This is my second trip to Melbourne, Australia. On my first Melbourne trip, I spent most of my time in the city centre. I want to do something different this time so I have done a few one-day trips from Melbourne city centre, i.e. Brighton Bathing Boxes, Great Ocean Road and Melbourne Zoo.

 

Brighton Bathing Boxes

Melbourne’s Rainbow Row, or Brighton Bathing Boxes, is very attractive and beautiful! There are 90 (some said 82) boxes on the beach, each of them is painted in different colour and pattern. Many of my friends have posted the boxes’ photos on Facebook and finally, I can see them with my own eyes.

The box with the Australian flag is very popular for tourists!

Unfortunately, the weather was very cloudy and then it rained, so I walked to the Brighton town which takes 10-15 minutes. It is a small town with some cafes and restaurants. I had my long lunch at Mylk, a warm and cosy café.

When the rain stopped, I saw the sunshine and blue sky! I decided to walk back to Brighton Beach again.

Brighton Beach looks really beautiful in the evening. You will see golden sands, shining boxes, and the gorgeous sunset! This is a romantic place to go with your love (though I came here alone). There were quite many tourists but it wasn’t too bad in the winter – it could be a lot worse in the summer. I would love to come back one day!

 

Great Ocean Road

This is perhaps the most iconic sight in Melbourne. Some said you have not visited Melbourne if you haven’t been to Great Ocean Road! The road was built by more than 3000 returned soldiers (so they get a job since it was hard to find a job returning from the army – a great plan of government) over 20 years.

 

One-day Great Ocean Road tour (through Groupon)

I joined the tour by purchasing Groupon deal for AUD$49 from the Amazing Vacations company. But when I arrived at the pick-up address, I realised the tour is run by a Chinese tour company, called Extra Green. They also organise many different day trips from Melbourne. I am not sure why they used different company names on Groupon website.

The length of Great Ocean Road is 243km and the tour will take us through half of it by coach. The scenery along the way is beautiful, although I felt a bit of motion sickness due to the winding road… There are two tour guides, one for English and one for Chinese. I can understand both of them. 😂

The most famous sight in Great Ocean Road – Twelve Apostles

Some said you have not visited Great Ocean Road if you haven’t been to Twelve Apostles! This is the most famous sight to see on the Great Ocean Road. I am surprised that it looks as beautiful as per most of the photos on the webs.

There are many tourists as you can see from the photo below. I came here in the winter, and you can expect that it may be 10 times worse in the summer.

The only disappointment is the crowd. Our tour company had arranged 3 buses (about 50 people per bus) going to the same destination. So, there are about 150 people stop at the same place/ time! But given the cheap tour price, I couldn’t complain much. Overall it is a value deal. If you prefer a quiet tour, perhaps you should book a semi-private tour which cost about AUD$100 per person for the day trips from Melbourne. Better still, stay overnight at one of the places in the Great Ocean Road!

 

Melbourne Zoo

I have some relatives in Melbourne that I have not seen for many years, and I was happy to see them again. We went to Melbourne Zoo which is 4km north of the centre of Melbourne. Since I stayed at Mercure North Melbourne, it was not too far away from the zoo.

Then, we had dinner together at DOC Pizza & Mozzarella Bar Carlton. Ben’s colleague said this is the best Pizza Restaurant in Melbourne. XD

My cousins and I don’t look alike!

Melbourne was unusually cold during our visit, but it was not too bad as compared to our previous Canberra trip (in minus degree). I stayed for 4 days in Melbourne on this visit, next time I would love to do more day trips from Melbourne, such as Phillip Island and Yarra Valley.