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Published: March 12th 2008
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Cpt Cooks Family Home imported from yorkshireTo Melbourne! and beyond...
Tuesday 4th March
So we arrived after a 17 hour bus journey which I must say was not a lot of fun! We then checked into Flinders Station backpackers. Debbie had a power nap while Jon explored the area. We then both went for a walk around the town and indulged in some coffee and a cake (which also acted as dinner!), we also kept bumping into a guy called James who was a friend of Jons friend Abby who is living in Sydney at the moment. He came out with us the Thursday night in Sydney and we hadn't seen him since (probably for the best given some of the photos). Jon then had his nap (!) and Debbie went to the visitors centre to look at all the things we could do, once both feeling revived we went to the hostel bar and took part in the trivia quiz - despite our immense team name (he's gay, she's not) we didnt do too well so without winning the $100 bar tab we headed off to bed.
Wednesday 5th March
Today we headed to Fitzroy gardens which are shaped like the union jack. Here
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Lighthouse at the tip of the great Ocean Road we looked at Cooks cottage which has been moved to Melbourne from Yorkshire and was very pretty in a chocolate box sense, we also saw the fairy tree (a tree with loads of fairies and creatures carved into it) and a model tudor village which was... fairly average. After this Jon returned to the hostel for a cuppa and Debbie visited the immigration museum (and a display of Chinese Masks that were being displayed there) which was really interesting and eye opening to see the history of how the countries population was formed and what people had to go through not only to be granted residency but also to get to Oz in the first place! Then after a minor communication break down we rendez-vous'ed outside the humungous casino by the river and watched some rowers for a bit. Then we didn't have much time in which to organise a car for the following day and head off to Draculas cabaret. We'd managed to get half price tickets for the cabaret and it was a really fun evening. We had a 3 course dinner while loads of actors (initially dressed as vampires) performed a cabaret entitled vampirates - it had
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the Great Ocean Road absolutely no plot line but was hilarious - my highlight being 2 of them dressed as midgits singing tribute by tenacious D.
Thursday 6th March
We hired a Honda Accent for the day and drove the great ocean road - wow - similar to highway 1 in California and the views were quite magnificent. We hit the 12 apostles (of which you cant see all 12 as some hide others) at sunset and for once the weather was on our side with the perfect amount of cloud to give us a spectacular sunset - naturally we went photo mental! We then began our drive home returning to our hostel at 1am with D facing the prospect of getting up again at 7 to return the car!
Friday 7th March
We visited Melbourne Police Museum which was really eye opening to see what the police go through and to hear about what some criminals get up to in Oz etc - I didn't realise the job of a police officer was as risky as it was - there were a lot of tributes to those who had died in action and also some gruesome crime scene photos. We then
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Our Hire Car headed to the docklands to look at some of the sculptures which were pretty cool and as there was a L'Oreal fashion show going on D got her nails done for free and a complimentary goodie back filled with all sorts of treats, Jon Held back! We then headed to the Old Melbourne Gaol (which is what they call a jail for some reason). Our trip began with an arresting experience where a police woman simulated what it would be like for us to get arrested and locked up - needless to say she was quite rude to us and locked us in the dark in some horrible cells. We also got to experience a padded cell and have our mugshots taken - it was lots of fun but I must say a little frightening at times (the experience isnt recommended for those under 15 and I can see why!). We then headed into the main prison where we heard prison tales and stories of criminals, we also saw the place where the infamous bush ranger Ned Kelly was killed. We then headed to federation square which is a kind of meeting place and had a look around, and went
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Us in a tree into the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) to watch some short movies made by various people on various themes before heading to the river. This weekend was labour day weekend which meant a 4 day weekend (for those with jobs), the weekend was also the weekend of the Moomba Waterfestival so there were international waterski and wakeboard competitions going on as well as a funfair and lots of other stuff. We watched some waterskiing and then D stayed to watch nightjump, then the waterski gymnastics team and then watched a film on the outdoor cinema while J went to the real cinema to watch a film as Melbourne was hosting the Melbourne Queer Film Festival. We then met again back at the river before heading to bed.
Saturday 8th March
We hit Victoria Markets which were huge and full of loads of amazing fresh produce (as well as the usual market stuff) all at good prices - naturally we partook in multiple free samples! After a few hours in the markets we headed back to the ACMI where the game on exhibition was taking place. Here they had every games console since 1960 for you to play
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Ocean Rowers on - lots of fun and we got to play on all the old skool games like old arcade machine pacman and the first space invaders! We then walked to the river and watched a bit of the festival before returning to the hostel. In the evening we headed to St Kilda to sample the nightlife - we tried out a few bars and had a couple but couldnt stay too long as we needed to catch the last tram home around midnight.
Sunday 9th March
Today we undertook the $10 challenge - we were having a picnic and we each had $10 to take to the Victoria markets to buy food - D in charge of Cheese and Dips and J in charge of meat bread and fruit. was lots of fun and we ate good food (a rarity for Oz)! We took this down to the Moomba festival where we were to spend the day (in 35+ degree heat). When we arrived the birdman competition was going on (where people build zany flying machines and jump of a ledge in an attempt to fly) which was hugely hugely entertaining. We then moved further down the river to
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Debbie and the Apostles watch the waterskiing and wakeboarding tricks and jump competitions. Later in the evening Jon departed to catch another film and Debbie stayed to watch night jump (of which she was now becomming quite an addict - this being her 3rd in a row). We then rendezvous'd again to watch Rockwiz live on stage - which was like Never mind the Buzzcocks but less funny. We then returned to the river (only 100m from the stage) to watch the fireshow - omg the most spectacular fireworks ever going all the way along the river - it was incredible and the whole festival was entirely free. D then headed back to the hostel and Jon went off to St Kilda for an explore.
Monday 10th March
We checked out a bit more waterskiing (the slalom competition) then headed to out meeting place to pick up our neighbours bus. what an amazing day. We were taken by our guide to see Erinsborough high, then we went to the studios (although we weren't allowed inside, just into some of the outdoor sets) and saw Carpenters cars, greasemonkeys, the bus stop where everyone catches their buses and the telephone box. We then went round
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Jon and the Apostles the corner to Ramsay Street (aka pin oak court). It must be said, the road is absolutely tiny - I have no idea how they make it look so big! Was amazing seeing the houses we'd grown up watching although obviously we weren't allowed inside given that they are peoples homes (plus they use sets for the interiors in neighbours anyway). We then drove to St Kilda where we were met by Janelle Timmins for an autograph and photo sesh before returning to our hostel. We had little time here to eat and get changed before heading out to neighbours night. Present at our neighbours night was Stuart Parker, Steve Parker, Declan and Karl Kennedy and we got photos with each. We also did a trivia quiz (for which our improved team name was fag, hag & irish - we had gained some irish members!) but again didn't win. We drank lots (and lots) and had a good giggle and watch Karl Kennedy's band the waiting room (who are much improved since the summer party for you Notts Readers!) and all in all it was an incredible night - however I did wake up in the morning with little memory
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Melbourne Wind Chime! of the evening after the quiz!! (perhaps best - JB)
Tuesday 11th March - Our last day in Melbourne, this was largely spent running odd errands before our flight the next day. We did take a trip to the Shrine of Remembrance which was really moving. We were given a private guided tour (obviously - only the best for us) by a nice old chap called David! It was incredible the thought which had gone into the building - I won't bore you with the details but literally everything was symbolic and lots of stuff was worked out so that it would have special effect on the 11/11 at 11am! I think the final thing I should mention is the dinner we ate on our last night. We decided to finish up our leftovers so dinner consisted off. Rice, egg noodles, tomato pasta sauce, gorgonzola cheese and balsamic vinegar (which we found), followed by a bowl of minestrone soup - delicious!
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