Wish you were here.
My cousin, Naz, and I get along really well but when it boils down to recreational activities, we are polar opposites. Despite her sweet and gentle posterior, I can imagine she signs up for every adventure camp her school offers because whenever I check my Facebook news feed, she’s either trekking in some jungle in Vietnam, surfing in Bali or climbing a mountain. As for me, I like to have my feet firmly on the ground, preferably on the light marble tiles you find in malls. And the only mountain I’m willing to climb is the harrowing flight of stairs up to Zara.
So when Naz came over for a holiday in Melbourne, I knew I had to grapple with my aversion towards the great outdoors (or outback, rather lol). Perhaps it was my knowledge of the city or my easy going nature – I still don’t know what possessed my cousin to entrust me with creating an itinerary for her holiday. Itineraries are serious business. I had to find the delicate balance between the great adventures Naz preferred *shudder* and my own brand of physical recreation: SHOPPING!
And that’s how we ended up on a full day tour of the Great Ocean Road. No messy diving suits to put on, no skiing gear and just miles of beautiful scenery. My kinda shiz. It’s a winding 3 hour drive from the main city to the actual stretch of cliffs and ocean. I thought I would be prepared for the meandering ride after childhood holidays in both Cameron and Genting Highlands but dude, I had the most intense headache along the way. Thankfully, there were plenty of stops for us to get down, stretch our legs and take in the sights or breakfast would’ve ended up on my lap srsly.
And the sights? Unlike anything I’ve seen before. We got to climb down a cliff and walk around the beach too. I’m not gonna lie – as I heard that telltale crunch when my shoe soles made contact with the wet sand, I grimaced. Hard.
I hate dirtying my shoes omg, I AM SUCH A GIRL SRSLY. I’ll let the pictures do the rest:
Towards the end of the tour, they drove us to this stunning place called the Loch Something (I wasn’t paying attention rofl, I was busy cleaning my shoes by doing a lil moonwalk on the gravel). The sun was setting behind the cliffs and for once, everyone stopped snapping photos and just stood with their significant others, savouring the sunset whilst locking hands with each other. That moment was magic. But sorely lacking in the love department and not wanting to feel out of place, I did the most ridiculous thing: I watched the sunset whilst holding onto a feather I found HAHAHA WTF. TRUE INNER ZEN, PEOPLE! Anyway, I think that’s the last time I’ll ever try romancing with a feather…
p.s my giveaway is ending tomorrow, please join if you haven’t! And if you have, thank you for submitting your entries! I love reading all your feedback on what you’d like to see on tea noir, it is certainly time for some change!
i’m imagining you cleaning your shoes and i can’t stop myself from laughing! hahaha.anyway,your pictures are stunning as always!
ps. such a waste we didn’t get to meet up! we must find time to gather in Dec! xx
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July 19th, 2011 at 4:20 pm
Thank god I was wearing sneakers, if I had worn flats I think I would have cried LOL.
Yes we will def meet in Dec!
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gah always been in love your photography skills!!
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July 19th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
thank you doll!
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Gorgeous pictures! I really love the one with the feather and the out-of-focus background.
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July 19th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
That’s my fave shot too! That was the feather I was “romancing” btw ;p
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Dude… this place looks STUNNING!!!! I love cliff beaches. We have them here in California too, and they’re just so beautiful. =)
And girl, this sounds like just my kind of outdoors activity too!
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July 19th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
I WOULD LOVE TO VISIT YOU GIRLLLL!!! But honestly, when I meet you I’d be like “ok screw the beaches, let’s check out Anthropologie and Trader Joe’s” LOL x
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July 21st, 2011 at 3:36 pm
LMAO!!!!!
IfWHEN you come, I promise to take youuuuuu!!!!reply
Oh my, these pictures are stunning!! You’re simply too talented bb!
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July 19th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
HELLO DARLING! Miss you so much x
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I always love your photos! how lovely <
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Oh my! Lovely photos!
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Just discovered your blog via Chez Dre Cafe’s tweet – you take stunning photographs! I think you may have been looking for Loch Ard Gorge in that last picture – the first and last time I went there was 2004 and you’ve just reminded me of how gorgeous it is.
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September 30th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Hey Sher Reen! Thanks so much for dropping by! I’m thrilled you love my photographs and I hope you do keep reading
Ah are you based in Melbourne? You should definitely visit the Great Ocean Road again if you are! x
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September 30th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Hey Ilyana, the pleasure is mine! I am based in Melbourne … will definitely consider a trip out there sometime. The next four weeks will be utter craziness for me though, so let’s see what unfolds after!
Have bookmarked you (blog following is too advanced for me, haha) so I’ll definitely be back. Keep writing! xx
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October 4th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Oh wow we should meet up some time for coffee! Anyway thank you so much for bookmarking me and I’ve followed you back on Twitter! I hope to get to know you better (in a non creepy way I swear ;p) Take care! x
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OMG these photographs are amazing! Please do a post on photography tips etc!
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Hey there!
may I know if you all drove to great ocean road? Or did you guys hire someone to take you all there? 
would appreciate it if you could email me and let me know, thanks 
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February 20th, 2012 at 2:05 pm
Oh we took a day tour bus actually, you can find a lot of these tour services around the main Melbourne city!
I wouldn’t recommend driving unless you’re an experienced driver because the road is really winding!
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