So, after having everything arranged and settled for both Saturday and Sunday (or so I thought, boy I was wrong...), we went to pick up the cars. However, it turned out that all drivers needed to provide an international driver's license. We only had two...the depot was about to close in an hour and it was in a suburb, so we had to find two other drivers quickly! After calling just about everyone that would come along, we managed to find two more drivers. One would pick up the car downtown, but the other one had to be picked up nearby the depot within 10 minutes. Guess who was the lucky person to do that?! Itsa me, (Mario..for those who get it ;)). So my first drive on the wrong side of the road was a sprint on a semi-highway, through the McDrive (without ordering anything, first time as well I guess) and back again. Thrilling, to say the least! However, even this we managed to do successfully, so after a lot of stress, we finally had 4 cars!
On to the Tulip festival at Mount Dandenong! What to say about this...I really enjoyed it because there were some Dutch things that I apparently miss a lot, but back home I think I would've found it ridiculous to be honest. However, there were lots of Tulips, making up for a nice view, they had clogs (klompen!), stroopwafels and kroketten (I only had 4 of these badboys so I think I should be OK 'till I get back...). Afterwards we went further up to Mount Dandenong, to visit the lookout point. From here you get an amazing view over Melbourne.
On Sunday, we left really early as Wilsons Prom is a solid 3-hours drive. In Melbourne, the weather was absolutely terrible! I aquaplaned around 3 times on the highway because of the showers, but as we progressed, the weather became a lot better. I was so happy that I was driving, because it was amazing to drive there, especially when we got into the park itself: spectacular views, tight corners and lots of animals! After we arrived, we soon went on a walk around the Tidal Overlook and to Squeaky (actually not so squeaky...) Beach! After this amazing walk, we drove halfway up to Mount Oberon, which we climbed to the top afterwards. Here we were actually in the middle of the clouds, with a view on the sea. Absolutely stunning and at exactly the right moment, the clouds dissolved, making up the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen! I think that pictures show more than I could ever possibly describe, so scroll down! =) Note that these are not all mine, as I have to do with my phone camera which doesn't always work as well as intended, so credits to all you guys who got me these pictures!
Tulip festival!
Finally! Not entirely the real deal, but close enough! :D
How Dutch can it be?
Mount Dandenong view, didn't manage to get a good picture of the view on Melbourne though, which is spectacular as you see the whole city with the CBD really standing out!
Sunset Mount Oberon
Group pictures!
Mount Oberon revisited
Some more amazing bays and waters
Some more Mount Oberon sunset pictures, as it was stunning
After all, the driving went really well, even to my own surprise. Only on one lonely occasion did I get on the wrong (actually right...) side of the road without noticing it, but luckily there were no cars at that moment! It was a hell of a lot work to organize this trip, but it was definitely worth it and I'd like to thank everyone again who helped in any way or went along, as it was amazing!
Next entry, spring break! I hope to get this one up shortly, but it's gonna be a lot of work so don't keep me to it!
No comments:
Post a Comment