Cities all seem the same around the world to me.  As i looked around downtown Sydney it felt the same, big buildings, small shops, and coffee… oh the coffee.  Australians love their coffee.  There is a coffee shop on every corner, and in the middle of every block.  Even every restaurant has a barista with a cappuccino machine in it.  You can get your favorite coffee drink anywhere.  But then you get to the parks, and the harbor… Now it feels different.  More open.  More relaxed.  And you see the iconic Opera House and Harbor Bridge.  The great road trip has begun.  Driving in Sydney is like driving in other big city.  Lots of traffic, unfamiliar streets, oh and you drive on the left side of the road.  But drivers are good, have patience and understanding.  But the real fun begins when you get out of the city.

Driving the Great Ocean Road is a wonderful experience.  It winds in and out of the coast line and rolling hills.  Visiting small coastal towns with bustling harbors, ports, and bays.  The people in these towns are kind hearted and friendly much like many small towns around the globe.  In places the coast line is stunning with huge rock views, blow holes, and sandy beaches.  At one point there were even beaches littered with kangaroos!  Because of some of the harsher conditions that exist on the coastline there are also many light houses, some offering tours others just small beacons.  Each of the small towns offer small shops, boutique hotels, and charming restaurants.  I truly felt as though i was getting a good feel for an off the beaten path part of small town Australia.  If you go look for the small beaches, points, blowholes, light houses, and hikes that are found all along the road.  There are also ample opportunities to see some iconic Australian animals along the way.  Kangaroos can be found on pebbly beach, Koalas and Penguins on Phillips Island, emu run wild along the road, and we spotted a wombat on Disaster Point.  There was even a possum spotted.

Ending the trip in Melbourne was a great idea.  The large port city offers many amenities and seemingly never sleeps.  At 1 am on a Saturday night when we arrived the city was bustling and busy.  There are many nice hotels near downtown that are reasonably priced.  Just make sure your left hand driving skills are up to par before driving around in this major city.

The only think i would change about this portion of the trip would be to continue on.  There was much more to see past Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road.