I travelled to Melbourne in November 2016 for a work conference. My wife and our son came along, and we extended the stay to spend a few days exploring Melbourne and its surroundings.
Our son was barely a year old at the time, so travelling wasn’t quite as simple as it used to be. There was always something to think about — his food, diapers, what to pack for the day, and how to get from one place to another. I didn’t have my driving licence yet, which meant renting a car wasn’t an option. We had to plan around public transport and organised tours.
While I was attending the conference, my wife took our son to SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium. Looking back at the photographs, it’s nice to see that they had their own little outing while I was occupied with work.
A long day along the Great Ocean Road
On 24 November, we joined a group tour along the Great Ocean Road in a minibus. We ended up sitting at the back, and it turned out to be a long and rather tiring day.
The scenery, though, was worth seeing. We visited Cape Otway Lighthouse, climbed to the top, and took in the views of the surrounding coast. Later, we stopped at the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, where the cliffs and rock formations were quite something to see in person.
One part of the day that I still remember wasn’t quite so enjoyable.
Our guide had given us about an hour for lunch. We chose a restaurant, placed our order and waited. Unfortunately, the restaurant was overwhelmed with orders, and the food took much longer than expected. I still remember how frustrated the owner was with the situation.
By the time we finished, our tour group had already moved on. We missed one of the stops and had to wait roughly another hour for the minibus to return and collect us.
It wasn’t the kind of experience we had planned for, particularly with a small child in tow. But it’s one of those travel mishaps that somehow stays in your memory as clearly as the famous sights.
Wallabies, the coast and the penguins
The following day, 25 November, we joined another excursion towards Phillip Island.
We visited Moonlit Sanctuary, where I remember feeding a wallaby by hand. One of our photographs shows just my hand reaching out with food, but it’s enough to bring back the experience.
The photographs also show us visiting The Nobbies, with its boardwalks and rocky coastline.
What I remember most vividly from that evening, however, was waiting for the little penguins to come ashore.
Our son was still so young. While we waited, he was happily playing with the beach sand, completely unaware of how cold it was. The sand felt freezing to us, and I spent much of that time worrying that he might fall sick.
He, of course, wasn’t bothered at all.
I can still picture him playing away while we waited for the penguins. Thankfully, he was perfectly fine afterwards. Looking back, I probably spent more time worrying about him than thinking about the penguins themselves.
More than just sightseeing
Travelling with a baby in a foreign country was an experience in itself. Every outing needed more preparation, and even simple things took extra effort. Without a car, we had to be more careful about how we organised our days.
Melbourne gave us some wonderful sights — the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles, the wildlife and the penguins. But when I think about that holiday now, I also remember the less glamorous parts: carrying everything our little boy needed, managing long days, an unexpectedly delayed lunch, and worrying about him playing in the cold sand.
Those are the memories that make this particular trip ours.