[champ27]

What does one do when one is badly stressed due to work ? The answer can be varied, ranging from watching tv, gymming, listening to music, reading etc. For me answer is simple; Drive, Drive & Drive!! Especially when you are in the vicinity of one of the most scenic drives in the world!! There can't be second thoughts. Well, this is precisely what i did during my recent visit to Melbourne.

There was one more fact that compounded my agony and led me to plan this trip. To know more you may want to read this :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...na-diesel.html

After 5 days of continuous slogging through the week (clocking almost close to 18hrs/day), I was badly stressed out and desperately needed some unwinding to recharge myself for another grueling week. I had already made up my mind on Friday (20th July) that i will be hitting the road the next day. It took very little to convince 2 more battered souls at work to join me for the trip.
Yes!! we were going on The Great Ocean Road Trip. There's a huge aura around this trip and you can't miss it if you are in Melbourne.

Getting the logistics arranged was pretty simple. I just needed to book a car. Rest all could be managed on the Run.

I kept it pretty simple. Booked a Hyundai Getz (that was the only available car flashed on the website). I booked it with Budget car rentals. They have been my preferred option based on my previous experience with them.

Quickly chalked out the itinerary, which looked like this:

Sat : 21st July - we will leave at 10 am ( Given the fact that we would be working till 2-3 am the previous night) We couldn't plan to leave any earlier.

Halt at Apollo Bay in the night. Cover the remainder of the Great Ocean road the next day and return to Melbourne by evening.

There's a reason why they say Planning and execution are completely different animals. I prooved it yet again.

I got up at 10 am called up the other 2 folks and not to my surprise they were also sleeping. Anyway, we got ready as quickly as possible and by the time we reached the Budget rental center it was already 12. And this is what transpired there:

Me: Hi! I am XYZ, I have come to collect the car that i booked yesterday

L ( lady at the reception): Hi! Let me check the booking against your name.

Me: Sure

L: I am sorry sir but your booking is for tomorrow and day after

Me: What???

L: Yes please have a look at your reservation slip.

I looked at the slip. She was correct. I had incorrectly put the wrong dates while booking the car. A legendary start as usual. This is what an overworked mind does.

Me: You are right. So, what do we do now. Please help us out

L: Let me check.

She kept hammering the keyboard for sometime

L: Sir, there's only 1 car available right now. But that will cost you almost the double of what you have booked for

Me: Which Car?

L: Camry Automatic

I gave a " What say" look to my friends. They were quick in shaking their heads in the negative as if screaming a big NO under their breath. I was double quick in my response to this. Without batting an eyelid, i turned to the lady and said

Me: That's perfect. Tell me the charges, we are taking the car.

My friends were staring at me incredulously. That didn't deter me and i went ahead with the following formalities.

1. Driving License - The requirements are: It should be in English, DOB should be legible and last but not the least it should carry a photograph that should be good enough and could easily be identified

2. Credit Card - They blocked 300 AUD as security deposit

3. Passport - They kept one copy

Rent was 70AUD/day

Additional items:

GPS - Charge was 12 AUD per day

Excess Reduction - That's a must according to me. 26 AUD/day was the charge

With all formalities completed, we were given the whereabouts of the car and we were on our own now. By the time we hit the road, it was already 1 pm.


The Route - Please excuse me for the posting a cropped picture. Not able to make it full size.

Melbourne- Geelong- Torquay- Apollo Bay- Great Otway National Park- Allansford = 300 Km

Allansford - Coalc (A1 Freeway)- Geelong (M1 Motorway)- Melbourne = 250Km



The Machine - Had amazing fun driving this beast



The Journey- This is one of the breathtaking views. The entire route is littered with such beauties. Notice how the tarmac is blending into the Ocean. It did give some nervous moments for the first few times. It felt as if you are driving straight into the ocean.




Continued..

[champ27]

It took us about 1 hr to get out of Melbourne thanks to our intelligent interpretation of the instructions given by the GPS. We kept choosing wrong "lefts" and "rights" and had a good city tour.



Finally we managed to get on to the freeway and man what a feeling that was!!!

It was like breaking free from a world full of problems to a world of unbridled joy.

Pics will tell the tale now.





On the M1 motoway enroute to the great ocean road





One thing that is striking about Oz land is that there's acres of open space. One has an interrupted view of the horizon.







There was a brief spell of rain as well making the surroundings look greener



We were nearing the ocean road and the excitement was growing



And finally we see the Ocean!!





Yes. That's how close the road runs to the Ocean. It was a unique feeling to drive a beast so close to the Ocean for a prolonged stretch. And let me tell you, no amount of commentary or number of pictures can describe this whole experience. So i will shut up for a short while now and let you enjoy the pics.

















One of the many beaches on the way





One of the many stopping areas and view points







Reached Apollo Bay at around 7 pm.



After driving for around 5 hrs we reached Apollo Bay and mind you i just did around 180 km or so. That's how beautiful the drive is. In fact one of cautions that Victoria tourism gives to self drivers is that the route is so scenic that the driver may get distracted and end up driving himself into the Ocean!! On a lighter note they discourage tourists to drive through this paradise and instead ask them to take guided bus tours. But i was not falling for any of those!!

Apollo Bay - It's an extremely small and sleepy little town. By the time we reached there it was already a little dark and our next task was to get ourselves an accommodation at a reasonable rate. We checked out 3-4 places before settling into one of them. Thank god i had not done any planning on this front. Room rate was 100 AUD for the night for a simple room. Australia is very expensive mind you.

We went to a nearby joint and feasted on the Snappers and Baramundi. After dinner,we whiled away some more time ambling down the streets and having friendly banters pulling each others' leg on the fantastic planning.

Finally hit the bed with a plan to hit the road by 7 am. God when will i stop planning

Just to let you all know, we were told that the next stretch through the Otway national park to Twelve Apostles was the best part of the journey. If the best was still left with what we had already seen then i leave it up to your imagination for what was in the offing.

It was a memorable day

To be continued..

[Newpunter]

Awesome. I did this trip back in 2008 and as you have said, the route is very scenic and beautiful. Looking forward to further pics and commentary from the 12 Apostles. I took a helicopter ride to see the 12 Apostles from above and it was an unforgettable experience .

[pganapathy]

That is an amazing road trip so far. In a lot of ways that drive reminds me of South Africa. There are similar roads and views. Lots of open space and the wine route drive is along something similar. The garden route has less of the ocean view and more of a nature view.

[hurricanes]

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[champ27]

Originally Posted by champ27

One thing that is striking about Oz land is that there's acres of open space.
One has an interrupted view of the horizon.

To be continued..

An un interrupted view i meant

Originally Posted by Newpunter

Awesome. I did this trip back in 2008 and as you have said, the route is very scenic and beautiful. Looking forward to further pics and commentary from the 12 Apostles. I took a helicopter ride to see the 12 Apostles from above and it was an unforgettable experience .

Thanks Newpunter. 12 Apostles is coming shortly.

Originally Posted by pganapathy

That is an amazing road trip so far. In a lot of ways that drive reminds me of South Africa. There are similar roads and views. Lots of open space and the wine route drive is along something similar. The garden route has less of the ocean view and more of a nature view.

Thanks pganapathy. South Africa must have been awesome too.

What makes this route unique is that there's a good coverage of both ocean and wildlife views.

We hardly drove for 10 Km at a stretch without stopping. There were so many viewpoints that one wouldn't want to miss any.

[girishglg]

A very scenic road trip indeed. Some of the views are just breathtaking. Have not visited down south yet but seen it on TV.

Even though your road trip didn't go exactly as planned, this thread surely is so keep the pictures coming of your second day of drives beside the ocean.

[champ27]

Road running into the ocean was awesome. The best part was that there were so many such instances during the stretch.

Originally Posted by girishglg

A very scenic road trip indeed. Some of the views are just breathtaking. Have not visited down south yet but seen it on TV.

Even though your road trip didn't go exactly as planned, this thread surely is so keep the pictures coming of your second day of drives beside the ocean.

Thanks girish. You must plan a visit there sometime. It's a driver's delight.

I am compiling the next part of my travelogue. Selecting the pictures to be uploaded is proving to be a challenge

[champ27]

So, it's Day 2 now.

Both men and the machine got some decent rest through the night.



We had a heavy breakfast knowing that we may not be able to have an extensive lunch due to paucity of time. As usual we were late in starting off. It was really cold in the morning which proved to be a bit of a dampener to our plan of having a look around of the place on foot. Nonetheless, we still managed to take a stroll down the beach. While on beach we got to know that there was a thunderstorm warning. We were advised to leave the place as soon as possible as there was a danger of getting stuck there for sometime. No way we could have risked that and hence pushed off the Apollo Bay hurriedly, but not before we captured some of the moments there.

Loved the greenery of the place





Nice clean beach





We left Apollo Bay just in time before it started raining.




Now, the Plan for the day was to drive leisurely through the Great Otway National Park and spend some time at Twelve Apostles, take a helicopter ride and then set out on the return journey.

The only constraint was to reach Melbourne and hand over the Car by 4:30pm because the Car Rental Center closed at 4:30 pm. If we failed to do so, we would have to keep the Car with ourselves for the night and return it the next morning. This option was not feasible for me because there was no time to return the car due to a packed schedule the next day. My day was supposed to begin at 7 am the next morning with a meeting and the whole day was pretty much crammed. Secondly, finding a parking space in a place like Melbourne was very difficult and came at a premium. So the bottom line was that we had to return in time to handover the Car.

Drive through the National park : It was simply amazing. Winding roads, surrounded by thick forest with Sun playing hide and seek added to the charm.











Spotted a Koala on the way !!






Approaching Twelve Apostles - It was preceded by some awesome surroundings

















Twelve Apostles

Vehicle parked at Twelve Apostles



When we reached Twelve apostle we got to know that due to an anticipated thunderstorm and extreme wind conditions, No helicopter rides were scheduled for the day. What the heck!!! Why do I bother to plan anything

Looked at the helicopter with wistful eyes and moved on



Anyway that didn't take any of our enthusiasm away. We went to different view points and had a wonderful time there.





Walk towards Twelve Apostles





I was totally overwhelmed by the sight of those giant rocks standing tall in the ocean. It felt like The Grand Canyon meets the Ocean. The sight was stunning. You have to see it to believe it.








I will cover the rest in the final part of Travelogue.

To be Continued..

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by champ27

During this entire trip,the weather remained extremely fickle. One moment it was bright and sunny, the next it turned overcast followed by sharp lashes of rain.Though the pictures may not suggest the same. At Twelve apostles, we experienced everything, bright sunshine, gusty winds and then short sharp spell of rain.


Lessons Learnt / Points to remember

1. Always be careful with the dates while making a Car booking
2. Check whether GPS is working fine and getting charged through the Car
3. ALWAYS refuel the Car before handing over to the rental Guys. Else you will have to pay unnecessary premium.
4. Please hit the road as early as possible in order to maximize the adventure. You can cover a lot more unlike what we did.

A big thank you for reading my travelogue!!

How absolutely lovely to see your photos!
My wife and I were there in April May this year on our annual holidays and we did the same Great Ocean Road trip in an Audi A4 Wagon.
Drove along all the way up from Melbourne to Warrnambool, stayed the night and then drove back the next day to Moorrabbin in Melbourne where I had a flying lesson planned!
Wonderful scenery, brilliant sights and lovely, empty, winding, beautiful roads with deliciously sweeping panoramic views!
If you permit me to, I will add some of my photos to your thread.

Cheers

Shankar

[champ27]

I see that the pictures are not showing up in the last part of my travelogue. Not sure why? Can someone confirm if this is the case.

Mods: Shall i post them again?

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

How absolutely lovely to see your photos!

If you permit me to, I will add some of my photos to your thread.

Cheers

Shankar

Thanks Shankar.

Regarding the second part, please check with the mods as I am not sure if it's as per forum guidelines. I am ok with you sharing some of your photos here.

[champ27]

During this entire trip,the weather remained extremely fickle. One moment it was bright and sunny, the next it turned overcast followed by sharp lashes of rain.Though the pictures may not suggest the same. At Twelve apostles, we experienced everything, bright sunshine, gusty winds and then short sharp spell of rain.

Some more pics before we head to the return leg.





After spending a couple of hours, we now were on the last leg of The Great Ocean Road. I found it to be the most serene section of the entire route.
Long, winding, empty roads with not a single soul in sight.

It was a mixed feeling when I was doing that stretch. There was a tinge of sadness that all of this was coming to an end but there was also a sense accomplishment.

Enjoy the pictures of the last stretch of The Great Ocean Road





















We took a quick pit stop before exiting the Ocean road.









With the first leg complete, we were now on our return Journey. We took the A1 freeway from Allansford till Geelong with Colac coming mid way. From Geelong we took M1 motorway till Melbourne.

It was already 2 pm by the time we hit the A1. I had only 2 hrs to get to Melbourne. I wanted to keep 30 min as buffer as there was one big problem staring at us.

All along I did not mention about a slight hiccup that had already occurred the previous day. Actually the GPS died down just after we reached Apollo Bay. We realized that the GPS was not getting charged through the charging point in the car. Since we were travelling on the Ocean Road it was not much of a problem. But the real challenge was to negotiate our way in Melbourne city without GPS. Not that GPS helped much while getting out of the city

With so many traffic rules within the city and nothing to guide us, I was getting a bit flustered. The second challenge was to refuel the tank on way, given the fact that we were racing against time. The norm is to hand over the car exactly in the same status as you receive it. I had collected the car in a tank full state, so had to return it in the same state. For any shortfall we would have to pay a premium.















Greeted by some heavy downpour





Thank You Australia for having me there.



Somehow we managed to enter Melbourne at 4 pm sharp and surprisingly made it to the Car rental by 4:25 pm!! But amidst all this we could not refuel the tank for which we had to shell out some 40 AUD extra

We settled the bills which roughly came up to 300AUD. They waved off the GPS charges since it didn't work properly. So, some respite there

When we walked out after handing over the Car , I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked god that we completed the trip with everyone safe and sound. I do this after trip. I had also managed to put a tick against something which I could not do in my previous trip to Australia.

Every trip has some high points, some low points and some vital lessons learnt that one should consider for future trips. So here we go:

Lessons Learnt / Points to remember

1. Always be careful with the dates while making a Car booking
2. Check whether GPS is working fine and getting charged through the Car
3. ALWAYS refuel the Car before handing over to the rental Guys. Else you will have to pay unnecessary premium.
4. Please hit the road as early as possible in order to maximize the adventure. You can cover a lot more unlike what we did.

A big thank you for reading my travelogue. I hope you enjoyed it!!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Swanand Inamdar]

Memories galore!!
Thanks for bringing back 3 years of my life, that I spent in Melbourne.
Have done the GOR thrice till date, and it amused me every single time, I drove on this route. The scenary, the landscapes and the machine (we choose) are simply brilliant.

Did you go down to the ship wreck point near the Twelve Apostles? Its a beautiful sight to see.

Lovely pics, these.

If you are in Melbourne for a while, try doing this again. This time, in a much better car. Say, a Subaru Imprezza . Trust me, driving that beast on the curves of GOR is something, only to be experianced!

[tazmaan]

Wow you just took me back to 2006 and 2007 when I was studying in Melbourne. I have done this road trip 4 times and yes its one of the most beautiful drives.

Would leave unplanned in the evening just like we leave for Lonavla from Mumbai .

Some pics from my 2006 visit and my ride was the Nissan Pintara 1989 which I had bought doing odd jobs while I was a student.

We also took the Helicopter ride once and was just awesome!

And yes the Ship Wreck Point Pic.