I recently took a weekend trip to Melbourne, Australia and it quickly became a highlight of my study abroad experience!
My friend and I arrived in Melbourne on a Friday morning. We took the day to leisurely explore the city and visit different areas like the CBD and surrounding neighborhoods. While both are large cities, Melbourne is a bit different from Sydney. It has more of a big city feel with lots of skyscrapers and a better multicultural scene. One thing that surprised us about the city was the free tram zone around the CBD. We were able to explore a huge portion of the city we wanted to see for free!
Saturday morning, we embarked on an overnight group tour of the Great Ocean Road. I’ve been wanting to do this tour for a long time because I’d been hearing really good things about it and I’m so glad I did! For those who don’t know, the Great Ocean Road is a 240-kilometer stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia. Our tour guide took us to many different places. We saw different wildlife such as emus, kangaroos, and koalas. Even though this wasn’t the first time I’ve seen them, I was still astonished to see kangaroos in the wild. It never gets old!
At first, I was skeptical of an overnight tour as it’s significantly more expensive than a day trip. However, it was 100% worth it. If I hadn’t done the overnight tour, I wouldn’t have been able to watch the stunning sunset over the 12 Apostles. I wouldn’t have been able to see penguins come out of the water at night. And most importantly, I would not have been able to see the Aurora Australis. Seeing the Southern Lights was unlike anything else I’ve experienced in my life. It’s always been on my bucket list. Saturday night, we stayed in this tiny town called Port Campbell. We were taking a walk at night near the beach and saw the lights in the sky. I have even included a picture to show how awesome it was. Another cool thing about overnight tours is the ability to really get to know the people on the tour. My friend and I have done multiple organized day trips while in Australia and met really nice and interesting people. However, we often felt our time with them was cut very short. On this tour, we got to spend a lot more time with everyone. On our tour, there were people from all over the world such as Hawaii, the UK, and Hong Kong. They were all at different stages of their life whether this being the last stop on their six week tour of Australia or Melbourne being their first destination after quitting their job to pursue full time travel.
Sunday night, we arrived back in Melbourne and went to this heavenly Nepalese dinner spot. We ordered dumplings, noodles, and samosas and it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had! The next day, we had another great meal at this sandwich shop. I ordered a truffle mushroom sandwich. One thing I’ve learned about Melbourne is it surpasses Sydney by far in the food scene. As it is finals week back at the University of Sydney, my friend and I ended our time in Melbourne by doing some schoolwork at the University of Melbourne. It was cool to see another university in Australia.
I would definitely recommend visiting or studying abroad in Melbourne. And don’t forget to include a trip to the Great Ocean Road!
Madeline Peck
Spring 2024
GW Exchange - University of Sydney
Elliott School of International Affairs
International Affairs Major