Tobons Around the World: The Great Ocean Road

Our morning started out beautifully. We slept well, felt very rested, and we were really excited to head to Melbourne to drive the famous Great Ocean Road. We left our hotel in Hobart early and headed to the airport. The morning really couldn’t have been better. We had no mishaps on our way to the airport, we made great time, returned the car with no problems, and our flight was on time. Then we checked in. To my surprise our luggage HAD to be checked, both bags were over the 10 kilo weight limit. Not awesome! Then Miguel mumbles in Spanish “Lo barato sale caro”, which loosely translated into English means that cheap things can turn out to be expensive in the long run.

Miguel explains himself by letting me know that he purchased all the airplane tickets on these low cost airlines without the baggage allowance option, he said it would save us some money; reason why on our flight from Sydney to Hobart he was so adamant about getting through check in and then on the plane as inconspicuously as possible and drawing the least amount of attention to our bags. He was very happy when that worked, but luck was not our side this time.

“The fee is $80/bag please,” stated the already annoyed airline attendant (it was only 9am). “Wait. What? Did you really say $80/bag?” I waited patiently for her response because I knew I heard wrong. “Yes, $80/bag,” she said again. ”You have got to be joking!!! This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!!!” Behind her fake smile she said “Mam that is the fee, there is nothing I can do, and that is how our airline makes its revenue. Remember you are flying a low cost airline.” I wanted to crawl over the counter, break her glasses and pull her hair. Miguel had to tell me to calm down. We reluctantly handed over our credit card and paid the $160 flipping baggage fee! That one hurt. Travel Tip: Being cheap can sometimes end up costing you more.

We walked slowly to our gate in shock that we just paid $160 dollars to check our “carry-on” bags. We knew we had to stop the budget bleed. What were we going to do to compensate for that unexpected cost?

We arrived in Melbourne with an attitude adjustment, rented our car, got a map, and were ready for our road trip. The drive is made up of numerous fishing towns, on a road that follows the coastline that runs through a beautiful forrest and varied landscapes.

Ready for the drive!

Torquay
This was our first stop on the drive. Still thinking about the budget bleed we find the nearest visitor information center and ask them to lend us a phone. We decide it is time to bite the bullet and purchase the baggage option on the remaining low cost airline flights. In a matter of minutes we did this and it cost way less than $80 a bag! Next, we realized that the quickest way to alleviate the budget shortage on this segment would be to save on lodging, but how could we actually do that? While we pondered on that we visited Bells Beach. It is one of the most famous surfing beaches in the world and home to the Rip Curl Pro, which is held every Easter.

Bells beach, waves are best during the winter

Lookout at Point Addis

Anglesea

Our next stop on the trip was Anglesea. The town is known for multiple things, but we stopped there exclusively to see the Kangaroos that live on a golf course. It sounded pretty crazy when I first heard about it, but it is true!

Lorne

This is one of my favorite towns ever! It is full of cafes, restaurants, amazing houses, beaches and beautiful scenery. What a place!

Crazy house looking out into the ocean

Playa time...but it is a little cloudy

Chopstixs, delicious noodle place

Our favorite stop at Lorne were the Erskine Falls. A beautiful drive of 10KM up the mountain and a gorgeous forrest rewards you at the end with the Erskine falls.

Apollo Bay and the Falcon Motel

This would be the final stop for the day. By the time we got there it was already 8 PM and it was getting too dark to continue driving. We wanted to make sure we got to the 12 Apostles at Sunrise, so that meant we would spend the night in Apollo Bay. At Apollo, not only did we find an extremely affordable place we could stay at, but more importantly a place that would help us get back on track budget wise! This place was great and was relatively new. It had a view to the bay, came with two moderately sized beds, a flat screen TV and the biggest bathroom in the world! We called it the Falcon Motel. We might be exaggerating a bit, but we let our imaginations dictate our reality that day. We had a great night sleep and watched the "Kids Are All Right" on our flat screen TV!

The (Ford) Falcon Motel

12 Apostles

Honestly, we had a great time in the car and watched a movie along with some delicious snacks we grabbed at a store near by. After spending the night in the car we were very excited to get an early start to the day. We wanted to make sure we made it on time for the sunrise at the 12 Apostles. We were back on the windy roads at 5:34 AM. We drove 97 KM in darkness through a thick fog and surrounded by a rain forrest whose canopy covered the sky above. The road was desolate and it reminded us of those scary movies where backpackers disappear in the Australian wilderness. We made it safely to our next stop and by 6:40 AM we were walking towards the 12 Apostles. The weather was not cooperating and it was a little muggy with a lite drizzle. Nothing was going to limit our experience at one of earth's most beautiful wonders.

Melbourne

We drove the Great Ocean Road back to Melbourne that morning. We had a blast driving the road, but we were almost as excited to get to Melbourne and take a shower in our hotel. We only spent one night here, but made the most of it. We met with Peter Alarcon and met some of the future doctors of tomorrow at a swanky bar near the river. The next day we were off to Cairns.