We flew over with New Zealand Airways at 6.20am ... yes, THAT early. Early mornings are not really enjoyable and although we have become professionals at 'embracing the day', waking up at 2am and fumbling around a 6 bed dorm is not a strong start. It was a pretty grim journey too but it was made up for by the a-mazing New Zealand Airways safety video which was all done in the theme of Lord of the Rings! (Worth flying with them just for that I would say!)
We landed in Melbourne at 8.20am in the morning and jumped straight on a Skybus from the airport to the city center. It was really straight forward (even for me!) and only cost $18 which is not too bad. Luckily, I have lovely family friends in Melbourne who we were able to stay with and this was such a welcome treat after a few weeks of hostels.
They live in Brighton which is a 20 minute train journey out of the city center and oh my goodness, did I surprise even myself by how incredibly lost and confused I got at the train station.
Firstly, in Melbourne, they use travel cards called 'Myki' cards (NOT pronounced 'Micky' as I learnt the hard way). These are actually not to dissimilar to Oyster cards, but not being up to scratch with London or tubes, as you all know, this was not a familiar way of traveling for me.
So our first mission was to purchase one of these cards and top them up, took us a while but we got there. Mission number two was then to find our platform which of course was not straight forward either; being platform 13 and tucked away behind other platforms. After about 15 minutes of going up and down the same escalator a million times, we eventually sat, pretty exhausted, on a bench and just hoping that the right train would pull in any second.
It was an incredibly amazing sight to see my family friends waiting for us by the platform at a cafe with tea and coffee at the ready! We smelt bad, looked worse and were not feeling anything close to alive, so getting home to a nice, clean house was like heaven.
Melbourne is a beautiful city and I absolutely fell in love. It is vibrant and busy but so varied in what it has to offer. We spent our first day on the beach in Brighton (when in Aus right!?). It was not a far walk from where we were staying and was so perfect for a day of relaxing in the sun. It had a stretch of beach huts that were so quirky, painted in different colours and patterns. If you want one it will only set you back about $180,000 apparently...!
We were true to our English routes and did not enter the sea, deciding that it was just not nearly hot enough, but we did a great job at sunbathing.
The afternoon was spent wondering along the seafront to neighboring towns; from Hamilton all the way to Sandringham and despite nearly being killed by cyclists on about 6 occasions, it was a very pleasant walk in the sun.
Being lucky enough to stay with family, we were truly spoilt with amazing dinners - barbecues of course! It is amazing how a few weeks in hostel life makes you appreciate the tiniest things, like washing and smelling clean... no wonder we were offered to put a wash on as soon as we got through the door!
It was only right to spend a few of our days exploring the city. Melbourne has a lot going on and we started by walking across from the station to Federation Square. It was so busy there, buzzing with activity and so much going on. We spent a lot of time wandering around the main streets which were heaving and full of shops; really testing our strength to not buy anything.
Just next to the city there was a big National Park with Botanical Gardens (our new favorite past time) where we stopped for lunch. A short walk from the gardens was a massive war memorial building, which took us a while to find but was really worth a visit. It is beautiful inside and with work going on around it I am sure it will be even more awesome to visit in the future.
One of the coolest things about Melbourne is the tram system. They run a free tram (number 35) which does a complete circuit of the city and you can hop on and off whenever you want to. It takes you right out to the harbour and around to the Victoria Market. We visited the market and it was absolutely huge! It had everything and anything you could imagine; from food to drink to clothes and souvenirs. We also visited the market at Prahan which was a market full of amazing food... do not go on an empty stomach though as you will probably blow most of your travel budget on amazing cheeses and breads that smell too good!
After a few days in the city we discovered our active sides and took a bike ride along the seafront from Brighton Beach all the way to St Kilda harbour. We had been recommended so many coffee shops around the area and after cycling along the coast, we headed inwards towards the city and found a cute little coffee shop to stop for a well earned rest. St Kilda was not just a day thing for us - in the evening we drove down to the pier and just as the sunsets you can stand on the pier and watch the tiny little penguins coming in from the sea! It was one of the more strange things I have ever done, standing in the dark, staring into the sea eagerly awaiting the arrival of the tiniest penguin you could ever see (very, very cute though!). We didn't see many but we did see a few and just being able to get a view of the city at night was worth it too.
One of my absolute favorite days spent in Melbourne (saving the best until last) was the day we spent at the Moonlit Wildife Sanctuary in Pearcedale. They had some really awesome animals there, namely koalas which I was so excited to see and these insane barking owls which looked like normal owls but made barking dog noises (blew my mind!). The absolute highlight, however, was being able to feed the Kangaroos and Wallaby's. I had never seen a Kangaroo up close before and when these huge guys came bouncing out the trees I just couldn't contain my happiness. They were so big and gentle and just casually hopped up and away when they had had enough food. It was a slightly sad moment though, as the night before we had tasted our first Kangaroo burger, so it is safe to say my morals were all over the place.
Melbourne was an amazing week, mostly thanks to having wonderful family friends that took great care of us. We were very well looked after and definitely left smelling better, looking better and feeling MUCH better. It was the best start to Australia and another jam-packed week.
I will end on telling you all that we are hiring a car to drive the Great Ocean Road, so yes, I will be driving in another country - please do with this information what you will.
Stay tuned! x
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