Travel Guides and Stories

On February 13th, I picked up the car. Here’s my route—total distance: 670KM.

Let’s go! First destination: B: Port Phillip Estate (a winery).

Roadside gas station

Check out the shoe hanging on the back of this car. No idea what it means.

Entering the woods toward the winery, there were occasional signs warning of kangaroos.

Arrived at the destination after driving for a little over an hour. Below is the entrance to the winery.

Time to eat in the restaurant. At first, I didn’t plan to have a full meal to save time, but as we ordered, it just sort of happened! Sigh, my English isn’t great. But actually, it turned out to be an authentic Australian meal. Not bad! I even snapped a pic of the menu for reference—study up in advance!

Oh, by the way, before the “To Start” dishes, they served French bread, butter, and cheese. Remember not to eat too much of these, or you’ll be too full to enjoy the good stuff later. The wine was recommended by the waiter.

This is the first “To Start” dish I ordered (same as my husband). Served cold, with a bit of raw beef inside.

Here are the “First” course dishes we got from the menu.

Here are the “Second” dishes we ordered. This fish dish was especially delicious!

Here’s the inside of the restaurant. My photo doesn’t do it justice—it’s actually really spacious and beautiful.

The total bill: 211 AUD—ouch! So expensive. Well, it’s my first time having a proper meal like this; it’s okay to splurge a bit. Next meals, I’ll be more budget-conscious. We also bought two bottles of wine: one was a 2012 Chardonnay for 28 AUD; the other was a newly released 2012 Rosé for 22 AUD. Not bad for wine prices. Below are some photos of the winery scenery outside the restaurant.

Speaking of dining time, I have to emphasize: a friend in New Zealand once told me a “Western meal” takes at least three hours. I didn’t believe it before, but now I do! And I didn’t even order dessert—still took me two hours. With dessert, it would have been three! If you’re on a tight schedule, it’s best to avoid full-course meals. After eating and drinking, time to set off again. Next stop: C: Sorrento, to catch the ferry to Queenscliff. The ferry departs on the hour. Cars start lining up to board 15 minutes prior, so make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early or you’ll miss it. For a car under 5 meters plus two adults, it’s about 59 AUD. On the way to the ferry, we passed this spot—the water here was especially clear and calm, really made me want to swim! If you like swimming and are planning a Great Ocean Road trip, consider staying here for a day—the water at Lorne and Apollo Bay later on wasn’t as clear or peaceful as here.

Arrived at the ferry—waiting for it to come.

The ferry is here!

Saw an adorable little boy on the boat.

After boarding, it was about a 45-minute ride to Queenscliff. There were staff directing cars off the ferry, and after disembarking, we headed straight to Anglesea Golf Club to see wild kangaroos.