Travel Guides and Stories

Picked up the car on Feb 25.

Here’s the route — about 670 km in total.

Off we go to the first stop: B: Port Phillip Estate (winery).

A roadside petrol station

Spotted a shoe hanging off the back of a car. No idea what that means.

Driving through a little forest toward the winery. Saw road signs warning about kangaroos appearing along the way.

Arrived after a bit over an hour. This is the entrance to the estate.

Headed into the restaurant. We hadn’t planned on a full meal to save time, but after ordering it turned into one anyway—ah, the struggle with English menus!
On the upside, we got to try a proper Aussie sit-down meal. Not bad at all. Snapped a pic of the menu—good to study ahead of time.

Oh, before the “To Start” courses, they served French bread with butter and cheese. Go easy on these or you’ll be too full for the good stuff.
The red wine was recommended by the server.

This was the first dish from the “To Start” section that I ordered. My husband and I chose the same starter. It was served cold with some raw beef inside.

These were from the “First” section that we ordered.

These were from the “Second” section that we ordered.
The fish below was especially, especially good.

Here’s the dining room. My photo doesn’t do it justice—it’s actually quite grand and beautiful.

Total damage: 211 AUD. Ouch—pricey! But for our first proper multi-course meal, fair enough. From the next meal on, we’ll be more budget-conscious. We also bought two bottles: a 2012 Chardonnay for 28 AUD and a newly released 2012 Rosé for 22 AUD. The wine prices were reasonable.
 
These are views of the estate taken outside the restaurant.

One note on timing: a friend in New Zealand once told me that a Western-style full-course meal can easily take three hours. I didn’t believe it then—now I do. We didn’t even order dessert and it still took us two hours. With dessert, it’d be close to three. If you’re on a tight schedule, maybe skip the full sit-down meal.
 
Fed and happy, time to hit the road.
Next stop C: Sorrento, to take the ferry to Queenscliff. Ferries depart on the hour. Cars start queuing to board 15 minutes beforehand, so aim to arrive at least 15 minutes early or you’ll miss it. A car under 5 meters plus two adults was about 59 AUD.
 
On the way to the ferry we passed this spot. The water here was incredibly clear and calm—so tempting to jump in, but we were short on time. If you love swimming and are planning a Great Ocean Road trip, consider spending a night here. Later in Lorne and Apollo Bay, the water wasn’t as clear or as tranquil as this.

At the ferry terminal, waiting for the boat.

Here comes the ferry.

 
A cute little boy we saw on the ferry.

 
After about 45 minutes we arrived in Queenscliff. Staff directed the disembarkation. From there we drove straight to Anglesea Golf Club to see wild kangaroos.