Victoria

George is a very experienced and honest tour guide. He's the kind of person who doesn't say too much but also knows how to offer helpful tips. His storytelling is quite interesting. The itinerary time was well-planned. The seats on the bus weren't particularly comfortable, just average seats. I recommend bringing a neck pillow if you like to sleep on the bus, as there's a lot of time spent on the bus on this tour (this is the case for any tour). However, since it's a small group, the bus was fast and clean without any unpleasant smells.

Director Ning seemed a bit fierce, but he was actually very talkative and shared many stories about Australian animals. I learned a lot of new things. Phillip Island, where penguins migrate to their nests, and Cape Nobbes were incredibly wildly beautiful. Although it was a long day trip and tiring, the many rest stops in between made it very enjoyable. 😌

First of all, I highly recommend it. Although it's not cheap, costing around NT$5,000 per day, the trip was at the end of October. Australia is on daylight saving time, so we met around 11 am and didn't return to the hotel until around 11 pm. The itinerary included lunch, a miniature train ride, the zoo, and the penguins. We booked a group of 20 people, but we originally wanted a smaller group, which was full. Luckily, there were only 7 people today, which was fantastic. The bus was large and clean, which alone earned it 100 points. The driver/guide was also very nice, introducing the sights, telling stories about history, and even helping us take photos. We were also lucky that the weather was super nice. The highlight of the trip was seeing the penguins. We upgraded to "plus" for an extra fee, which I think was well worth it. The penguins were very clear, but it was extremely cold, so we had to stand in the wind for at least half an hour before we could see the penguins slowly returning home. So, if the weather is very cold, it might be even better to go underground.

I found this place while deciding where to go in Melbourne. Since it was difficult to get there on a tour, I just bought a train ticket and took a regular train from Flenders Street Station to Bell Brave Station. My reservation was for a 10:00 AM train, so I took the 8:01 AM train from Flenders Street Station to Bell Brave, arriving around 9:05 AM. It cost $5.50 one way. It's about a five-minute walk to the Puffing Billy train station. First, I showed my voucher at the ticket counter to get my ticket. The ticket indicated which car I was in. While the car was designated, I could choose any seat. After that, I went to the platform, and there were a lot of people there, though I wasn't sure if they were queuing or not. In the end, it didn't really matter if I was queuing or not, and everyone just went along with their own schedule. I'd heard that the right side was better on the way there, so I aimed for it, but since it was first come, first served, I managed to get a seat on the right just in time. The ride from Belgrave to Menzies Creek took about 30 minutes, and it did shake quite a bit, so I had to hold on tightly to the window sill with my legs out. It was something I'd never experienced before, so it was a lot of fun. It was November 7th, and it was cooler than the city, so a long-sleeved T-shirt and hoodie were just right. Some foreigners were wearing short sleeves and shorts. We had about an hour to spare at Menzies Creek. There's a railway museum with a cafe inside, so we had a coffee while we waited. It's popular, so it's best to make a reservation early.