Australia's West Coast & Outback — Melbourne to Adelaide
- Our car Apollo: $4,200, back then around 2,600 euros — with rooftop tent
- A kangaroo jumped up at us approximately 50 km/h into the car and survived the impact
- Penguin parade on Phillip Island: 1,904 penguins ran from the sea to their nests
- You can see koalas in Eucalyptus forest near Apollo Bay — 2 meters above our heads
- First job as a cleaner: after 4 days my fingernails were split four times.
Contents of this post10 chapters
Off to Australia in 2018 ☀️☀️
Australia. Australia has always been a dream for me. As a child, I used to watch animal documentaries on Animal Planet 📺.
"When I grow up, I'll become a wildlife researcher 😌!"
Well, that didn't quite work out 😄. But still, I managed to make it to the other end of the world & experience incredible adventures on my journeys.
Many people know that it's not so easy to just take a trip to Australia. If you're lucky, you might get maybe 3 weeks of vacation in a row 😒. That sucks, right? But that's somehow life & you just have to accept it. NO. I don't have to! A dream should eventually come true & why not make the most of it 🤔? After considering 1000 different options, and watching 1000 YouTube videos of various travelers, I finally decided to do a Work & Travel. Well, in any case, this decision was one of the best and has completely turned my life upside down to this day. 🙃
As I told you in my Thailand blog post, initially, I traveled around with my travel buddy (and now good friend) Jessi 🥰. Our first stop was Melbourne. One thing I really don't miss is jet lag ☠️! This time we had real trouble falling asleep in the evening, but you should always make the best of it. So, we immediately bought a bottle of champagne & a few beers. Of course, we didn't drink it in the hostel room. Or did we? 😂
Melbourne☀️
Melbourne is one of the largest cities in Australia and is the capital of the state of Victoria. We stayed in the suburb of St. Kilda and visited the St. Kilda Botanical Garden & some sights, like Luna Park. But the absolute coolest thing was that at the end of St. Kilda Pier, we could see penguins among the rocks 🐧! How cute is that??? 🤩
Apollo – Our Ride 🚙🔥.
After just one week, we decided to buy a car 🙌. We got our Apollo for an incredibly good price, only paying 4200 dollars (around 2600 euros at the time). We were a bit lucky because the sellers were backpackers who had to fly to Thailand the next day. 🍀 An absolutely great car... It had everything a backpacker could wish for. There was a rooftop tent on top, we had plenty of space for all our stuff, lots of camping gear, and if we were ever too lazy to set up the tent, there was even the option to sleep in the car. I still mourn our beautiful Apollo... 😢 More on that later... 😪
Road trip😎☀️
We didn't waste any time & got our car ready to go. The registration of the car went quickly & smoothly. Then we drove along the Great Ocean Road. One of my favorite routes in Australia and highly recommended!! ❤️ At the 12 Apostles, we almost got blown away, it was so windy 😄 & in the parking lot, we saw a fox 🦊 That was cool!
Apollo Bay😎☀️
This place is an absolute must-see! 😍 I've never seen such baby-blue water before!!! 🤩💦 In Apollo Bay, we found friends and even started our first job as cleaners. Our task was to do the laundry, iron, and clean the rooms. What a tough job! Believe me! Anyone who has never worked as a proper cleaner can hardly imagine it. After just 4 days, my fingernails were split about 4 times. Everything hurt. My back... My hands... Terrible! 😩 As if that wasn't enough, we also had a really peculiar boss. He liked to hold someone's hand when he wanted to show something. Okay?? And he even wanted to happily hop around the place. We'll never forget the shrill voice when he called out "It’s Tea – Time" at break time. Well, it was time to go. 😁 Definitely. But one thing we learned: Cleaners really deserve respect (and tips 😅)!
Except for a fallen tree on the road, we never really had any problems on our journey. Oops, I almost forgot 😳. When we started driving and had only been on the road for about an hour, a kangaroo suddenly jumped out of the bushes – right onto the car! 😢 "That's a great start," I thought at that time. My heart was pounding like crazy 😧. Luckily, I wasn't driving too fast (about 50 km/h) & the cute kangaroo survived the impact. At first, it lay briefly on the ground, but when we got out, it hopped off into the wild. 🦘 You can probably imagine now how scared I was that another one might jump out of the bushes. And yes... my fears were confirmed. It wasn't the only kangaroo that crossed our paths.
Good to know: Kangaroos are really everywhere & they like to hop across the roads! Some backpackers told me that they didn't see a single one on their travels. How is that possible? I still wonder... 😄 Probably they were too often trapped in the spell of the big cities. Oh, when you're in Apollo Bay – don't forget to visit the Eucalyptus Forest!! There you can see looooots of koalas 🐨. At lunchtime, one was hanging about 2 meters above us in a tree. 🌳 Unbelievable...
Towards Adelaide 🚙🚙
On the way to Adelaide, we saw beautiful, deserted beaches 🏖. The sand looked like powdered sugar at times, and sometimes it was pitch black. The sea was once again baby-blue. That's exactly how I always imagined the beaches in Australia! And believe me – I've been disappointed before! Almost everything looks more enchanting on Google images than in reality. But one thing I can say: In Australia & New Zealand, it's even more beautiful in reality! 🥰 🥰
Also great was our trip to Admirals Arch. There we could see sea lions in the wild. Absolutely awesome!! 😍🦭
We continued on to Warrnambool, where we rode along the beach for the first time. We were able to park our car here at a hostel in the garden & only had to pay half. 🤑 On another day, we visited the Grampians National Park (highly recommended!) & went for a beautiful hike. 🥾❤️
If you love waterfalls, don't forget to visit the McKenzie Falls & Fish Falls! 😉
The Last Stop 🐧 🐧
Another highlight was the Hot Springs in Mornington Peninsula ♨! The hot springs are located right in the middle of nature 🌿& one pool was even up on the mountain, with an insanely great view! As we continued on to Phillip Island, we saw a penguin parade for the first time 🐧. In total, 1904 little penguins waddled from the sea to their nests. It was super cute 😍. The penguins walk in a line and occasionally one falls over. You can imagine it a bit like the old Domino blocks. 😄
My Conclusion:
On our road trip, we saw a lot of nature. Looking back, it was a really good decision to buy the car right at the beginning. We were much more mobile with it & felt a bit more independent as a result. Plus, we could blast music and cruise through the streets while admiring the scenery 🌿. The best part was that we could stay wherever we wanted 🏕. During our road trip, we met some great people & got our first job experiences (W&T Jobs: https://janetsworld3.de/2019/06/14/worktravel-jobs/ ). Plus, a great friendship developed with Jessi, for which I am very grateful. When you spend days on end with one person, 24/7, you get to know that person in a hundred different ways & one thing I can tell you, we sometimes really got on each other's nerves -
Next Blogpost : Australia Part 2
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it worth buying your own car in Australia?
Looking back, it was one of the best decisions. We bought our Apollo after just one week for $4,200, which was around €2,600 at the time, from backpackers who had to fly on the next day. It had a rooftop tent, space for our stuff and camping gear—and we could stay wherever we wanted.
How dangerous are kangaroos on Australian roads?
Kangaroos are really everywhere and love to hop across roads. After just an hour's drive, one jumped right onto our car. Luckily, I was only going about 50 km/h, and the kangaroo hopped off again. It wasn't the only one that crossed our path.
Where can I see penguins in Australia?
At the end of St. Kilda Pier in Melbourne, penguins sit among the rocks. The bigger spectacle is the penguin parade on Phillip Island: a total of 1,904 little penguins walked from the sea to their nests.
Which stops are worthwhile between Melbourne and Adelaide?
The Great Ocean Road with the 12 Apostles, Apollo Bay with the eucalyptus forest full of koalas, Admirals Arch with sea lions in the wild, Warrnambool, the Grampians National Park with the Mc Kenzie Falls and Fish Falls, and the hot springs on the Mornington Peninsula.
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