15-25 October: Melbourne
Here then, finally, the last blog post of our vacation down under.
We flew in from Alice Springs on the 15th of October. As we would be staying at the Coffee Palace Backpackers for more than a week we were able to take the airport shuttle for free. But this was during rush hour, so it took forever to get there. This was slightly worrying as we had a dinner date with my very good friend Espen and his Vilde who study there (and who were our excuse/reason to go to Australia in the first place) and even though I had jotted down Vilde’s phone number, it was in a book in a bag in a carriage rumbling along behind the shuttle bus. Which is always to be expected in situations like that. Anyhoo, we got a lovely room to ourselves at the Coffee Palace and eventually, with the assistance from a guy with a very nice Irish accent, found the tram that took us through the city centre to our friends. The weather was dreadful (in fact, we probably had about 50 per cent rainy days while it previously had been a balmy 25 degrees. But this is also to be expected.) but we were inside eating tacos and having a jolly good time. So good that we had to take a taxi back to the hostel, and not for the last time either.
The next day we teamed up with Vilde as Espen had a few exams around the corner. There was a lot of shopping going on with me plopping down to read Follet’s Pillars of the Earth on any strategically seat put out for dads, husbands and boyfriends. Later, we visited the library, a dignified old building with an interesting exhibition of books and literature throughout the ages as well the story, and armour, of Ned Kelly, Australia’s infamous bushranger. The shopping date ended with a quite luxurious cup of hot chocolate at a chocolatier called Max Brenner. Later that evening we went to the third largest Imax in the world to watch an extended (by a royal 16 minutes) edition of Avatar IN 3D! We were completely sucked into the screen. I’ve heard a lot of different opinions about the film but we all absolutely loved it.
Here then, finally, the last blog post of our vacation down under.
We flew in from Alice Springs on the 15th of October. As we would be staying at the Coffee Palace Backpackers for more than a week we were able to take the airport shuttle for free. But this was during rush hour, so it took forever to get there. This was slightly worrying as we had a dinner date with my very good friend Espen and his Vilde who study there (and who were our excuse/reason to go to Australia in the first place) and even though I had jotted down Vilde’s phone number, it was in a book in a bag in a carriage rumbling along behind the shuttle bus. Which is always to be expected in situations like that. Anyhoo, we got a lovely room to ourselves at the Coffee Palace and eventually, with the assistance from a guy with a very nice Irish accent, found the tram that took us through the city centre to our friends. The weather was dreadful (in fact, we probably had about 50 per cent rainy days while it previously had been a balmy 25 degrees. But this is also to be expected.) but we were inside eating tacos and having a jolly good time. So good that we had to take a taxi back to the hostel, and not for the last time either.
The next day we teamed up with Vilde as Espen had a few exams around the corner. There was a lot of shopping going on with me plopping down to read Follet’s Pillars of the Earth on any strategically seat put out for dads, husbands and boyfriends. Later, we visited the library, a dignified old building with an interesting exhibition of books and literature throughout the ages as well the story, and armour, of Ned Kelly, Australia’s infamous bushranger. The shopping date ended with a quite luxurious cup of hot chocolate at a chocolatier called Max Brenner. Later that evening we went to the third largest Imax in the world to watch an extended (by a royal 16 minutes) edition of Avatar IN 3D! We were completely sucked into the screen. I’ve heard a lot of different opinions about the film but we all absolutely loved it.
The next couple of days were spent exploring the city, going to cafés, eating out or making dinner at our friends’ place, watching films or playing videogames (for the boys) and consistently missing the tram back. Katrine and I visited the Melbourne Aquarium, the Zoo (which was a bit disappointing, but we found out it must be because you should only visit one zoo per three or so years – they do tend to look a bit the same) and Victoria Market. Being gastrophiles we had a very nice dinner at Claypots where we had giant scampi in garlic with crusty bread and Cajun flathead, a fish cooked whole with Cajun seasoning. We went for dessert at Waltdorf for chocolate cake with cherry foam and ice cream and crème brûlée. On another occasion we bought four cupcakes and three sushi rolls which we ate on the banks of the Yarra river while watching the rowing classes.
One of these days Katrine and I braved the Skydeck, one of the tallest skyscrapers in Melbourne and the highest vantage point (man-made presumably) on the southern hemisphere. The lifts launches you skywards at 9 m/s to the 88th floor providing an impressive view of Melbourne and surroundings. It is also possible to stand in an all-glass box which is shoved out the side of the building so that you have only a bit of glass and a lot of air between you and the unforgiving pavement of Melbourne. But this costs, of course, as much as the admission ticket itself, so I had to give up on that sadly. We later met another friend of ours, Anette, at the bar where she works and teamed up for quiz night! This involved a lot of Australian celebrities and sports and we didn’t do spectacular, although we had a good time!
On the 22nd it was time for our road trip! We met up with Espen and Vilde early in the morning outside Budget car rentals where we drove away with a very sleek Holden SV6. We were out of the city on the second try and found the Great Ocean Road on the third try. The scenery was gorgeous: lush pastures, dense woodlands, beautiful skies and a winding road through it all. We stopped to buy stuff for lunch, stopped at a number of beaches for the views and had lunch at one of them. A bit further on we bought ice cream from a place which, judging by the amount of diplomas and prizes on the walls, is unable to manufacture a single taste without it winning in some category or other. I had two cones: ginger and cheese… I do sometimes get tired of my propensity to always having to try strange new flavours. I almost ate all of it, though. On the way we saw the Twelve Apostles, the Arch, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge, all magnificent artworks of eroded rock and sea, and wild koalas! We travelled back along the Princess Highway, stopping for pizza, horrible fatty, salty, vein-clogging pizza, in Terang. Nevertheless, overall, the bee’s knees! One of the best days on our trip, perhaps only surpassed by the next day.
Although this time we started a little later. Still, on we went to Phillip Island! The four of us made a brief stop at a chocolate factory, made all the briefer when we realized, contrary to expectations, that it wasn’t, in fact, free. Oh well, next up: A Maze‘N Things! The place that is exactly as awesome as the cunning name implies. It has a maze and other things, like optical illusions where rooms are built in impossible angles, balls seem to run uphill etc. It had a bit of a run-down feel to it and the gobstopper machine stole my dollar (Get one, two OR three gobstoppers! my arse) And the funny thing about the maze was that it was hard just to find the emergency exit, but the illusions part was a lot of fun! After this I finally tried my hand at driving. I was a bit apprehensive considering they drive on the left over there, and I was afraid I’d savage the first pedestrian in sight after driving out of the parking lot in a confused panicky state of mind, but everything went quite well. Next stop: the Nobbies! Offering again a spectacular view of the coast as well as being a nesting area for seagulls, tiny little penguins and, as we suddenly spotted, snakes, well snake. We only saw one, but the people standing with us told us it was a venomous Brown Snake which poison would kill a human being in an hour. Very exciting for us, and another ‘Australian animal sighted’ checkbox ticked off. After driving back we spent, I kid you not, 30 minutes trying to find a parking spot. Then: a steak dinner, beer and wine and life was good! Dead-tired, we spent the night at Espen and Vilde’s place.
Our last full day in Australia was a nice, lazy one. We slept in, had the best breakfast and strolled around a large bookstore (where Espen and I continued our quest for a simple goddamn cup of brewed coffee – all you can get, it seems, is a long or short black (espresso or waterd down espresso)) while Katrine got her hair done. Later on, Espen and I went for a stroll in a nearby park and popped into Melbourne Museum 20 minutes prior to closing time (free student admission) to watch the awesome skeletons and not-so-awesome, but very informative, shrivelled remains of male genitals. We all had dinner in the Italian neighbourhood where the owner managed to turn away as Espen commended him on the pizza, turning him into an instant arsehole. He even counted the money in our presence to see how much of a tip we gave him (none, surprisingly). The rest of the evening was spent relaxing, gaming and evacuating because of a (false as usual) fire alarm.
The next day we packed and went to the airport, saying goodbye to magnificent Australia. We had a blast, seeing a little bit of what it has to offer, travelling from the tropical Darwin, through the desert around Alice Springs to temperate Melbourne. We’ve seen crocodiles, wallabies, parrots, koalas, snakes, camels, lizards and possums, seen amazing landmarks and met many interesting new people. And some day, when we’ve forgotten all about the enormously long journey to get there, we’ll be back! Oh, and on the way back, the in-flight entertainment system worked like a charm.
