Friday 4 March 2016

Great Ocean Road & Lorne orientation weekend.

So as an exclusive trip for study abroad/exchange students studying at Victoria University, we were whisked away the weekend before semester started to Lorne, which is a almost right at the bottom tip of Australia.

Day 1
Living near Uni definitely has its perks. We were picked up from campus at 9am and drove for about an hour to visit Bell's Beach where the final scene in Point Break is set (not actually filmed). After a Subway lunch we got back on the bus and headed to the next beach to start our surfing lesson!

Bell's Beach! 
Surfing is so much harder than it looks. Just trying to get out into the sea with your surfboard is a workout and a half. When the instructors gave me a push off I managed to get up onto the board on my knees (I managed to stand up once and fell off instantly). It was so much fun and i'd love to give it a go again.

In our wetsuits ready to surf!
Next stop was our accommodation; a cute hostel that was styled a bit like a treehouse. It even had a hammock. Needless to say I fell in love with this hammock. We then had a couple of hours to bagsy a bed and get ready for the evening meal and night out. After the food we went back to the hostel to pre drink and then we all wandered down together to the club. Obviously after a few drinks everyone became very sociable so it was great to get to talk to so many different nationalities and get to know other people going to our University.

Day 2
After a quick breakfast, we all got ready for the day and headed to a field where we learned to play Aussie Rules Football. Me and some of the other girls hadn't had a brilliant night's sleep so we were pretty exhausted, and after trying out a few different warm up drills with the footballs we decided to sit out and watch whilst the others played a friendly game.
After a pretty disappointing fish and chips for lunch, myself and another friend went back to the hostel for a nap (I had my beloved hammock) and almost ended up missing the afternoon hike through the Great Otway National Park & the Surf Coast Walk! Luckily we made it just in time. After seeing some incredible views and a Koala's butt...


...we made it back to the hostel and had a well earned rest before going back out again for dinner. This time we decided not to go out afterwards, we were all far too exhausted for another one! Most of the girls in my dorm stayed at the hostel and chilled out with snacks and card games.

Day 3
After packing up and getting on the bus, we went for a drive along the Great Ocean Road and the views were beautiful.

The beautiful views on the Great Ocean Road.
After a while we stopped for lunch and we had the opportunity to go in a helicopter for $95 to see the 12 Apostles. Going in a 'choppa' is on my bucket list so of course I decided to do it.

On the choppa!
It was then back on the bus and we made our way to Loch Ard Gorge. I went for a paddle in the sea just when a wave crashed in and wet my bum, oops. We got a big group picture then headed back up to the bus to go see London Bridge.

London Bridge.
Finally it was time to get on the bus one last time and make our way back home. It was such a good weekend where I met so many lovely people. At first the majority of us got onto the bus complete strangers but when we got back on the bus to come home, we had so many new friends from all over the world.
The next exchange students trip is a cruise party next week!
𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝

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