I traveled with my friends Autumn, Chris, and Andrew.
We stayed in St. Kilda, which is an inner southern suburb of Melbourne, located on a sandy stretch of Port Phillip Bay. It was only a short tram ride away from the central business district of Melbourne. St. Kilda is a quaint beach town that has a really cool vibe to it. There were “heaps” (lots) of shops, restaurants, and cafes all really close by.
Cake shop after cake shop temped us with amazing window displays of deliciousness.
Cake shop after cake shop temped us with amazing window displays of deliciousness.
Also extremely close by was Luna Park, a carnival that is home to the Scenic Railway Roller Coaster, a large wooden roller coaster that has the title of being the oldest continually operating wooden roller coaster in the world. We were right on the beach, which gave us easy access to the St. Kilda Pier, where we were able to see beautiful sunsets, a scenic view of sailboats and the city in the distance, and little penguins who appear after sunset. I loved St. Kilda and I am really glad that we chose to stay there.
Thursday morning we traveled back into the city to go to the Queen Victoria Market. Every week, vendors come and set up at the market and sell their products. Basically it was like a flea market. There were a lot of souvenirs (but nothing authentic), bags, rugs, make-up, etc. for sale. Anything and everything basically, but what was most impressive to me was the fruit and vegetable section. Isles upon isles of fresh fruits and veggies; I was in heaven! I indulged in some strawberries, grapes, and a pear.
The central business district of Melbourne was also amazing, but in different ways. It portrayed the hustle and the bustle of locals working in the area, tourists exploring the area, and anyone and everyone enjoying all that the city has to offer. The architecture was amazing, with such beautiful buildings all around. I often felt like I was walking the streets of Europe.
In preparation for this trip and asking around for tips/advice and must see/do places and activities, I had very high expectations. Not one person had a single bad thing to say about Melbourne. I was continuously told how much everyone loved the city and how much I was going to love it as well. I can confidently say that my expectations were not only met, but exceeded. Melbourne was an amazing place, I had an amazing time taking as much in as I could, and I would visit again in a heartbeat!
Here are some main highlights of my trip :)
We arrived Friday (4/6/12) night after flying in on Tiger airways from Gold Coast airport. When first stepping out into Melbourne air, I was almost blown away (seriously!) I have never experienced such strong winds, it was so crazy! Melbourne is known to be a city where you can experience all four seasons in one day. I didn’t know it then, but that was the first experience of the weather mood swings (as I called them). We made our way to our hostel in St. Kilda from Melbourne airport and checked in and then walked around a little bit to explore our “stomping grounds” for the next week. We stumbled upon a happening Latin restaurant and indulged in some tapas for dinner.
The next day (our first full day in Melbourne) we rode the tram into the city to explore. Melbourne still uses trams that run along cable lines as a public transportation option. It was very easy and convenient to use. We walked blocks upon blocks discovering the area. We first walked around the Carlton Gardens outside of the Royal Exhibition Building.
We then came across Chinatown, which felt as if we were actually in Asia. It is a street packed with restaurants and shops, and it energetically displays the Asian architecture and culture.
We walked along the main shopping street and wishfully window shopped.
All along the streets there were live performers and entertainers, which we would occasionally stop to watch/listen and enjoy.
Some of the main buildings we continued to see, as they were along the main popular streets of Melbourne, were St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Forum Theater, Flinders Street Station, and Southern Cross Station. Federation (Fed) Square was also in this area. Fed Square felt to me as if it were the city’s meeting place. After walking around for quite a while, we decided to go to the Melbourne Aquarium and see what it had to offer. We had a lot of fun seeing penguins, various fish, sting rays, sharks, and many other sea creatures.
I learned some fun facts too, like:
After a long day in the city, we headed back to St. Kilda and went to Luna Park for a little while. While Chris and Autumn were riding the roller coaster, Andrew and I had fun winning prizes!
The next day was Easter Sunday. Autumn and I got an early start and found a local café that we fell in love with (95 espresso). We went back to this café almost every morning; they had the best latte that I have had yet in Australia. Melbourne is known for having great coffee, and Australians in general have such a talent in latte art.
Every Sunday St. Kilda hosts a market at the Esplanade featuring local artists and vendors. It was cool to see all the artwork and crafts that were being showcased. Autumn and I then took advantage of a slightly warmer (but still cold) day and walked along the beach and onto the Pier.
There was a lot going on at St. Kilda this day so we just enjoyed the area and the day. Later at night we went into the city and saw a comedy show, as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was going on while we were there. We saw one show with five different comedians and they were all pretty funny.
The next day started early, with a 7:20am pickup by Wildlife Tours Australia. We had pre-planned a two day trip to tour the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians National Park. There were probably about 20 of us on this tour. Our driver/tour guide, Chris, was very knowledgeable and a lot of fun. We drove (in very tight and windy roads!) a lot, stopping often at popular and scenic stops along the way.
Our first main stop was at the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, then we saw wild koalas and King parrots at Kennett River, and then we stopped for lunch in Apollo Bay.
Next on the agenda was a bushwalk through the Otway Rainforest, which is home to the carnivorous black snail and some of the world’s tallest trees.
Our next stop was the one I was really looking forward to and most excited for; the Twelve Apostles! It was incredible and absolutely beautiful.
Just as beautiful were Loch Ard Gorge, London Bridge, and Bay of Martyrs.
This day I saw some more of Melbourne’s weather mood swings. It was cold.. VERY cold all day long, but it would go from being sunny to cloudy, then sunny again, to raining, to sunny, back to raining, and then we even got hailed on! The incredibly strong wind didn’t help this situation, as freezing hail bits were pelting us in the face. We were no where near cover when this occurred, so there was nothing to do but laugh and scream at the top of our lungs! The wind was so strong (as can be proven by my hair in all these pictures), at one point we jumped in the air and the wind actually carried us!
We ended our first day of the tour at Ned’s Other beds, in the heart of Grampians National Park. We had an early start again the next morning. Bright and early we went to see some wild kangaroos :)
This then led us into our hike up the mountains in the Grampians National Park. It was beautiful from the top. We made it to the Boroka & Reed’s lookout at the top. On the way down, I was growled at by some kangaroos.. luckily I survived.
We stopped at the Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre, where we learned about the history and culture of the Jardwadjali and Djab Wurring Aboriginal tribes. Within Halls Gap we saw MacKenzie Falls, the largest waterfall in the Grampians.
We also tackled a challenging uphill hike to the “Jaws of Death” lookout point.
Our last stop of the tour was at Best’s Winery, where we were able to try four different wines that they produce.
On our way back to St. Kilda we made a pit stop at the Giant Koala.
Despite the freezing weather, we had a great time on this tour. We saw some of the most beautiful and memorable sights.
Wednesday we went back into the city to cross more things off our “must do/see list”. We went to the Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne’s tallest building, and saw the city from a different angle. We made it to the 88th floor in 36 seconds! This was a great way to see how large and beautiful the city really was.
I had researched a place called Belgian Beer Café before we left and had been keeping an eye out for it while walking around the past couple of days. Today was my lucky day, as it was right next to the Eureka Skydeck! We stopped in for lunch and I enjoyed a Bluetongue Pilsner on a beautiful day in Melbourne :)
We went on to explore the State Library, as people had recommended that we see it. I am so glad that we went, as this library was so beautiful. The architecture was amazing, and each level was filled with historical information, as if it were a museum.
We finally went to the Crown Casino, which is the largest casino in Australia, to play a few “pokies” (slot machines). After roaming around the city some more, we made our way back to St. Kilda. We wanted to be back before sunset to watch it over the pier and see the little penguins that come out on the rocks. It was just absolutely beautiful, and gave me one of those “this is unreal, and I am so lucky” feelings.
A few penguins came out once the sun set. One in particular was not shy at all. He stood right up on a rock and enjoyed every moment of everyone taking his picture.
Friday (4/13/12) wrapped up our amazing trip to Melbourne, as we had to check out and head back to the airport. We had an easy flight back and jumped right back into life on the Gold Coast.
If anyone is interested, there are hundreds of more pictures on my Facebook page :)
Next trip to look forward to: Sydney! I leave in just a few days for my next adventure. Stay tuned :)
