 
From this look out, you can see both eagle and table rocks although eagle rock is slightly out of sight while table rock (shown in picture) is more prominent for picture taking. 
View from another lookout point. There is no bad angle for photography in Melbourne. Everywhere just looks so picturesque, the perfect backdrop. 
 
We walked around the area and decided to forgo the lighthouse tour - since we'll be visiting another lighthouse in the area - and headed off towards our next destination. 
I love SUV after this trip! I get to sit at the spacious boot while changing out from my shoes. Nonetheless, car is expensive in Singapore so we can only drive this while on holiday :) 
Split Point Lighthouse
Federal Street, Aireys Inlet, Victoria 3231
Tel: 1800 174 045  
Opening Hours: 11AM till 2PM (daily) 
We continued to Devil's Elbow on the GO drive, which brings us to this view even though Devil's Elbow is known as the tightest turn on the GO road. Leecher learning about the history on-site by reading the commemorative plaque. There are 13 such plaques along the stretch of GO road.
 The large stopping area for cars to turn in
Selfie, lol!
We took a couple of pictures before we decided that we should head down to the beach. Stay tuned for the next post!
Devil's Elbow
Great Ocean Road, Eastern View, Victoria 3231

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Melbourne Travelogue 04: Point Addis + Angelsea Fish & Chips + Memorial Archway

We spent a lovely afternoon at Cunningham Pier and Bells Beach. Thereafter, our journey on the Great Ocean road continued towards Point Addis, which promises breathtaking view of Bells Beach and the surrounding reefs. It was a short 15 min drive from Bells Beach to Point Addis.
From the main road, you will drive through a long stretch of road to reach the look-out point. The best thing about driving in Australia - not much traffic! No traffic lights, no jam - just driving and enjoying the splendid scenery.
We walked through the elevated platform and wow, the stunning blue ocean came into sight. I don't think I will ever be tired of the view. Even though we were looking at the same ocean from Bells Beach, somehow, the water looks more blue here.
For the nature enthusiasts, you can explore the marine environment within the park. The sub-tidal waters support a wide range of fish and algae species, as well as seals, dolphins, brilliantly coloured sponge gardens and extensive rhodolith beds. The limestone reefs are abundant with marine life.
We decided to take continuous shots and test out telepathy. Glad our chemistry worked out for the last pic :)
Looking over across to Bells Beach. It certainly looked different from another angle and we tried to figure out where we stood previously.
The best thing about taking pictures against the ocean backdrop .... you don't get hoards of tourists inside your picture, ha! All of us patiently wait for our turns to take pictures, but this is not the case at the Twelve Apostles where we encounter a lot of those infamous tourists from you-know-which-land.
Clumsy me dropped my lens cover when I was packing the camera. It slipped through the crack of the wooden platform. I was quite sad, but I quickly surveyed the surroundings and climbed over the wooden platform to retrieve it from underneath. Leecher handed me the tripod as a stick as my short hands couldn't reach the cap. I managed to retrieve the cap and posted for a victory pic before climbing back. Thankfully there wasn't many people in the area if not I will be so embarrassed. 
Point Addis
Access from Point Addis Road, off the Great Ocean Road,
between Torquay and Anglesea
 
Hunger pangs strike us and we realised that we didn't had a meal since our brunch at Lavish Cafe. So, we made a stop at Angelsea to refuel our tummies. Since Leecher had a craving, we headed to Angelsea Fish and Chips for a seafood feast. Leecher surveying the menu outside the shop, deep in thought on what to eat..... Erm, I thought he wanted fish and chips?

Leecher placed an order for the seafood feast/platter and waited patiently for the food, as this little outlet is a takeout restaurant. Once the orders are placed, the chef will start whipping out your orders to ensure the freshness. 
Deep-frying in action! 
With our box in hand, we headed over to the park and enjoyed our feast. The serving was so huge that we had difficulty finishing the chips. We packed the chips along in the car to munch on later #dontwastefood. The feast, consisting of fish fillet, scallops, calamari and crab-meat (crab-stick actually) was really fresh! Well, I think they are fresh since we are near the ocean, lol. 
Angelsea Fish and Chips
83 Great Ocean Road, Anglesea Victoria 3230, Australia
Tel: 61 3 5263 1122
I had planned a lot more stops but we had to retire for the night as I wanted Leecher to rest early since he must be tired driving the whole day. Thus, we moved some of the stops to the next day and headed straight to Memorial Archway. This was strategic planning as we have the whole place to ourselves instead of squeezing with bus loads of tourists.
This archway was built as a tribute to the soldiers from the First World War who were engaged in the construction of the GO Road. Alongside the arch, there is also a sculpture commemorating the returned servicemen, which was commissioned and placed during the 75th anniversary of the road celebrations. Most importantly, the memorial arch provides a great photographic opportunity for visitors entering Lorne.  

 See, no tourists or cars behind us! 
Leecher, pretending to be part of the team who built this magnificent GO road.
We get the whole place to ourselves for tons of picture opportunities, but lazy me is only going to edit a couple to be uploaded. The rest shall be archived in my HDD. We retired to the AirBnB apartment for the night and I'll be back with more of our adventures soon. 
Memorial Archway
Great Ocean Road, Eastern View, Victoria 3231
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