We arrived in Melbs to big hugs and smiles from our friends Ella and Sam who we stayed with. Coming from a cosy family home in Sydney, arriving in their modern plush apartment was like stepping into the future and a world of pure luxury for us for the week.
On our first evening we watched the sun set in St Kilda and dined out (be warned there is a lot of eating in this blog). It was brilliant to see our old friends in their new home and catch up over chips. Thanks for having us again guys, we really appreciated it.
The next day we explored the city and met with distant Aussie relatives Dawn and Pat again much chat was had over a mammoth lunch. We walked lunch off around the botanic gardens and took in a few more city sights before meeting Sam and Ella for a culinary feast at the night market. Food from around the globe was on offer, including Afghan cuisine.
First impressions of Melbs were good, it was trendy, friendly and dandy. Street art seems to exist down every alleyway, the trams are quirky and useable, and the buildings are a lovely mix of old and new. But above all else we were drawn in by the city's foodie delights (including Sam's cooking).
There's lots to do in Melbourne, art galleries, museums etc etc etc...but we were graced with beautiful weather during our stay, so we avoided those and stayed out in the sunshine instead. Walking around the Fitzroy Gardens we stopped in to Captain Cook's house (which was transported all the way from Blighty). Later that day the boys went on a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and we sat in the sun before meeting yet another friend, Laura for drinkies.
By Friday it was time to get out the city so we boarded a bus super early to start our descent down the Great Ocean Road. We stopped along the way at an isolated beach, where we finally got to do our surf lesson (in Torquay no less). After a few quick instructions we were in the surf with our wetsuits on and mammoth boards. It felt really good to finally be surfing, a wedding present we were both looking forward to. We both were standing up on the board on and off by the end of our time and we'd definitely ride them waves again if we got a chance. The Great Ocean Road adventure continued as we boarded another bus and headed along the coast. We stopped at various beaches, lighthouses (including the one from kids tv show 'going round the twist' fame). The scenes along the route were stunning, with red cliffs, dense forests and crashing waves. Best of all we went through Australia's largest wild Koala colony, and the Victoria koalas are much bigger than their sunshine coast counterparts. We were lucky enough to even hear one calling out for a mate (stop a sec and just imagine what a koala sounds like). After plenty of coastline and info we reached the 12 Apostles for sun set. The drive was beautiful, the Koalas were brilliant, surfing was super, and the day was a success. However, it was an epic day and when we arrived back, 19 hours after leaving we were truly shattered.
Luckily this didn't stop us though (as every day is a holiday in our bubble) and so the next day our hosts took us out. First stop was the Yarra Valley wine region! Yes please! We did a little tour and quaffed a load of vino at Domaine Chandon, the sister of Moët in France. The vineyard is set against a stunning backdrop and after a few glasses on a sunny day it's hard not to sit back, stare at the view and count your lucky stars.
There is plenty of wine to be sampled in this part of the world so next we were taken to an alternative modern winery where we had a little more, oh and lunch. On the route back to the city we stopped in Ramsey Street for a few photos and to disturb it's residents, well it had to be done. The day of drinking and dining doesn't stop there though, as we later we went to China Town for a dumpling dinner followed by a few bars and meeting friends of friends and a few randoms along the way.
So Sunday should be a day of rest and ours was. The boys went off to watch some cricket whilst the girls fell asleep back on St Kilda beach. After the hang overs had subsided we were finally ready for a pub dinner followed by a penguin encounter. Every night a colony of 1300 little penguins swim home to feed their chicks and bed down for the night, but not before amusing onlookers on the beach. These are the smallest and cutest penguins we've seen and as the light fades they come out on the rocks to waddle about as little penguins do along with their friends the water rats, who also live here.
Sadly our time in Melbs had to come to an end eventually and it did on Monday when we had to say a fond farewell to Ella and Sam and don our backpacks once again.
Melbourne's been a fab city to end Australia in for many reasons, but mainly because it's filled with fab food, drink and friends, which has made us feel like real adult human beings again. Which is a nice feeling, especially as we are just about to spend a month in a camper-van in New Zealand...
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