Melbourne and Sydney

I recently went to Australia for the first time and had an absolute blast - it must be one of the best places I've ever visited and a trip I'll remember for ever. 

Saying that.. it didn't start off too well. If you're a Brit, the first thing you should know is that a visa is required to enter Australia. You don't want to make the same mistake I made by turning up at the airport, running to get a visa, and getting back to check-in to find it was closed and I couldn't board my flight.

It was a bummer, but I eventually managed to get a flight 24 hours later and arrived in sunny Melbourne. We spent the day walking around the Laneways laughing at all the tourists taking edgy shots of each other in Flinders Lane.. and then joining in.

We went to Kew for a friend's BBQ then headed to the recommended bar in Fitzroy called 'Naked for Satan' to watch the sunset, finishing the night at 'Black Cat' for cocktails and live music.

The next day we started our road trip in St Kilda (with a delicious brunch at Dr Jekyll) then got onto the Great Ocean Road. We stopped in Apollo Bay for some grub at La Bimba then went on to the Twelve Apostles. The scenery along the GOR is stunning!

The next day we drove over to Philip Island. Seeing the Nobbies was yet another moment where we were blown away by the beauty of Australia. Endless blue and lots of little penguins. 

We had organised a tour with a guide as the sun set, to witness all the penguins coming back from fishing. We sat on the beach with our night vision binoculars and watched them all waddle up towards us. I'd highly recommend it to anyone as it's super cute. 

We were back on the road again early the next day and made our way over to Yarra Valley to taste all the local wines and visit a friend who lives in the Dandenongs.

We were stayed in an air bnb right on the top of the hill overlooking the valley and as the sun rose the next day, I walked out onto the front lawn to see two kangeroos grazing in front of the house. 

That was the end of our Victoria trip and I remember thinking that anywhere else would be hard pressed to beat it... but we then caught a flight over to Sydney and I feel in love all over again.

We hopped on and off ferries, saw the cannon fire at Fort Denison, tried to by trendy in Manly, had drinks at the Opera Bar, had a cheese fondue in Martin's Place, went up the sky tower, wandered around Paddington Market, sunbathed at Bondi Beach and met friends at Octupus for dinner. 

Great trip and I can't wait to go back!