Hello everyone!

We are back from our amazing trip to Australia and New Zealand, and we loved every minute of it, despite some road closures in New Zealand which necessitated some last-minute itinerary changes! Diamantina saved the day for us!

Firstly, I want to thank the following people whose trip reports were extremely helpful in planning our 6-week adventure: Tripplanner001, Yestravel, melnq8, Ms_go, magsrose, and KTtravel. They also kindly responded to my many questions about our itinerary, offered restaurant recommendations, and clothing/packing advice, along with helpful advice from Kay2, mlgb, Nelsonian, Diamantina, Bokhara2, marg, KayF, Northie, Crellston, millie2112, curiousgeo, katebrownell86, traveler318, kja, and Tarakona. I apologize if I have left anyone out.

We spent 3 weeks in Australia and 3 weeks on the South Island of New Zealand. This is our first ever 6-week trip, which necessitated tons of planning, as you can all appreciate. I made 3 separate airline reservations (for a total of 7 flights), 6 weeks’ worth of accommodations, 3 car rental reservations, one ferry reservation, and 4 sightseeing reservations, in addition to booking a few more tours when we were there. Our accommodations consisted of a mixture of hotels, historic homes, and motels. Motels are very, very common in Australia and New Zealand. They all come equipped with kitchenettes, and many of them offer laundry services, either for free or for a small fee. We were happy with all of our accommodations except for one, which I will talk about later.

The purpose of our visit to Australia was two-fold: to visit a country I have never been to, and for my husband to re-visit his “home” for 3 years when he was a young teen-ager. Ed spent 3 years living with his uncle, working for his uncle in his restaurant, and going to school in Box Hill, hence our stay in Box Hill. He has cousins (3 siblings) who live near Box Hill: one of whom he met in the 1960’s, and the other two he had never met. They spent a lot of time with us during our stay in Box Hill, and they were very kind and helpful.

Because of the very long flights to get here from Boston, we decided this would be a combination of Australia and New Zealand trip. We’ve always heard of New Zealand’s beauty, and we knew we had to visit. At first I was thinking of spending only 2 weeks in New Zealand, but the helpful people on this forum easily convinced me 3 weeks would be better and that spending all 3 weeks on the stunningly beautiful South Island would be the most rewarding, and it certainly was!

WEATHER AND TIME OF YEAR: We had spectacular weather!!!! I can’t believe how lucky we have been with weather and the time of year we choose to travel with all of our trips! We had primarily sunshine and comfortable temps. It rained one day in Australia, and that was the day we drove from Port Campbell to Bendigo. We had only 3 or 4 rainy days in New Zealand, which isn’t too bad considering we were there for 3 weeks. Temperatures were typically in the 60’sF and 70’sF. But do heed everyone’s advice when they tell you the sun is hotter Down Under. Mid 60’s felt like mid 70’s to us, and mid 70’s felt like mid 80’s. So bring your sunscreen and sunhats!

I brought lots of layers but I only really needed all my layers only once, and that was at the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island in Australia. It was very windy and very cold.

Spring is a beautiful time of year to travel in these countries. Everything was very green and flowers were in bloom everywhere. Newborn lambs were everywhere! And most places were not crowded at all. Except for the cities, which are probably always busy. I honestly think their summer months would be too hot for us.

I will write about Australia first, and then I will do a second report on a separate thread for New Zealand since not everyone planning a trip Down Under will be visiting both countries at the same time.

The dates of our trip: October 7 – November 21

This is our AUSTRALIA itinerary: (for a total of 22 nights)

Box Hill (suburb of Melbourne) – 5 nights – Art Series: The Chen

San Remo (no, not Italy&#128522 – 1 night – Quays Motel

Anglesea – 1 night – Great Ocean Road Resort

Port Campbell – 2 nights – Port O Call

Bendigo – 2 nights – Langley Estate

Bright – 2 nights – Bright Colonial Motel

Melbourne CBD – 3 nights – The Savoy Hotel on Little Collins

Katoomba (in the Blue Mountains) – 2 nights – Kurrara Historic Guest House

Sydney – 4 nights – The Grace Hotel



FLIGHT INFORMATION: Because the flight from San Francisco to Melbourne is 15.5 hours, we decided to splurge and buy Premium Economy tickets on United Airlines. It was worth every penny! There is plenty of legroom, the seats are wider, the food is better (not gourmet but better than economy), and you are served your food and drinks on real plates and glassware.

Our flight from BOS to SFO was 6 hours. We had a 6-hour layover in SFO so we got a pass for the United Lounge. And our flight from SFO to Melbourne was 15.5 hours. The domestic flight is in Economy; the international flight is in Premium Economy.



October 7 through October 13: departing Boston, arriving in Melbourne, and a walk down memory lane

We departed Boston on October 7, and we arrived in Melbourne the morning of October 9. My husband’s cousin so very kindly picked us up at the Melbourne Airport. They offered to drive us wherever we needed to go during our stay in Box Hill, so we didn’t need to rent a car until the day before we left Box Hill.

We really enjoyed our accommodations at The Art Series – The Chen. Our room was large and clean and had a kitchenette. There are 2 restaurants in the same building and many restaurants nearby. There is a 24-hour front desk, which we like, and secure parking. I know most tourists won’t be interested in staying in Box Hill, but this is a chain hotel, each one named after a different Australian artist, so The Art Series would be a good choice in other locations as well.

We basically had 5 full days in Box Hill. My husband had arranged for a tour of his old school. At the time it was called Box Hill Grammar but is now called Kingswood College. We couldn’t go inside the classrooms but we spent some time walking around the lovely campus which is much nicer and larger than when Ed was there. We also dropped in unexpectedly at Box Hill High School, which Ed attended for a year. They were very understanding, and an administrator spent some time with us.

We had arranged a meeting with the Box Hill Historical Society. The staff, who are volunteers, were so generous with their time. They met with us on their day off to accommodate our schedule. They served tea and pastries, and had many documents, photos, and books to show us. One man remembered every store that was in Box Hill when Ed was there!

Ed’s schoolfriend, David, was with us part of the time, also. They hadn’t seen each other in 62 years! So this made our visit extra special!

Daytrips from Box Hill – Wineries in Yarra Valley

The first winery we visit is Coombe Winery, where we have a very delicious lunch! Ed and I shared a roasted shoulder of lamb with mint peas, meant for 2 people. The lamb is perfect, and the peas are delicious! I normally don’t get excited about peas, but these were so good! I didn’t write down what his cousins ordered.

The desserts are to die for! Several of us ordered the peach melba tart, and several of us had Eton Mess (berries, beetroot sorbet, cream, and merinque)! I know beetroot sorbet sounds odd, but it is delicious! And of course we ordered wine! What else would you drink in a winery!

After lunch, we visited Domain Chandon which is very scenic with its vineyards and beautiful landscaping. Then on to Levantine Hill where we had a wine tasting. We were actually a little disappointed in the wine. We thought it was ok but didn’t like it enough to purchase any bottles. The building design is modern with unusual sculptures scattered around the property.

Our last stop of the day is Chateau Yering which is very elegant, and offers accommodations in a gorgeous building and setting. This is Victoria’s first vineyard.

Prahran Market

We love visiting markets while traveling, and this one did not disappoint. There are all kinds of fresh vegetables and fruits, interesting meats such as crocodile and emu, sweets, and beautiful flowers.

St. Kilda’s Foreshore

Ed has very fond memories of taking the train from Melbourne to St. Kilda’s Foreshore and Luna Park, the old-style amusement park that opened in 1912. It boasts the oldest wooden roller coaster of its kind, according to my guidebook. We didn’t go inside; we are way past the age of enjoying amusement rides. I did, however, take a photo of the creepy clown entrance. But Ed is upset the entrance is surrounded by scaffolding. We had a respite of drinks and fries at one of the cafes before heading back to Box Hill.


This is Premium Economy on United. On our flight from SFO to Melbourne, we were in the first row of PE so we had a lot of additional legroom. On our flight home from Auckland to SFO, we were in the second row of PE, and that was very comfortable, too, with plenty of legroom.

Notice the wider seats! PE for us was well worth the extra cost on these long flights.

The wineries in the Yarra Valley:


Restaurant at Coombe Yarra Valley Winery

Our excellent wines at Coombe!

Our lunch at Coombe Winery. Ed and I shared this very delicious roasted shoulder of lamb with mint peas for two.

Exquisite dessert! Eton Mess - fresh berries, beetroot sorbet, fresh cream, and merinque

Beautiful and delicious peach melba tart!

Beautiful Chandon Winery

Lovely staircase at Chandon Winery that is popular for photos!

Gorgeous gold bottles

And beautiful red bottles - thirsty anyone?

Vineyards at Chandon Winery

Lovely grounds at Chandon Winery

Levantine Hill where we had a wine tasting. The design is modern with some interesting and unusual sculptures

Sculptures at Levantine Hill

We loved the sculptures and grounds at Levantine Hill.

This is my favorite!

Levantine Hill

Yering Chateau that offers accommodations.

Elegant dining room at Yering Chateau

Prahran Market and St. Kilda's Foreshore:


Interesting meats at Prahran Market - Emu, crocodile and wild boar

Colorful pastries! Our grandchildren love Peppa Pig and Bluey!

And more pastries!

Getting ready for Halloween

Love the Halloween decorations

Purple orchids and yellow sunflowers. I don't know what the red flowers are but I love red! So colorful!

The mushroom vendor

Lovely autumn decorations! I love pumpkins!

and more pumpkins

And St. Kilda's Foreshore

Ed in front of the creepy clown entrance to Luna Park

Along for the ride!

Karen,
How nice to have your trip report and so glad you both enjoyed your holiday. I bet Ed was amazed at the changes in Box Hill since he lived there. We drove through there yesterday and it was busy, busy, busy.

So glad you enjoyed Australian, and wow- your husband attended Kinswood College. It is a great school. Hoping my daughter considers it for my grandson. I have a friend whose children attend there.

marg, Yes, Ed was shocked to see how much Box Hill has changed since the 1960's! He knew it had changed a lot but seeing it in person is a whole different story. It's funny; when we were in Box Hill his cousins asked me what I thought of Australia so far. I told them I felt like I was in China, not Australia! Probably 90% of the restaurants are Asian! Not complaining but didn't feel like Australia at that point, except for the accents.

October 14: Penguins, Koalas and Birds

We picked up our rental car the day before at the Sixt Rental car agency so that we could get an early start today for Phillip Island. The drive from Box Hill to San Remo (Australia, not Italy&#128522 took us about 1.5 hours. Our accommodations at the Quays Motel was very basic. Our room was clean but dark because the interior walls are made of brick. But for one night I think it’s a perfect place to stay. You can see the bridge to Philip Island from the motel, and there are several restaurants within walking distance. The rate was about $120 USD per night. So good value for the money.

Before we left, I purchased the three-park pass for Phillip Island Nature Park, which includes the Koala Conservation Center, Churchill Island, and the Penguin Parade for a very good price. Well worth it!!

First we went to the Koala Conservation Center where we saw 4 female koalas. Each enclosure at the center holds 4 females and only one male because the males are aggressive and territorial. And I guess they don’t like people because we didn’t see the males. It was very exciting to see the koalas in their natural habitat. And I learned something new. Their diet consists of only eucalyptus leaves! And they are not bears. I honestly didn’t know this because they are so frequently referred to as “koala bears”. They are marsupials!

From here we drove to Churchill Island which is connected to Phillip Island by a causeway. What a nice surprise! Churchill Island is so pretty and peaceful with green pastures and lots of birds, horses, and sheep. We saw black swans and funny looking geese and a hairy coo! There are walking trails and a nice visitor information center with a restaurant that has an awesome menu. We arrived too late for lunch so we had coffee, scones and cinnamon rolls.

And last but not least is the Penguin Parade! Hundreds of penguins (about 900) come out of the ocean at sunset to waddle to their burrows where they sleep at night. It is imperative to dress warm! It was very cold and very windy when we were there. This is the only time I wore all of my layers. My fleece jacket has a hood. Without the hood, I would have needed a hat and scarf. I also wore gloves.

Before the penguins started arriving, we were inundated with seagulls! They are aggressive, loud, and tried to steal people’s food. In some cases, they were successful! I felt like an extra in the Hitchcock movie, The Birds!

I admit that initially we were a bit disappointed because the penguins emerge from the water in small groups. We were in the general viewing area so they were a distance away. There is a more expensive viewing area you can purchase but those seats were sold when I purchased our tickets. No one stays to watch all of the penguins emerge because that would take too long. So after 20 minutes or so we started walking back to the visitor information center, and this was the best part because we were able to see the penguins up close from the boardwalk as they were going to their burrows!

The Visitor Information Center is very nice with a nice gift shop and restaurant which is where we had dinner on this night.

Staff at the Koala Conservation Center trying to coax the koala down from the tree so they can give her the annual physical exam

Still trying to coax her down. They were not successful, and they were going to try later on that day.

Isn't she adorable??? I bought our 4 grandchildren stuffed koalas!

Churchill Island - so pretty and peaceful

The resident peacock on Churchill Island

Sheep and horses on Churchill Island

Black Swan

Cape Barren Geese

Cape Barren Geese

So surprised to see lavender on Churchill Island!

Seagulls at the Penguin Parade

More seagulls! They were everywhere, loud, and aggressive.

Seagulls - we took some videos. I will try to upload a video but I think I read somewhere that it might not work.

Penguin looking for his burrow. This is a still from our video. Will try uploading the video.

Yay! Looking forward to following and hearing about your trip - both parts. We were in Australia in 2007, and I've been tinkering with planning a return (this may move that along). We spent a few nights near Healesville on that trip and made a tasting stop at Yering Station, so that was familiar.

ms_go, your 2 trip reports for New Zealand were very helpful to me!

Where did you visit in Australia in 2007?

Well I tried, but I can't upload our videos, which is too bad. They give a better idea of what the seagulls and penguins are like.

October 15: Seaside town of Sorrento and ferry to the Great Ocean Road

After checking out of our motel, we had breakfast down the street at Saint Jules. This looks like a neighborhood hang-out. There was a mom’s group having coffee while their children played, some older women who were obviously friends, and people stopping by for coffee while out jogging. I forgot to write down what we ate but I remember liking what we had.

Then we drove from San Remo to Sorrento which took about 1.5 hours. My husband worked in Sorrento at a restaurant one summer when he was living in Box Hill. He and some other younger workers slept in a tent in back of the restaurant! Definitely not my cup of tea, that’s for sure.

Sorrento is a very attractive seaside town that was the first place in Victoria where Europeans settled in 1803. The main street is lined with attractive shops, cafes, and restaurants. We had delicious meat pies for lunch at Pie Pantry. We had many meat pies on this trip! -😊

In the afternoon we took the ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff on the Great Ocean Road. The ferry is very comfortable with a snack bar and takes about 40 minutes to reach Queenscliff.

Our lodging for tonight is at the Great Ocean Road Resort. We loved our stay here. This would be a lovely place to stay for several nights or more. We had a good-sized studio that’s bright and cheery with a patio in the front.

Our dinner tonight is at Coast, the resort’s lovely restaurant. I had lamb with broccolini and couscous, and Ed had a seafood stew. Everything was delicious, cooked to perfection.


Ed enjoying his meat pie at the Pie Pantry in Sorrento!

Sorrento has some interesting shops!

Second-hand eclectic merchandise!

Bathing beauties!

Anything you might want is here!

The Great Ocean Road Resort in Anglesea - we loved staying here!

My delicious lamb, broccolini and couscous dinner at The Coast Restaurant.

And Ed's tasty seafood stew!

Box Hill is populated mainly by Chinese.. either from mailand China and Hong Kong. Some suburbs are like this. We also have areas that were heavily populated by other migrants.. for example Carlton had a lot of Italian migrants.
It is all changing now but we have a stron Asian presence in Melbourne, and Australians love their Asian food.

loving seeing this report.BTW the red flowers are waratahs.Its the state emblem of New South Wales.
Lots around for Christmas

What a great JBR Karen - thank you. Victoria is a beautiful State & I'm glad you had the time to explore some old & new haunts.

Koalas: Yes, we are forever telling visitors they are marsupials & the only Australian bears are "Drop Bears". Not only do they only eat eucalyptus, but they are very fussy about which types, like a variety and only the best tips.

Penguins & the Penguin Parade: Yes - we always tell people to rug up because that wind is cold to freezing. They are very shy little birds and make sure they feel safe before they venture ashore in groups. They remind me of men in dinner suits wending their way home after a big night on the town

St Kilda would have changed a lot since your husband's days. One of my nieces has a house there and even I notice the significant changes since I spent a lot of time & lived in Elwood for a year in the early 90's.

I've always loved Queenscliff & used to stay at the gorgeous old Queenscliff Hotel, now closed.

Looking forward to your next chapters ... thanks again!

First of all, Karen, thank you so much for your kind words. I am so glad that you and Ed had such a good time in both Australia and New Zealand, two of my absolute favorite countries. Actually heading back to Sydney in January for Lunar New Year; we haven’t been back since the pandemic.

Agree with you that parts of Australia could feel like Asia. The cities feel more and more Asian each time we go back - the number of Asians out on the street, the languages being spoken, etc.

I’m with you on the lamb in Australia and New Zealand. It is really the best anywhere. So is the salmon.

Glad that you visited some of the markets. Other than perhaps France, I really enjoy browsing the markets in this part of the world, especially when it is sunny out. The Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne is one of my favorites, as well as the ones we visited in Christchurch and in Queenstown. Sydney has some pretty good ones too, especially when there’s a festival around.

We’ve also looked at the Great Ocean Resort before but never managed to stay there. Only visited the area as long day trips from Melbourne, which is never enough time.

And how about those animals everywhere. You picked an awesome time to go.

I look forward to the rest of your report.

melnq8, I love reading all of your trip reports! I am still amazed at all the hiking that you do. Are you still in Switzerland?

millie2112, yes, we noticed that probably 95% of the restaurants in Box Hill are Asian, mostly Chinese, but some Malaysian, Thai and Indian. And we also visited the Chinatowns in Melbourne and Sydney.

northie, thanks for the name of the red flowers. They are gorgeous, and we saw them everywhere!

Bokhara2, the Penguin Parade was the coldest place of our entire trip! We noticed that the gift shop sells blankets, which would have come in handy, but we obviously had no room in our suitcases for them.

Tripplanner001, we loved the lamb and the pork in Australia and New Zealand! Better than what we often times get in the US. And the fish and shellfish were always delicious and perfectly cooked. But we were a bit disappointed in the beef. My husband thinks they aren't as tasty or tender as what we get in the US. We also visited the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, and an indoor market in Sydney's Chinatown.

OCTOBER 16: MANY SHADES OF BLUE

We begin our day with breakfast in a bag while sitting outside on our patio. The Resort provides a huge freshly made loaf of bread with butter and jam, and orange juice that they delivered the night before. Of course, there is a coffee maker in our room with coffee and tea. The breakfast was surprisingly very delicious and very filling.

We then started our exploration of the stunningly beautiful Great Ocean Road (GOR) by backtracking to famous Bells Beach, which is a surfing mecca. A famous surfing competition is held here every year. The final scene from the movie Point Break is located here although it wasn’t actually filmed here. I read it was filmed in Hawaii but then I read it was filmed in California so not sure which. We saw many surfers during our journey on the GOR. They look like seals in their black wet suits.

The GOR is one of our favorite highlights of the trip. The drive is filled with gorgeous coastal scenery everywhere you turn, with turquoise and aquamarine water, white sand beaches, and dramatic sandstone and limestone cliffs. We were stopping constantly to take photos.

Some of our other stops today were the Split Point Lighthouse at Airey’s Inlet. We didn’t have time to go to the top of the lighthouse but we took photos and walked along the beach. Mariner’s Lookout has some stunning 180 degree views at Apollo Bay. There is a 10-minute uphill walk to get to the top. Thanks to Yestravel for writing about Mariner’s Lookout in her trip report. Otherwise, we might not have stopped here.

We stopped in Kennett River and had lunch at the café. More meat pies! 😊 A great place for a break. With a bright red parrot watching us!

We drove down the Otway Lighthouse road but we got there too late to climb to the top because it closes at 4PM. From here to Port Campbell, we passed gorgeous green rolling pastures, cows, sheep and lambs.

Our home for the next two nights is the Port O Call Motel. This is the only lodging that disappointed us. The room was fine but the exterior is starting to look shabby. There are 3 or 4 steps to our front door, and unfortunately, there were lots of bird droppings next to the stairs. This is the only place I wouldn’t recommend.

Dinner tonight is at the Port Campbell Hotel which looks like something from the 50’s or 60’s, inside and outside. So we didn’t have high expectations for food but the dinner was delicious! I had grilled lemon pepper snapper with black rice and Asian salad with lemon cream sauce. Ed had Caribbean chicken with curry, naan, and pickled onions and rice.

When we first arrived in Port Campbell we weren’t too impressed because there was road construction on the main street. It looks like they are converting the road to a one-way street with a large pedestrian area with what looked like planters for flowers. By the time we departed, however, we really liked Port Campbell and think it’s an excellent location for seeing the many GOR highlights.

We spent a lot of time stopping to admire the stunning coastal scenery and to take photos so we were disappointed that we didn’t have time to spend in the Cape Otway NP. We wanted to get to Port Campbell before dark. I wonder if a better itinerary would have been to spend 1 night in Anglesea, 1 night in Lorne or Apollo Bay, and the 3rd night in Port Campbell.

Stay tuned for more spectacular jaw-dropping coastal scenery!!!