Melbourne Part 3: Grampians + Queen Victoria Market
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Read Part 1: Melbourne City + Brunch Places in the City
Part 2 : Great Ocean Road + 12 Apostles + The Grotto + Lorne
The next morning, we took a long drive out to the Grampians. It was a 3hours journey in the rain and our hopes were crushed because the weather forecast didn't look too good. Grampians is a place where you'd trek to see all the beautiful rocks and formations and we knew it would be difficult to climb in the bad weather.
Part 2 : Great Ocean Road + 12 Apostles + The Grotto + Lorne
The next morning, we took a long drive out to the Grampians. It was a 3hours journey in the rain and our hopes were crushed because the weather forecast didn't look too good. Grampians is a place where you'd trek to see all the beautiful rocks and formations and we knew it would be difficult to climb in the bad weather.
But before that, we had a stopover at the cafe nearby to grab some lunch (wouldn't recommend this cafe) and wait for the rain to subside.
Coffee was not bad though!
After a gruelling 3 hour drive, we finally reached and eventually decided on doing the hike since we spent so much effort getting there.
I would say.... It wasn't worth it. Hiking in 9 deg c weather with the rocks being so slippery (I fell 3 times LOL) and the rain just ruining all your clothes, hair and make up... It would have been so much better if the sun cooperated.
Look at all of us unglam ahjummas LOL. Really though, in times like this you only care about survival and not fashion anymore. haha
Sorry friends don't kill me for posting this up HAHA but let's commemorate it LOL
But I would say the view is quite gorgeous once you make it halfway/to the top!
Wearing: Lace Me Up Knit Top
I'm glad we did it! The sight may look very nice in the photos here, but when you're there you're just kinda used to it already because you've been seeing the same scenery for 2 hours, climbing up. If you get what I mean.
So yes do check the weather forecast and if it shows that it would be raining, a change of plans would be better!
Dinner for the night was cup noodles at the convenience store because everything was closed by the time we descended -.-
The drive back was absolutely terrifying as well because the roads are so so windy, wet and pitch dark. I could barely see anything beyond 2m despite turning having the car on high beam. The ride back was another 3 hours, which was pretty torturous after you spent 2.5 hours hiking in the rain. Not to mention, animals like kangaroos would often dash out on the highways so I had to be extra careful and alert to not run over any of them, although I had a very close shave with a kangaroo that decided to hop out of nowhere :/. Thank god it didn't come out 1 second earlier else I would have to do an E break and that would have been so dangerous 😱
If possible, avoid the freeways before nightfall because it can be very very dangerous!
The next morning, we set off really early back to Melbourne city for the last day. First stop was Oscar Cooper, another really awesome good brunch place.
I ordered the eggs Benedict with bacon and their eggs Ben was served on a bed of gash instead of bread, topped with avocado 😍 my friends ordered the pulled pork hash, another interesting dish that differed from others. The service was superb and the waiter was pretty cute too! Hahahaha
We then headed to Southwharf DFO, a huge outlet mall and spent the next 3 hours in there. You guys need to visit southwharf if you're in Melbourne city! The shopping there isn't exactly great but it's an outlet mall so you get really good deals :)
Photo Credits: Zomato
At night, we went to Jang Gun , a pretty authentic Korean restaurant (yes we can't get enough of Korean food lol) for some hearty, warm Army stew.
The army stew at Jang Gun was pretty good and we enjoyed it so much! The restaurant was really packed and we had to make reservations so you guys might want to do the same if you're planning on some Army Stew in the cold. I would say skip the bulgogi beef because it was tasteless, and focus and keep adding on to the army stew LOL.
Photo credits: Hidden City Secrets
Since it was our last night of the trip, we headed to the Howler Bar, as recommended by our Airbnb host. It's a pretty happening bar I must say! Drinks were not exactly cheap but I love their own concoctions and the vibe of the place :)
Before our flight the next morning, we managed to pull ourselves out of bed at 6 am ( yes omg too early ESP after a super long late night ) to go to the Queen Victoria Market - it's a pity we only left this to the last but we wanted to buy some local produce back so it would be impractical to lug it around our road trip.
Photo Credits: Planetden
But at the market you can find almost anything! From clothes to toys, to vegetables, honey, nuts, cheese, meat, seafood and more.
Oh yes, please grab a cuppa from Market Lane Coffee located in the market itself, it was the best coffee I had the entire trip and that says a lot because Melbourne has very very good coffee almost everywhere. Well except the one from we-know-where.
Photo Credits: Planetden
Oh yes, please grab a cuppa from Market Lane Coffee located in the market itself, it was the best coffee I had the entire trip and that says a lot because Melbourne has very very good coffee almost everywhere. Well except the one from we-know-where.
So that was it! We flew back to Singapore and now I'm back here facing reality and questioning why I decided to leave so much work undone before flying off LOL.
It was such a good trip, I would definitively go back to Melbourne for sure in the near future !
Hope you guys enjoyed this little travelogue of mine, and feel free to ask me questions in the comments or snapchat me or whatever. You guys know where to reach me :)
For those that are heading to Melbourne soon, have a safe trip and HAVE FUN (this is the most important hahaha) AND DON'T BREAK PARKING RULES they are super strict there. Please do not be like me and my friends, open your eyes big big big big and make sure you're not parking at a loading/unloading bay because they will send you a fine all the way back in singapore. HAHAH
It was AUD152 by the way, and it was totally because we were oblivious and unfamiliar withe the parking signs and rules. Please ask the locals if you're unfamiliar too guys! The fine is really not worth it ><
Hope you guys enjoyed this little travelogue of mine, and feel free to ask me questions in the comments or snapchat me or whatever. You guys know where to reach me :)
For those that are heading to Melbourne soon, have a safe trip and HAVE FUN (this is the most important hahaha) AND DON'T BREAK PARKING RULES they are super strict there. Please do not be like me and my friends, open your eyes big big big big and make sure you're not parking at a loading/unloading bay because they will send you a fine all the way back in singapore. HAHAH
It was AUD152 by the way, and it was totally because we were oblivious and unfamiliar withe the parking signs and rules. Please ask the locals if you're unfamiliar too guys! The fine is really not worth it ><
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