Melbourne

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The 7 hour journey from Mildura to Melbourne was nothing short of hell, the time was not a problem, the conditions on the other hand were horrendous.

I seated myself on the V-Line bus ready for the 3 hour ride to Swan Hill where i would transfer to the train for a ride into Melbourne meeting Bram at Southern Cross Station.

The first leg of the journey was routine, watching small towns and vineyards stretching seemingly to the horizon. I knew there were many but the scale is vast once observed from every direction. I would think if this was in England, a whole county would be filled with the endless green of leaves and fruit, thats what it seemed like.

I disembarked the bus, passed the Big Murray Cod and boarded the train. I found my seat and after much adjusting within my personal space, decided to place my backpack on the luggage shelf. The train pulled away when before long there was a loud crash. I along with the rest of the carriage looked down the aisle to see what it was. To my dismay my backpack had fallen out off the luggage shelf and had attracted the kind of attention one would liken to an old women farting at prayer in church and the echo shaking the foundations and threatening the future of the building. After waiting a few moments for eyes and ears to return to other interests i scuttled up the aisle and squeezed my backpack back on the shelf and returned to my seat.

It was turning into another deliriously warm day - mid forties again and the carriage was noticably humid, due to broken air conditioning and no open windows. Everyone seemed to be suffering and due to the heat
melting the tracks, the train could only move at a certain speed, far off usual pace.

An elderly man sat opposite me with a brown brief case he offered useful information...
'fine dairy farming' - looked anything but fine to me. a dying brown colour that looked to
have been in that state for ages.

if only they had invented human irrigation. the sweat i was now producing would be substantial
enough to fill a reservior the size of sydney and my water logged t-shirt good enough to put
out a fair sized bush fire. everyone looked to be suffering but i was beginning to feel
unbelieveably concious of my current state of hygiene.

i needed a drink. badly. i had put off going to the counter to purchase anything in fear of
the likelyhood that the seat had melted to my back and that i would end up carrying half of it
down the aisle and eyes once again fall on me. but i was desperate. i gingerly plucked
myself from my seat and trickled down through my carriage to the next where i didn't hesitate
to order two bottles of coke and a water, pull out a sodden wallet to pay and return to my
seat as elegantly as possible. mission accomplished i now would not have to move again!

Finally an act of God prevailed and an announcement came out saying 'due to extreme weather
conditions this service will terminate at Bendigo...'

When the train crawled to a stop, i disembarked the sauna looking like a survivor from a
flood disaster, every inch of me squelching, looking for safety on an air-conditioned bus.

The first ten minutes was bliss then the realisation that my saturated clothes mixed with air-con
were effectively going to turn into a fridge with me trapped inside.

After what seemed like an eternity, driving through Victorian countryside, not to dissimilar to
the English version, the Melbourne skyline came into view, gradually inlarging but almost
teasingly slow...but in the end i arrived!

From Southern Cross Station i was instructed by Bram to get the Glen Waverley train to
Burnley. Public transport was free that day and as a result it was about as busy as London
underground in rush hour. I squeezed onto the train with my backpack, a huge inconvenience,
just like trying to post a fridge through a letter box and within seconds i felt like i was in
a sauna again! Horrible experience, trying not to touch anyone, avoiding eye contact,
feeling very uncomfortable in every possible sense.

I met Bram at Burnley Station and arrived at his place in Richmond where immedeiately i had
a shower, followed by a couple of beers, dinner and an initiation shot of 60% Asian alcohol.

I went out that night to many bars, ones the average backpacker would probably never find,
meeting locals and Brams friends, whom it turned out i would see quite often.

On Saturday, my first full day, i went to the beach, first ironically was Brighton beach,
this one actually had sand and then to Elwood beach where we drank beer, messed around in
the sea and played a mild formof beach cricket.

I went out again that night with a load of Aussies and Kiwis.

SUNDAY:

Was internet day, the long lost luxury, catching up with everything and everyone.

MONDAY:

I spent the day walking around the city taking in Flinders Street Station and Federation
Square amoungst others. There was a Sheffield Shield cricket match in progress at the MCG
that i was tempted to watch but i had my sights set on something higher.

TUESDAY:

I toured the MCG, very impressive ground, it holds around 100,000 spectators and every
stand in now covered by roof. I walked past where Melbourne holds the Australian Tennis
Open where staff were busy cleaning up after the finish of the Grand Slam.

Wednesday night i stayed at Andrews where i catch up with everybody and have a swim in the
pool. How i appreciated the swim after so long in extreme temperatures, dreaming of
somewhere cool to relax.

Thursday i went out for the day with Andrew, firstly to Healsville wildlife sanctuary, East
of Melbourne where i saw my first platypus amoungst other things. Afterwards we visited
Rocford Winery in the Yarra valley where we sampled some wines.

Friday i went to the MCG again, this was what i had my sights set on, the one day international
match between Australia and New Zealand. The ground was no where near full and Australia
lost but the entertainment provided by the crowd was good fun. Beer cup trains of impressive
lengths were made near my vicinity more than a few times and it only ended as crowd stewards
intervened ejecting the ring leaders but from what i could make out, it was harmless fun.
I myself had several beers but stopped buying them once a group of the crowd in front
started to dare anyone carrying a beer to neck theirs in one. Everybody that was dared
attempted the feat and it was amusing to watch. AS night fell and the match concluded i left
feeling sun burnt but happy to witness a game in the biggest cricketing venue in the World.

Saturday i was picked up from Andrews by Bram and a few others and headed down to the river
a total of 7 of us spent the afternoon floating down the river on 2 inflatable boats,
swimming every so often, drinking beer, negotiating small rapids and a dead kangaroo. The
sky was black with smoke from bushfires, the first one i'd seen during my Australian
adventure, at times the thick black smoke blocking out the sun. Due to the steep riverside
banks and trees, we had no idea how close or how severe the fire was. I later found out that
they were the worst bushfires in Australian history, claiming many lives and flattening
entire towns, including one i had been very close to on the Thursday. It made international
news coverage and i was there to witness it.

Sunday we went down to St. Kilda where St. Kilda festival was taking place. It turned out
to be a solid days drinking where a group of us well into double figures enjoyed the day
and watching live bands.

A week passed without much to talk about, i just spent the time watching T.V, catching up
on the football, going on the internet and taking regular walks up and down Bridge Road
and occasionally venturing into the city. Basically i was just unwinding and taking
advantage of the things not so easily accessible in Mildura. Funds were gradually depleating
and therefore i started to think about working once more. So one lunchtime, sitting on a
park bench opposite a fountain with some wedding photos taking place, i reluctantly phoned
Layla asking her to save me a bed on my return to Mildura in two weeks.

The only evening of interest was when i went to watch Top Gun at a moonlight cinema with
Bram amoungst others. The setting was spectacular, unlike anything i had ever seen before
I was sat on a bean bag covered with a blanket drinking beer on a slope in the Botanical
Gardens. Black sky, illuminated by the city skyline in the near distance and bats flying
overhead, it made the film being shown insignificant, they could have been showing paint
dry for all i cared, the setting was insane, unbelievable experience.

The following week i checked into Elephant Backpackers purely as an easier means of doing
a couple of excursions. Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night.

My first excursion was to the Great Ocean Road of which i had heard much about, all positive
so i thought i would give it a whirl. The tour bus left Melbourne and headed West for the
winedy, scenic drive along a section of the Great Ocean Road that stretches most of the way
between Melbourne and Adelaide. Company on the bus was pretty boring so i relished the stops,
admiring the views, not the most spectacular views i have ever seen but impressive all the
same. We passed beachside dwellings, stopped to see some wild koalas in trees, had a picnic
lunch, an extremely brief rainforest walk, so brief it was almost pointless and then onto
the 12 Apostels. These are a set of famous stacks just off the cliff edge, gradually being
eroded by the relentless. The coastline itself reminded me of the Balearic Islands in the
Mediterranean Sea, with little coves and small sandy beaches enclosed by rugged cliffs. On
the way back we stopped in Colac which was a name i recognised from the Australian TV show
Neighbours and it was here i munched on a KFC. I enjoyed the trip and was glad to have done
it but i would say a drive along the coastline of the Isle of Wight ending up at the Needles
is more spectacular.

On the Thursday i went on the 2nd of the two trips i had booked, to Phillip Island, the place
to go to watch wild penguins come home at night to nest. After waiting for about 30 minutes
after the schedueld pick up time we headed East out of Melbourne. The first stop was a
winery where i and the bus company sampled about 12 wines for free, half pretending we had
an interest in what we were drinking. I got chatting to an English guy name 'Sim Card' who
i stuck with the restr of the day for photos and light conversation. A nice enough guy with
a weird edge.

The bus continued onto an animal sanctuary somewhere just off a main road where i saw yet
more native Australian wildlife, Kangaroos, Koalas, Emus, Wombats etc. The best thing about
this place was that it meant i could replace my previously lost photos of myself feeding a
Kangaroo.

We drove for a couple of hours and stopped for a pizza dinner before crossing over to Phillip
Island, home to much wildlife, just before dusk. Every house there has been knocked down,
well almost. The ones still standing are prevented from renovation until they become
inhabitable in a bid for the wildlife to havea safe haven.

We walked along the cliff side boardwalk spotting penguins and birds. I sighted Wallabies
from the bus on the way to the spot where we would sit on the shore waiting for the Penguins
to come home after a day at sea and nest for the night. I managed to get a front row seat
on the sand and as night fell, the first penguins arrived. The penguins looked frightened,
after slowly surfing their way to shore it seemed to take courage for them to tread on land
as a wall of seagulls guarded their path, so in groups they braved the enemy and waddled
past us into their homes.

Friday i walked around Queen Victoria Market selling clothes, souvenirs, meat, fruit, veg
and gourmet foods, before returning to Bram's that night.

I met up with Dutchy, Noemia and Frederique that night, friends from Mildura who had
travelled down that day. After a couple of hours catching up, myself and Dutchy went to
a ruleless nightclub called 'Bubble', open until 11am. At about 5am we called in quits,
grabbed a KFC and went to bed.

My last week in Melbourne I worked with Charles, one of Bram's housemates on a commercial
property, just down the road soon to be a recording studios. I had no money so this meant i could return to
Mildura and not have to live off noodles. It was dead easy, my duties included sweeping,
vacuuming and washing the walls and floorboards.

At least i had enough money to get me by for a couple of weeks.

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