[Old_Salt]

The voyage was to begin from Sydney and head down to Melbourne. I flew down from Delhi and went straight onboard, like an arrow.



Moonrise, somewhere in Tasman Sea


Ofcourse size matters, nobody wants a small cup of coffee, especially when you make ship happen


Threading the needle, Sunset in Bass strait


Yarra River, Inbound



Called up my friend, who was my schoolmate back in Delhi and has been settled in Melbourne for almost 2 decades, that I have a day to kill in Melbourne, before I fly out to the next one.

He said, give me some time to clear my calender.

Quite quickly he texted..lets go on a drive , how about Great Ocean Drive?
I had my jaw drop!

Next morning he was at the hotel bang at 10am. The ride was his Nissan Z 400 in Ikazuchi Yellow.
The plan was to head towards Geelong, then towards Colac, past Lake Colac and then to Princetown / 12 Apostles.



Stopped at Geelong for coffee and a quick bite.









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This was my first encounter with a sports car. As soon as I settled into the seat, the first thing that caught my eye was the triple pod cluster. It provides information on battery voltage, turbine speed and turbo boost.
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The steering wheel is GT-R inspired, and the cockpit ambience including the gauges and display are angled towards the driver. During actual use, the angled touchscreen was a bit annoying as typing the correct alphabet was a struggle.

The handling around the corners was absolutely phenomenal, and so was the road noise from the tyres. My friend mentioned the factory fitted ones do have this complaint and he is considering an upgrade.



The design of the taillights gives them quite a modern look, and those dual exhausts.



Reached the 12 apostles around afternoon. Place had some tourists and venomous snakes too, though we didnt encounter any.





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After the 12 Apostles, next stop was at Lock Ard Gorge. Lock Ard was a sail boat which ran aground in 1878, with just two survivors. That’s a 150 year history. The stairs giving access to the beach below were closed saying the cliffs on which they were built, were unstable.



From Lock Ard, we went to Port Campbell, London Bridge ( which has partly fallen but still attracts tourists), Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands, before deciding to turn back and take the Great Ocean Road back home.



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Next stop was Apollo Bay and the Mariners Lookout.




Finally made it back home late night after driving almost 600kms

Couldn’t thank my friend enough for doing this once in a lifetime road trip but little did I know there was a bigger surprise in store.

Last month he received his Ineos Grenadier, one of the first lucky customers in Australia.

Next morning, I managed to take some quick pics of this monster before my friend dropped me back at my hotel. Soon I was on a flight to Brisbane.

[ajmat]

Nice, you got your hands on two new rare cars in what is a wonderful driving road (if regulated!).

Am sure your friend will use the Grenadier as meant for its purpose in the Outback!

[minzanurag]

Nice. Looks more like a military vehicle.

The first time I saw Ineos Grenadier was, as a support vehicle in a travel documentary involving Land Rover #1 driven by Jim Ratcliffe and his team across Mongolia. I assumed it to be a Land Rover based on similar design but further search revealed its true identity.

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[Briarean]

Originally Posted by Old_Salt

The voyage was to begin from Sydney and head down to Melbourne. I flew down from Delhi and went straight onboard, like an arrow.
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Nice travelogue!

Nissan Z 400 and Grenadier… Splendid! Those are some mean machines.

Grenadier: This dashboard is in the dreams of every car enthusiast. With lots of buttons and dials, it seems to be inspired by the aircraft cockpit.

Now where is the Nuke button!!!


For more perfection, that automatic gear shifter should be retro-style.

[Kkumar]

Vow lucky guy. Getting the taste of a sports car, an off-roader and the great ocean road; that to all in a day. Congratulations.