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Published: December 13th 2007
Koala
relaxedWe had a long night waiting for our flight to Melbourne. We had to check in at 3.30am and our flight was at 6.35am. We didn't think there was much point in going to bed so we were just going to go to the airport late and try and sleep there for a bit, the problem was that Christchurch airport closes at night until 3am! And the hostel wouldn't let us wait around until 3am for our shuttle so we had to pay $19 each for the pleasure of sitting in the dusty TV room with a rather strange lady making strange noises in the corner.... The flight to Melbourne was fine though, we both slept the whole way and arrived, a bit bleary eyed, to sunny Melbourne!
We queued up to get through customs and noticed an "Express Card Holders Only" sign on the wall and thought "Hmmmm I think we're in the wrong line..." and some people behind us said we were supposed to join a different queue. So we moved to this and after a few minutes we began to smell a rat. The queue we were told to join acutally snaked its way around the baggage
conveyer belts, around the room and back to where we first stood. Now as you can probably imagine after only 3 hours sleep that night, feeling pretty rubbish and in need of a shower we were livid. We decided as we'd already queued for ages, TWICE, that we were fully justified in cutting the line near the front. Which we did. Ha!
Anyway, our hostel was in St Kilda, which is a really cool district of Melbourne. Many years ago it used to be the place where all the punks and drug dealers used to be, but then there was a property boom and now its a really cool place. There are lots of funky shops, cafes and bars etc, close to the beach and the famous Luna Park.
The lack of sleep was kicking in so we had a very early night and slept for nearly 13 hours. The next day we were ready to explore, and headed into Melbourne city centre. The city is really cool, lots of interesting buildings, Christmas decorations, street performers etc. We went to the Dept. of Immigrations (scary) to get our working holiday VISA labels put in our passports. Or get
deported, depending on how well it went.... (that's a joke by the way Mum in case you worry!). The waiting room was packed but I think they must get alot of backpackers in as we got the labels sorted in about 10 minutes. We had another quiet one as Kim wasn't feeling to great with her cold! Awwww!
Day 3 in Melbourne we were out of the hostel and moved to our room that we're renting in a flat for the month we're here. It's in a suburb called Elwood, just down the road from St Kilda. We're living with 2 German architects, Giuseppe and Simone, who are both really nice. That evening we decided to venture out into Elwood to find a nice place to eat. We were hoping to find somewhere cheap and cheerful however we had a small money problem as Kim's band had blocked her card (AGIN!!!) as they have done everytime she has entered a new country even though they know she is abroad, and Joe had to take all the rent money out meaning he had gone over his daily limit. Therfore with no cash we had to opt for a restuarnt as
they took cards. We choose a nice looking Chinease place as it had a good Vegie selection. It wasnt until after we had ordered some drinks and a started that we realised they only provided chopsticks! It was very entertaining trying to eat a vegie curry and stirfried tofu with rice. Joe managed it a lot better than Kim who could only lift a few grains of rice at a time.
But forget all that excitement, Saturday was the big day.... NEIGHBOURS TOUR!
As with everything we've ever done on this trip, we had to get up early to arrive in time for our tour. We booked a taxi to be safe, but the taxi driver wasn't the sharpest tool in the box as he didn't know where we were going or how to get there. So while we were sat waiting for him to programme his sat-nav our fair was going up! The anger was soon replaced with excitement as we got on our Neighbours bus and watched some very old episodes, including the first ever episode, and headed to our first stop at Erinsbourgh high. The school is actually really small, and is used as an
English language school during the week. Because it was a Saturday we got to walk around the basketball courts (all of which they use in the show! wow!) and Joe sat in the Gazebo which was used when Skye and Lana had their infamous kiss!
We pulled up next to the Neighbours studios! Had some photos outside Grease Monkey's and the garage, before wandering around to Lassiters! Joe was very excited and as you can imagine, many photos were taken! Now that we have a TV in the flat Joe has also found relief for his Neighbours craving! The problem is we travelled for 2 months without being able to watch it, and Australia is 3 months ahead of the UK so we're now 5 months ahead! And we were also told some devastating news that a certain cast member has just filmed their last episode..... (email if you want to know who!)
Last stop was RAMSEY STREET!!! It's alot smaller in real life, they use wide angle lenses to make it look alot bigger. The camera was hard at work again! It felt pretty surreal being stood in Ramsey street! After all that excitement we headed to
the city to trawl through the gift shops for Kim to get a diggeredoo! We chilled out down by the Yarra River that runs through Melbourne, and had a look around Federation square. The only problem with Melbourne at the moment is the flies!!!! Apparently because of the drought in the state at the moment there are alot more of them and they are flying around in swarms. Its VERY annoying!
That night we headed down to St Kilda to check out the nightlife. There are alot of street performers which make it a really special place and add to the atmosphere. There was even a full band who had drawn quite a crowd, one lady playing a Violine with a baby on her back. We wandered into Luna park and were given some ride tokens for free by some people who were just leaving the park. Bargain! We tried to win a toy Penguin on the "throw the balls in the clown's mouth" game but we didn't do to well and ended up with a tiara and wand! We did pretty well on Splat the Rat though!
Sunday was the day of the Ricky Hatton fight. Ok,
so the less said about the result the better, but we did go and watch it in the casino which was pretty cool! The whole place was packed with English people (the bar ran out of pint glasses). The satellite signal cut out half way through the fight and there was a great shout from someone sat down the front of "This would never happen in England!!!".
Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful, so I won't waste time typing about that.... Wednesday we booked for a trip to Phillip Island to see the worlds smallest penguins at the Penguin Parade! We set out at 11.30 and our first stop was at a family run animal sanctuary. They take in alot of injured animals, re-habilitate them and re-release them into the wild. There are also some animals that, for one reason or another, can't be release so we could go and pay them a visit. We weren't entirely sure what a Wombat was before we got here, only that it was from Australia and was called a Wombat. But its closely related to a Koala, sleeps alot, and is possibly one of the most comical animals you can ever see!
It just lay sleeping on the guides lap, and didn't even blink an eye when a Japanese tourist woman (gotta love them!) started poking her finger in its pouch! I hope she washed her hands because we had lunch next and then went outside and hand fed some Wallabies and Kangaroos.
We then travelled on to Phillip Island for a few sights. Woolamai beach is the beach in the photos, and although it looks nice and warm, it wasn't! When you're in a t shirt and shorts the wind comes right up from the Antartctic and it's cold! (Not the height of summer here yet!) We travelled to the Nobbies, which is an outcrop of rocks on the island where some of the penguins also nest. After dinner we were taken to the Penguin Parade. We'd better explain about these penguins here.... they are the worlds smallest penguin and every night after sunset they come out of the water, waddle up the beach and head to their nests in the dunes. They come up on alot of beachs around the island and because of their burrows, developers are unable to build more houses on the island. We weren't allowed
to take photos because of the flash which might scare the little critters and damage their eyes. There are some big concrete steps set up on the dunes where every night people are ushered in to watch the penguins come up. You can then walk back along the boardwalk and see the penguins close up. Trust us, it is very entertaining! Never mind Big Brother, just 10 weeks of watching penguins will be far more entertaining. You'll probably get alot more intelligent conversation too!
The highlight of the night had to come from a Japanese tourist though. Ahh, you have the love the Japanese tourists. They hunt in packs, armed with cameras and umbrellas. Tell them to sit down, they'll stand up. Tell them not to go near the seals as they may bite, they go right up to the seals. But anyway, there was a rabbit in the grass and she came running up, pointed at it and shouted " Ahhh, Badger!!!". Classic.
So next monday is what we're looking forward to as we have booked NEIGHBOURS NIGHT! Featuring Dr. Karl and his band! Look out for the next blog!
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Becky Holley
non-member comment
HEYYY!
OMG you look like your having soooo much fun! im real jelous!!!! hope everything is going well out there and youve not forgotten us. miss ya loads! xxx