After Andy’s last morning run around the Botanical Gardens , we said goodbye to Melbourne and hello again to camper van days.

We journeyed out of the city by train to Roxburgh Park mid-morning and picked up our latest camper and set our sat nav for our first stop 70 miles away in Torquay, the entry point on the Great Ocean Road.

Arriving in Torquay, we headed straight for Fishermans beach and spent a couple of hours chilling and admiring the views across the Indian Ocean.

After a busy week in Melbourne, we did a quick supermarket sweep & trip to the bottle shop and then had a relaxing evening chatting to our new neighbours at the caravan park. We picked up some local beverages, an IPA for Andy from the local Blackman’s Brewery in Torquay and a Rose from a winery along the coast in Lorne.

Last day in Melbourne.

After a relaxing start, we headed back to Gertrude St in Fitzroy for a coffee and a wander around the fashionable street.

After a hour wandering around Fitzroy we went on to Melbourne Museum for a tour and to visit the Titanic exhibition.

The dinosaur part to the museum was well presented and really interesting.

We also took in the Melbourne history tour, so are now well informed about all things to do with the city!

The Titanic tour was a spur of a moment thing, but proved to be really impressive with lots of artefacts and one of the best we’ve visited.

This evening was a family affair and a meet up with Andy’s distant cousin, Rupert who he last met in 1993! Thankfully neither of them had changed much….

Great to see Rupert who very kindly picked up the dinner tab. We will see him again all being well when next in Melbourne in early 2025.

A day at the cricket.

Any trip to Melbourne requires a visit to the world famous ground that is referred to as the G.

Whilst we have done the tour some years back, we were keen to repeat and hear the stories behind this notorious AFL and cricket mecca.

The tour was fantastic and gave us 90mins of history, stories and iconic memories of sporting occasions.

After a very enjoyable morning at the MCG, we headed to the Old Treasury building where the gold was stored when the 1850’s gold rush kicked off.

After a history lesson at the old treasury office, we picked up a tram and headed across the city to the Docklands with the boats and bars.

The stadium count increased by one, as we went to the next largest venue the Marvel (Disney have the naming rights…) in Melbourne with 60k visitors.

Later on the day we went for a look around St Patrick cathedral and the juxtaposition, the Imperial Hotel roof bar for sunshine drinks.

We are both becoming converts to the Melbourne scene and love what it has to offer. Looking forward to our final day in Melbourne tomorrow.

Waking up to a sunshine day.

Morning was spent on Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, a fantastic and buzzing street with lots of cafes, shops and restaurants.

Needless there is street art a plenty which seems to be part and parcel of Melbourne up and coming ‘cool’ areas.

We had a leisurely brunch at Morning Market with coffee, bacon sandwich and raspberry cheesecake.

With the sun in full bloom we picked up a train down and went south to Brighton beach. Having been to the Uk namesake many times, we were interested to see how the two compare.

The Aussie version has a sandy beach, unlike the pebbles at home, but the two both have a great vibe and colourful beach huts. The Victorian version look especially good in the sunshine.

On the return to the city, we managed to get a photo of the famous meeting spot under the clocks.

Dinner was up on Lygon Street, the Italian restaurant quarter where we indulged in some great seafood and spicy pasta and vino!

A lovely day in the sunshine – same again tomorrow all being well.

The walking & culture day.

We booked a walking tour of the city to rekindle our knowledge of all things Melbourne and headed to Fed Square for a meet up with Sam, our guide for the day.

On the way we had a brief walk around the graffiti strewn street walls and went to the National Gallery of Victoria where the AO tennis was a key theme.

The walking tour took us to a range of buildings, old and new, with the first being the Anglican Church St Paul’s, one of the oldest buildings in the city, before the juxtaposition another graffiti strewn street, Hosier Lane.

After a very enjoyable 2hrs meandering around the city, the tour finished at Queen Victoria Street market, the largest in the city.

After leaving the tour we sampled some cold meat and cheeses, before Andy’s sweet tooth kicked in and he purchased a Sicilian cannoli. Wow it was good!

The market is huge and offers a huge array of fresh produce, much of which is sold at less than the supermarket prices. As a result it’s very popular with the locals and tourists alike.

We then headed to Shot tower, inside the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre, before moving opposite to the Victorian state library.

Not only is the library home to a massive array of books and publications, it also houses Ned Kelly’s helmet and memorabilia.

Keeping with the cultural theme, we returned to NGV and viewed the largest stained glass ceiling in the world and the Melbourne tennis ball exchange! An interesting combination.

As the heat kicked in and after a hour of taking in the various art displays, we went for a stroll on the Southbank for ice cream and a brief trip to a factory outlet to purchase sports gear whilst the sales are on.

This evening we upped the ante on the food stakes and went to a restaurant called Gimlet.

It had been recommended and was very popular with the foodie elite. Whilst the setting was impressive with an Art Deco leaning, the prices were off the charts and we quickly retreated after starters to a price point we can afford, Woolworths for salad take-out!

Now watching the AO tennis and hoping Sinner can pull it back despite losing the first two sets.

Eating out day.

Saturday offers a plethora of markets across Melbourne so we headed first to the hip area of Fitzroy and the Rose St Artists Market.

This place is adorned with graffiti and is pretty edgy, meaning that we felt a tad old against the rest of the twenty somethings out shopping for vintage.

Our next stop was the South Melbourne food market, which offers an incredible array of local and overseas produce, and of course being Melbourne, coffee of the highest quality.

After a healthy brunch and a wander around the various food stalls making bread, Palma ham and cheese purchases for lunch, we picked up the tram and moved down to the beach in St Kilda.

After a stroll around the many restaurants, bars and independent shops in St Kilda and its near neighbourhood along Chapel Street, we returned to the CBD and Southbank Walk.

Being late afternoon the bars were now buzzing and the music ‘thumping’, reminding us that we were past all of this!

Instead we decided to treat ourselves and indulge in one of Melbourne’s well respected restaurants, Chin Chin, which focuses on SE Asian food. Wow, what a great find, the taste, heat and flavour…..

We were so lucky as the restaurant was full and buzzing due to the long weekend holiday.

Post our meal we headed around the corner from the restaurant and came across some amazing AC/DC inspired graffiti that doffs its hat to all thing’s Melbourne.

All in all another great day in this fab city.

Tomorrow we have a walking tour in the morning followed by an evening dinner booking at Gimlet at Cavendish House – a must visit for food lovers so we have been reliably informed!

Holiday day in Melbourne.

Today proved to be a walking day, helped by some great scenery and restaurant stops.

Our late breakfast started with a free chocolate ice cream from our friends at McDonald’s on Southbank Promenade.

Whenever we return to Melbourne, our first stop is always to visit the Botanical Gardens, with so much on offer and ever changing.

When the sun came out, the flowers and gardens are so enchanting.

The scale of the gardens is immense and you are transported to a landscape that looks so beautiful and ever changing.

After an enjoyable lunch at The Terrace looking over the lake, we left the Botanical Gardens and headed across to the Shrine of Remembrance.

The monument to those Australians who lost their lives fighting in World War I & II is immense and very awe inspiring.

We walked up the monument to take in the views back over the city and enjoyed the linear roads that lead off from this central point.

The shrine within the monument was very thought provoking and makes you appreciate what past generations gave to enable us to have the life we have today.

Leaving the monument we headed across the Yarra River to the sports stadium central, where within less than a mile sits the soccer, aussie rules, tennis and cricket venues.

Next to the soccer stadium sits the Collingwood AFL ground. Opposite that is the Rod Laver and the MCG.

Quick stop at the cricketers bar to view the memorabilia.

Our walk around the city included the parliament building as well as China town, plus the infamous AC/DC street.

After all that walking we visited a speak easy bar, the Apollo Inn and shared a gin and vermouth cocktail and a classy rose wine as we relaxed on Flinders Lane.

With the alcohol quickly taking effect, we headed to Fed Square via Hosier Lane, the graffiti centre, to watch the men’s semifinal between Sinner and Djokovic. In glorious sunshine we watched the young Italian’s victory.

Another fab day in Melbourne. Off to Fitzroy tomorrow and the Rose Streets Artists market.

Tennis day.

We left the wilderness of Philip Island early and dropped off the camper van near Melbourne airport and headed for our new home for a week, an Airbnb on Collins St.

Before heading to the Rod Laver stadium, we went for dinner on Degraves Street, a fantastic haven for independent street foods. After pasta and a beer we picked up the tram and went to experience the build up to the ladies semi finals.

We had a good walk around before the start and got to see some of the statues for former greats, Rod Laver and Pat Cash being just two.

The Melbourne wet weather meant the roof was on the Rod Laver stadium.

Before the start, we were entertained with a light show. Not sure if you’ll ever see this at Wimbledon!

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The atmosphere for the first match between Gauff v Sabalenka was electric, helped by two big personalities. Despite the 19yr old American’s best efforts, she was second best to the towering and powerful second seed Sabalenka.

The second semi final was between Zheng from China and the Ukrainian Yastremska.

Despite losing the first two games, Zheng got her eye in and went on to win in two straight sets. She had a large Chinese following in the crowd, two of which were sat in front of us.

We had a fantastic evening. Slightly surreal watching live tennis until 11.45pm!

The set up after the tennis finished was excellent, free trams immediately outside the stadium meaning we were back at Flinders train station in super quick time and were back at our apartment just before 1am. This was out latest finish since NYE and highlights how Melbourne parties late into the evening.

Penguin evening on Philip Island.

We spent the day part basking in the sunshine visiting the nearby beaches and coastline wildlife spotting.

We visited Nobbies Centre where seals, dolphins and sharks can be viewed from the headland. We just saw wallaby’s and grey headed swans!!

Before our evenings visit to the Penguin Parade, we had a wander around Cowes and the Isle of Wight pub (!) and indulged in the seaside tradition of chips and a can of coke.

The penguin parade at Summerlands beach started at 7pm with our arrival at the hugely impressive visitor centre. The sea birds were due to put on an appearance around 9.15pm, just after it goes dark, when 450 were estimated to appear from the sea and march up the beach to their burrow holes.

We were directed to our seats on the beach parade alongside around 400 others all waiting patiently for the first penguins to put in an appearance.

At last they showed up, almost timed to perfection and what an amazing display. We felt honoured to witness these amazing creatures who spend weeks in the ocean feeding (doubling in weight to 2kg) before returning to land to mate and sleep for 2 weeks.

Unfortunately we cant take the acclaim for these great photos, as everyone is banned from taking any shots to avoiding scaring them. Instead we were supplied with some shots taken by proper natural photographers!

It was as an amazing experience to see these small penguins appear from the sea and then head up the headland to make their burrows and also to hear their screaming excited voices as they mated!!

Lastly the map below shows Philip Islands position south east of Melbourne facing out to Tasmania and begins to the Antarctic Ocean.

A driving day.

Moving around Australia you are constantly reminded of home by the place names. Today we stopped at Sale for breakfast, which sits at the westerly point of Lake Wellington and close to the famous 90 mile beach.

After a 3hr drive we arrived in Wilson’s Prom (Aussie abbreviation), the largest marine and national park in Victoria, which takes you into an area of unspoilt beauty, looking and feeling prehistoric.

Being Victoria the cool winds had blown in and so sweaters were on for the walk down to Darby beach.

Darby beach is off the beaten track and aside from a few surfers we were again on our own with the massive sand dunes and expansive beach.

We drove to the central point of the park at Tidal River where you are suddenly greeted by a uber large camping ground and a series of beach walks. It’s a surreal experience, after driving for 15 miles without seeing a sole.

The walk along Tidal beach felt like being an extra in Jurassic Park. The scale of the rocks, river bed and surrounding landscape seemingly untouched aside from the odd campsite!

We spent a very enjoyable afternoon walking around the park and marvelling at the landscape and the feeling of being in a wilderness.

After 11 days in the camper our confidence has grown and we have embraced the option of free camping, with the help of Wikicamping, a great Aussie App.

We stayed in a sports campground in Meeniyan, with a group of other campervans and caravans in a quiet spot. It’s such a great idea and merely requires a small donation of 10 dollars (£5) for the night. In return we got the use of toilets, water and a view out over the AFL ground.

You have to tip your hat to the Aussies the sport facilities in this small town were immense, footie & cricket pitches and tennis courts as well as a bowls club all available to anyone to use