Different people offered different opinions before we flew. Some said we should self-drive, others thought it would be rather dangerous and suggested we book a tour.

I was actually inclined towards driving- I love sitting behind the wheel! It wasn’t a major problem since Australians drive on the same side of the road as we do, and it took just five minutes to figure out how they do a hook turn- turning right from the left lane (instead of the right lane) in parts of the CBD. Coupled with the fact that there was a row of car rental outlets metres away from our apartment, I decided to drive to Great Ocean Road.

With the number of bends in the mountainous terrain, I felt like Takumi Fujiwara- the tofu delivery boy turned racer (aka Jay Chou’s character) in Initial D. It was a real shame I didn’t know how to drift. I mean, I don’t know how to drift without crashing.

Anyway, who was the one who told me that it was dangerous “driving on cliffs” and “maneuvering multiple curves” along the way? The roads were so wide! I was doing at least 70-80km/h while turning. (Maybe the GPS brought me away from the danger zone?) It was a total breeze handling the Hyundai i20. I’m so glad I chose to drive.

We stopped for lunch at a random cafe and found this amazingly tasty turkey ham and avocado sandwich.

This girl with only one hand cracked me up totally.

There are many attractions along the Road, but we only had time to pause briefly before speeding off again. The Twelve Apostles (or rather, what’s left of it) are located a distance away, and I wasn’t sure of the road conditions at night, so we weren’t going to risk spending too much time there.

I like the way they put this message across. Zero ambiguity.

While I’m suitably awed by what they claim to be one of the world’s most magnificent coastlines, I couldn’t resist comparing these limestone structures to the ones I saw at the Island of Peace in Keelung, Taiwan. Similar standards of majestic splendour; different levels of marketing.

I refused to do a “Hey! I’m here” shot. This picture will do.

It was pristine white when we departed in the morning. 530 kilometres later, it was covered with a layer of grime. Thanks for the ride.