Asian female driver from America driving in Australia...

I don't want to foster stereotypes, but let's be real. It sounds pretty scary, right?? However, no one died, was injured OR emotionally scarred AND I got the entire bond back for returning the car in its original state! Check one off the bucket list!! So let's see...

Last Wednesday, Sean, Collin and I rented a car (4WD, for safety purposes of course) and headed west out of Melbourne. We wanted to drive the Great Ocean Road- a stunning span of coastline that stretches from Torquay to Warrnambool. I just tried to map it out on Google and apparently it's only about 300 km and takes about 4 hours... but we somehow managed to take two full days.

We stopped EVERYWHERE! Our first stop was in Torquay (pronounced tor-KEY... but it just sounds like someone saying "turkey" with an accent and only made me hungry). 

The waves on the shores of Torquay are famous and I will surf and conquer them... someday. It is the home of the Rip Curl Pro Classic which takes place over Easter at Bells Beach (below). It is the goal of this heathen to be there or be square.

There were frequent lookouts along the way and we never got tired of exploring. Outside of the major cities, the coast is gorgeous and pristine, from the awesome surf of Torquay to the smooth rocks and deep tide pools outside Apollo Bay. 

Not bad for the first day of our first road trip! We spent the night in Apollo Bay and continued onto the second leg of our journey in the morning. 

Lesson #1: Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Back home this applies to homework, chores, paying tickets... I'm sure my dad could add to this list for me. I never cared to learn this lesson until now. Because here in Oz, it means that if you want to go kayaking with the seals, then goddammit molly, you go kayaking with seals because THIS is your chance.

I'm trying to learn this lesson, but instead of punishment, I got to play in some of Victoria's most beautiful rainforests all day. Makes it a little hard.

The rainforest is only a short drive from the beach. We went on a treetop walk through Otway National Park.... aka a waste of money. If you ever come here and want to see the rainforest, rent a car and drive through it yourself. There are plenty of turnoffs and hikes that are free and completely worth it: aka Hopetoun Falls.

This is where I started my habit of hopping fences. I slipped on a rock and almost landed on a wannabe scorpion/spider (WTF Australia!) and now have a pretty good bruise, but besides that the ecosystem and I remained unharmed. Unfortunately (again), we didn't count on the storm that was headed our way. See those rocks behind us? They were supposed to be the highlight of our second day.

Again. Could you tell it was going to POUR?? Because we couldn't.

Those blurry rocks in the background are some of the Twelve Apostles. They are a series of rock formations along Shipwreck Coast, shaped by the relentless winds and temperamental waves that wrecked over a 160 ships during the 19th century. It is said that they blaze red at sunset, a sight that is magnificent to behold...

I wouldn't know, but it was awesome anyways.

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T let a tree fall on you. I hear it sucks.

We covered the most ground on Day 3, from Warnambool to Adelaide. We had finished the Great Ocean, so instead of continuing along the coast, we went north to the ranges of Grampians National Park. This has been my favorite part of my trip so far. Not because we went off-roading, almost running over wild wallabies and emus crossing the road, or because I got to see an echidna (spiny anteater)...

but because I got to check another item off my bucket list: dangle off The Balconies (aka the Jaws of Death) at The Grampians- check!

This was my finale in fence hopping. The Balconies are two stone slabs that jut out from the top of Mt. Victory. I saw a picture of this in my guidebook and it immediately went on the list- but when we got there, the lady at the visitors center said that it has been roped off for a few years now... 

SO glad I didn't listen to her because this moment that you see above has been the highlight of my trip. AH-MAZING. You're sitting off this rock, looking down over a panoramic view of the Grampians (again, pristine and gorgeous), with the wind whipping at your face and whistling in your ears... This picture doesn't do it justice at all.

VICTORY!!!!