Kudos to Stuart. What an impressive tour guide for my wife, our 12-year old son, and me. Initially I resisted the idea of hiring a tour guide, but -- I rarely say this -- my wife was right. After a few hours in the car, I felt like had known him for 30 years or so. Here are the highlights:

DAY ONE -- Stuart picked us up at The Langham, the perfect place to stay whilst you are sightseeing in Melbourne. We immediately headed off to the Healesville Sanctuary. Our 12-year old son loved getting to hold a carpet python. From there, we went to Dominique Portet Winery. Stuart was so well connected that Dominique himself came out to greet us. That night we stayed at the Yering George Cottage, which was a very nice cottage style accommodation. Kangaroos were feeding all around us. Stuart capped off the evening by taking us to Balgownie Estate for some fine dining and tasty wine.

DAY TWO -- We checked out of our cottage and headed to the Werribee Open Range Zoo. Stuart arrange "backstage passes" to see a training session for the alpha male of the Western Lowland Gorillas. We were five feet away from a silverback. The safari tour through the quasi-savanna was magnificent. From there, Shadowfax Winery literally was next door. The charcuterie and cheese plate was a perfect capstone to the afternoon. Next stop was the Mansion Hotel & Spa at Werribee Park, again right in the same neighborhood as the zoo and the winery. The Mansion was a former seminary that had been remodeled into a luxurious boutique hotel. We ate a casual meal from the restaurant in the Library of the Mansion. It was a relaxing way to finish a full day.

DAY THREE -- We headed out for the Great Ocean Road. First stop, Anglesea where we sampled the meat pies at a local bakery. We also tried a "snot block" for desert, also known as a vanilla slice. From there, it was a short drive to the Memorial Arch, which marked the official start of the Great Ocean Road. My wife and son spent the afternoon at Live Wire, a zip line and tree top obstacle course park. Rather than pay the "observation" fee to watch, Stuart took me to Erskine Falls for a short hike and then to Lorne where I had a coffee and enjoyed the view of ocean from the patio. We made it as far as Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant & Villas. Our room offered a lovely view of Apollo Bay. We had a fantastic dinner at the restaurant.

DAY FOUR -- The day started with a lovely breakfast at the same restaurant where we had dinner the night before. We did a bit of bird watching while we had brekky. Stuart pointed out a beautiful white Kookaburra in the tree just outside the window. It was a short drive to Mail's Rest where we took a hike through a rainforest. It was our day for bird watching as we say an orange chested King Parrot. Onto the Great Ocean Road where we stopped at the lookout for the Twelve Apostles, hiked down to Lock Ard George. We diverted to Timboon for a delicious lunch at the Timboon Railway Shed Distillery followed ice cream at the nearby Timboon Ice Creamery. The last stop of the day was at the London Bridge, a portion of which Stuart told us collapsed in 1990. We drove every kilometer of the 277-kilometer memorial to the Great War. We drove on to Warrnambool where where stayed in a house that Stuart found on airbnb. It was the perfect choice -- we picked up takeaway food and watched a movie.

DAY FIVE -- We packed up our clean and mostly dry laundry and had our best breakfast of the trip at Patloch Lane Café & Bar. Be sure to try the smashed avo and poached egg over toast. Then, we looked for whales at Logan's Beach. Alas, it was now a four-hour drive back to Melbourne. Stuart found another gem for lunch in Colac, which happened to be his home town. We at a Fusion, which combined Asian style cuisine with local produce. Finally, Stuart returned us to The Langham. It was a tearful goodbye, but Stuart regained his composure after we promised to come back before too long.

What a fantastic trip! Thank you Stuart.