OUTINGS
3 perfect days of car rental madness
DAY 1: Wine and Australian Wildlife
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| A storm breaking over the hills from the vineyard. |
Breanna and I hit the road on our first day with an ambitious but free-form itinerary. Some of Stephanie's very wise friends recommended that we visit a place called Healesville Sanctuary. It just so happened that the route to the sanctuary was studded with vineyards and scenery that was reminiscent of the British countryside. Ok, sure, we've never seen the British countryside, but it was very green and hilly and sort of like the setting for the Keira Knightlety version of Pride and Prejudice. We stopped at a few lovely places, and Breanna enjoyed sampling some wines. I only occasionally sampled her samples, because I was the designated driver, after all.
Free thing #1: We had a nice chat with the tasting specialist at a vineyard called, of all things, St. Hubert's (hey, Mom!), and she waived the $3 tasting charge for Breanna for no apparent reason.
After visiting a few wineries, we soldiered on to the animal sanctuary, where we were overcome with cuteness. We got to see all the typical Australian animals in a spacious, comfortable-seeming, naturalistic environment. (But, hey, who knows what really makes a koala comfortable.) A few surprises:
-Koalas are sort of bigger and grumpier-looking than you would expect. Australians get all miffed if you call them bears. Please google "drop bears" now.
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| So thrilled to be so close to a koala. My sister, Kathleen, would have died of happiness at the wildlife sanctuary. I MISS YOU, KATHLEEN. |
-Platypi are much smaller than you would expect. For some reason I thought they would be the size of beavers, but they're more like sleek, swift little guinea-pig sized things. (Shout out to my high school photo class. We called ourselves "The Platypi." Don't laugh, we had stickers and everything.)
-Kookaburras have such a crazy laugh!
-Pelicans are gigantic and could kill and swallow you. Breanna had a close call, but she was quite brave about it.
Next, we stopped for lunch at a pizza place that was having a special, so don't doubt that we each bought our own large pizza. Imagine, just being able to stop at a pizza place in a random town! And the pizza didn't have any mayo on it or fake cheese! And it didn't cost an absurd percentage of my salary! Seriously, the pizza scene in Malaysia is way messed up and overpriced. Once we ordered pizza that appeared with a tinfoil wrapped chocolate candy at the center and mayo instead of cheese.
Anyway, our adrenaline started pumping after that. We were determined to make it the 2-3 hour drive to Phillip Island in time to see the famous "Penguin Parade." This is when hundreds of Australian "Little Penguins" (they're the world's smallest) pop out of the sea and trek up the sand to socialize and sleep. It happens just after sunset, so as we drove in the fading light it started to feel like a race against time across beautiful scenery with Australian radio blaring. Luckily, we made it just in time--7 minutes to spare, actually--after a sprint across the parking lot. We stayed longer than almost anyone else, fascinated with the little waddling guys who came out of the sea in little groups with their friends. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed, so you'll have to check out the penguins online.
Free thing #2: As we rushed along the boardwalk to see the penguins, I saw a young ranger and asked, "Where's the best place to see them?" He said," Uh, well, actually, why don't you just come with me?" We followed him, chit chatting, and suddenly found ourselves at the entrance to the "Penguins Plus" VIP viewing area, where the world's best penguin ranger said to the ticket taker, "These are my very close friends, Liz and Breanna, and they really deserve an upgrade." BAM! We were in. So there you go, friends, it pays to ask questions. I was all about asking questions on the trip, because I was so overjoyed to be around English speakers. I was also all about chatting with strangers and making jokes in elevators and stuff, just because I could again. Poor Breanna had to put up with this.
After the parade, we had an awesome drive back to Melbourne. We blasted the college radio station and stopped at a gas station for unhealthy snacks and a great chat about places to visit in America and Australian politics/the future of gay rights in Australia with the teenage cashier (more talking to strangers, yay).
DAY 2 and 3: The Great Ocean Road
Up there on my list of coolest things I've ever done. Here's what it's like to drive the Great Ocean Road. Basically, you drive along the most breathtaking coastline you've ever seen for hours and stop at every scenic viewpoint provided, because each one is more beautiful than the last. You can make other stops in lovely seaside towns or to walk up to a lighthouse or to take a short hike to a waterfall or to do a rainforest canopy walk. We did all those things. I recommend going with one of your best friends, because traveling with Breanna made it even more awesome.
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| Breanna and Marvin, the penguin she bought at Phillip Island |
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| Nice combo of green rolling hills and cliffs |
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| Waterfall! Ithaca-esque, but with cooler, silvery trees. |
Through pure dumb luck, we made it to the most famous sight on the Great Ocean Road, a rock formation called the Twelve Apostles, exactly at sunset.
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| The view from our hostel. Can you believe it? |
Free thing #3: A roll of toilet paper. Funnily enough, this was the one thing our hostel was lacking. We didn't realize until the reception was already closed for the night, so we wandered town looking for it. The gas station owner had none to sell, but he took pity on us and gave us a free roll of his own. There is no greater gift.
Free(ish) thing #4: If you know me, you're probably thinking that I would need some unhealthy food to make a cozy seaside hostel night complete. Of course you're correct. I bought a delicious chocolate shortbread like bar called a honeycomb at a restaurant to gobble down in the evening. When I got out my money to pay, the cashier was like, "Is that how much it says we're charging? That's ridiculous." She then proceeded to knock a dollar off the price.
The next morning, we revisited the Twelve Apostles and went down to the beach at Gibson's Steps. We even saw a rainbow, which was tragically hard to get a good picture of. We had a rainy drive back to Melbourne, but it was a-ok. One positive of living in Malaysia is that after you've driven through monsoon rain at night on potholed roads filled with wandering cows, it's hard to find driving conditions that really freak you out anymore.
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There are the Twelve Apostles in the background. It was quite chilly.
Bay of Islands.
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| More Twelve Apostles, this time by morning light. |
When we returned to Melbourne, we attended an evening Australian rules football game with the bride and groom and their families. It was a lot of fun, and way more fast-paced than American football. Stephanie's father was kind enough to type up a helpful rules sheet to keep clueless Americans in the loop.
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| Steph and Michael at the footy the night before their wedding. |
Our last day in Melbourne was dedicated to the wedding that was the reason behind our trip. Our friends from Telluride House at Cornell, Stephanie and Michael, tied the knot at a historic library. I can't imagine a more romantically nerdy setting for a wedding. It was perfect for them.
Ok, I'm going to level with you, readers: I'm usually not in favor of people writing their own vows. They often come out stilted or corny or just plain awkward. My position on the matter had always been that you should stick with the formula, as staid as it is, because at least that keeps it classy. (Obviously, you should take out that whole part about obeying, though. Ew.) I mean, sure, it may be cliched and sentimental, but at least it's not you putting yourself out there to write something equally cliched and sentimental.
Steph and Michael's wedding changed my opinion on writing your own vows. There vows were so gorgeously-written, so tender and heartfelt, and so them that they made cold little me shed a tear. Ok, many tears. Maybe it's because I know them so well and have watched them successfully navigate a long-distance relationship with so much devotion and good humor, but somehow their vows really touched me. (I guess it helps that at this moment in my life I'm a big sucker for stories of successful long-distance relationships.) The reception was at a delicious restaurant called the Studley Park Boathouse (great name). Breanna and I were asked to give a toast, which was a big honor--but a nerve-wracking one. It was wonderful to see the bride and groom so happy and to hear tear-jerking toasts from their families. Celebrating our good friend's happy ending (or beginning, really) was the perfect ending to our happy trip.
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| Wedding library. |
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