I left Brisbane in my early twenties and did not look back for a long time. That is not a criticism of the place. It is just what you do when you are young and the world is large and everything you want seems to be somewhere other than where you already are.

Most people drive the Great Ocean Road in a day. They leave Melbourne early, stop at a few lookouts, photograph the Twelve Apostles in the middle of the day when the light is flat and the car parks are full, and drive back to the city in time for dinner. They will tell you they have done the Great Ocean Road. They have done a version of it.