meant I slept through my usual drafting time, but it so hot in AS (34
degrees!) that I have no energy for anything else, so here it is...
1. Sports - living up to Australia's reputation as a Sporting Nation
we did 3 different sporting things while in Melbourne all of which
were great fun:
- Tour of Melbourne Park - despite the Rod Laver Stadium doubling up
as a concert venue all of the people on this tour were there for a
behind the scenes look into the Australian Open tennis tournament. The
Rod Laver stadium is a bit disappointing as all its tennis trappings
were long gone but that was made up for by the triumvirate of
highlights which were seeing the tournament trophies, wandering about
on the Margaret Court court (brilliant!) and pretending to do a post
match press conference in the media room. The complex doesn't have the
class of Wimbledon but it was still a highlight of the trip for me.
- Aussie rules football at the Etihad (previously Vodafone) Stadium -
I still don't understand the rules and its resemblance to 'real'
football is non-existant but I still enjoyed the experience a lot. The
stadium is massive and the atmosphere was pretty good what with it
only being a pre-season match. It also doesn't really matter if you
don't understand the rules as the basics are easy enough to follow. A
great opportunity for 'bogun' watching and mullet counting too! Shame
about the light beer and St. Kilda losing.
- Sheffield Shield Cricket Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground -
probably not the best match to see at the MCG; the Boxing Day Ashes
Test this wasn't! But despite the small attendance (maybe 800 people -
it was Day 1 and a Wednesday) the stadium still impresses, you can
drink full strength beer and the cricket had some quality moments. A
really fun day out.
2. Penguin Parade - number one on my hypothetical cutest world sites
top 5! This is basically an opportunity to watch literally hundreds of
penguins return home after a long day collecting food to feed their
babies. They turn up just after dark to avoid being seen by predators
and form into protective groups and waddle up the beach to their
babies in burrows. There is always one fat one that lags behind or
falls over which is super cute and the excitement and expectation from
the babies who are still not very sure footed is adorable. The parade
is understandably popular so the tourist activity is carefully
restricted but you still get to witness this natural marvel (which
happens everyday like clockwork) at very close hand. Brilliant!
3. Great Ocean Road - you have by now hopefully seen the photos, which
should give you some idea how stunning the coastline along the GOR is.
The golden sand and rocks were set against a perfect blue sky -
breathtaking! We did the GOR on a one day tour which has the advantage
of meaning you can look out of the window instead of just
concentrating on the roads. The tour also took in Koala Cove which we
might otherwise have missed, which gave us an opportunity to see some
sleepy wild koalas (apparently they sleep for upwards of 20 hours a
day - lucky them!) and feed the local parrots who obligingly came and
sat on my arm! To do the stretch from Melbourne to the farthest point
we went to (London Bridge!) makes for a long day and I can see the
benefit of a self-drive at your own pace but although I was pretty
tired by the end of it all, it made for a 10/10 day out.
4. Culture - once again Oz has demonstrated it is not the cultural
desert it is made out to be in the UK. We saw an enjoyable permanent
exhibition about the history of movies as well as a cool Dennis Hopper
exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. It is a real
shame London got rid of MOMI, we have nothing to compete with the
ACMI. Incidentally, the ACMI is located in Federation Sq in Central
Melbourne - a collection of love them or hate them modern buildings
even more so for being located near the historic (well, by Oz
standards) Flinders St station and the Young & Alexander hotel (which
contains a famous painting called Chloe which is actually pretty nice.
Paul recommends their Chief beer.)
We also saw a couple of good exhibitions at the State Library of
Victoria - one on the history of shopping in Melbourne (guess whose
idea it was to go to that one!) and a rare books exhibition which had
an impressive historical collection as well as an interesting
perspective on some newer books. I also enjoyed a trip to the
Melbourne Gaol which is macabre but interesting. You can see the place
where Ned Kelly (among others) was hung as well as various death masks
of famous inmates and some more educational stuff! The admission price
also gets you into the adjacent watch house which was used to charge
and remand criminals until 1994. You get to enjoy a half an hour tour
where they 'recreate' the experience by allocating you a fake crime
and then proceeding to charge and lock you up for it! No under 15s
allowed although I suspect that is largely because much of the
grafitti is still intact! The experience veers between embarassing as
you are shouted at by a budding actor pretending to be a bad ass cop
and unsettling when they put you in a cell, lock the door and turn of
the lights. I was pretty glad to walk out into the sunlight again at
the end!
There are plenty more cultural sights in Melbourne too, but there is
never enough time...
5. Brunswick/Chapel Streets/Acland St - no top 5 of mine would be
complete without my summary of the 'quirky' and 'unique' places to
shop and Melbourne doesn't disappoint. Brunswick St in Fitzroy was
probably my favourite due the sheer density of cool shops, cafes and
bars (a lot of which are in reclaimed old buildings still looking
fashionably distressed). Chapel St mixes it up a bit more with more
well known brands and Acland St is good for a hungover wander and a
big lunch (at Bigmouth) rather than full on shopping (although there
is a decent market on the nearby Esplanade on Sundays). Fitzroy St is
also worth a mention for a decent collection of bars.
Other honourable mentions go to:
- The Eureka Tower - expensive to get up but great views of Melbourne.
- The Espy Bar in St. Kilda - a grungy pub with a slightly rough vibe
but live music of varying standards every night. Our favourite evening
venue.
- Luna Park - basically a small, budget theme park which retains some
of the early 20th century rides which give it a bit of character. The
entrance, through a giant mouth, is similar to the one in Sydney. It
must be an Australian thing. Photo to follow. (It is just up the road
from the St. Kilda sea baths, which has a nice gym with views of the
beach. It also has some indoor sea baths (well, duh!) which is quite
handy if you don't fancy the jelly fish infested sea. We saw quite a
lot of jellyfish from the safety of the pier.)
Finally a shout out to Rich & Suz, who were great company along the
way at the bars of Chapel St, the AFL and the Penguin Parade (thanks
again for the lift!) Hope it goes well for you in Melbourne!
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