The Last Hoorah

Written by Amy Shin, Foster undergraduate

With just under three weeks left in the land down under, a couple of crazy kids decided to venture even further south to Melbourne and drive the Great Ocean Road. Our adventures would be jammed packed with no time to waste in the four days we would spend together.

Our flight was set for 7:30am because we are cheap college students trying to save every last buck. Even though we were all a little groggy and a lot hungry when we arrived in Melbourne, we did not let that stop us from taking a bit longer to walk around and find the best brunch spot possible. And boy, did this place not let us down. (Check out the Hardware Societe if you are ever in Melbourne)

After our stomachs were satisfied, we hopped on a tram to explore more of the city. We visited the celebrated landmark Hosier Lane, which is home to urban street and graffiti art. Afterwards, we opted to travel on sets of wheels and rented bikes from Melbourne’s bike share system and rode alongside the Yarra River to a playground, which we of course played in. At night we walked to the famous Queen Victoria Market, which was packed with amazing street food, shopping booths, and music.

Now for the road trip. Were we hesitant to put our lives in the hands of someone who had never driven on the left side of the road before? Yes. Was that going to stop us? No. We packed our rental car with our luggage and set off on the open road while jamming to our dear friend, Spotify. Our goal was to make it to the Twelve Apostles by sunset and along the way we stopped at some amazing beaches along the Australian coastline. We made it to the Twelve Apostles just in time and for an amazing view. It was so breathtaking that we went back the next morning to see it in a different light. Though our trip may have been a short one, the five of us had plenty of laughs and incredible sights to last us for the rest of our time in Australia.