Melbourne, first steps in Australia
A mistake that could have costed a lot more
After a fantastic month in New Zealand we are ready to fly to Melbourne and discover Australia. It only takes 4 hours to get to Melbourne from Christchurch.
As we are doing the check-in process at the airport, the airline agent asks us if we have a visa to enter Australia, because a visa is mandatory to enter the country. So we tell him we don’t but because the visa is free for 3 months, we were planning on simply getting it when we arrive there, the same way we have done with absolutely ALL the countries we visited so far! The problem is Australia doesn’t work that way and we have to apply for a visa ahead of time, at least 24 hours before entering the country… With our flight in 2 hours that is going to be a problem! But no panic, there is a solution, we can get the visas directly with the airline but that is going to cost us 100 USD. A mistake from us that costs a lot when traveling on a budget, but at least we didn’t miss our flight. But it is totally our fault, we simply assumed that a free visa means you can get it on arrival… Lesson learned, that just means less beer for Matt in Australia, and less chocolate for Maider! Everything gets sorted out and we board our plane to Melbourne.
It’s our second time flying with Qantas Airline. And it’s an awesome airline, on this 4 hour flight we get drinks, snacks, a full meal and each have our screen with the latest movies. We weren’t expecting all that and the flight goes by in the blink of an eye.
The start of a 45 day trip
Australia, this is Maider’s DREAM since she was a kid, the country she has been waiting for since the start of the trip. And it is in Melbourne that we start our 45 day road trip around this huge country. 45 days is definitely not enough to see the entire country so we had to make choices. The plan is to start along the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide, then head north in the Australian bush to Uluru and Alice Springs. Then drive to Cairns in the North East of the country before driving down along the East coast to Sydney where we will spend New Year’s Eve. A beautiful but long road trip. In New Zealand we drove about 2,240 miles in 3 weeks, and it looks like we will drive a little over 5,000 miles in Australia. Thank God the gas is way cheaper on this side of the Tasman sea.
In love with the city from the start
We arrive in Melbourne late afternoon on November 21st. We booked an Airbnb apartment in the St Kilda neighborhood, which is apparently young and dynamic. And when we hop off the bus from the airport we feel like we are back in Wicker Park in Chicago, a neighborhood we love. There are plenty of small coffee shops, bars and cute little shops. We already love it.
And our love is about to sky rocket when we discover the apartment we rented. It is a very modern and cozy apartment, in a calm building, with an awesome balcony. It is just perfect. It’s great to be able to enjoy a nice place like this before having to sleep in a van again for the next month and a half.
Melbourne, capital of the state of Victoria
Melbourne was first settled in 1835 by two settlers from Tasmania. Today the city has around 4.5 million inhabitants, making it the second largest city in Australia behind Sydney. Artistic and cosmopolitan city, with its many outdoor parks and historic buildings, Melbourne has been named most livable city in the world for 7 years in a row. But just got knocked off 1st place by Vienna in Austria. Fun fact, 6 of the top 10 most livable cities are in Australia or Canada.
Evening at the “Vic’ Market”
Even if we are a little tired (New Zealand is 2 hours ahead), we read that the Victoria Market was a must do on Wednesday nights. Indeed, on Wednesday nights in the summer, this market becomes a giant street food gathering. Thousands of people come here to enjoy some good food, have a drink, listen to music or find some craft art. So we had to go check it out.
After struggling to understand the train system (thank you Maider for being terrible at directions), we finally arrive at the Victoria Market. This market, is the largest open air market in the southern hemisphere. It covers 7 hectares, and with over 600 re-sellers, you can find anything from veggies, to fish, meats and fruits. Either locally grown or imported.
When we get to the market we are amazed by its size. The things is huge and there are only a couple of the many aisles that are open tonight. So we only see a tiny part of the market. And as we get in the odors are fantastic. There are many stands that do very different types of food, Italian pasta, Spanish paella, French fondue, local ice-cream and also Vietnamese, Thai and Jamaican stands. Incredible.
We don’t know what to choose, so we start by ordering a sangria for Maider and a beer for Matt. We finally decide on delicious souvlakis, which is slow roasted meet with veggies and a yogurt sauce in pita bread. Absolutely delicious. And churros for desert. That makes for a great first evening in Melbourne.
Visit of the CBD
After a restful first night in our Airbnb, we head out to discover Melbourne’s city center. And to start we decide to join a free walking tour, like we often did in South America. A great introduction to start visiting the city.
The meeting point is in front of the state library, one of Melbourne’s oldest building.
Since we are a little early we go inside, and it is huge but very modern and pretty.
Right across the street is the very English looking RMIT university.
When we get to the meeting point we are shocked by the number of people already there waiting, at least 50 people. As we start the tour, we are separated into two groups of 35! We really don’t like being in such huge groups, and realize how lucky we were in the past, because we never experienced groups of more than 10 or 15. But we were never let down by any of these free tours so we decide to stay.
Our guide is Tom, a 24 year old law student from Melbourne. And very excited to help us learn more about his city. There we go for a 3 hour tour of the CBD.
The visit starts with the old prison of Melbourne called the Gaol, that is today part of the RMIT university, and offers a very pretty view on the skyline. Apparently most of the sky scrappers we see from here have been built in the last 4 years. Incredible. We did see a lot of construction in the city since we arrived. And that made us think about Toronto 3 years ago.
Then we go through the Carlton Gardens, where we can find the Royal Exhibition Building.
Before heading down to the parliament. Almost all the sites are in construction. Which apparently has to do with the fact that there are some elections coming up.
We then go around Chinatown, that is right in the middle of the CBD.
This neighborhood is one of the biggest and oldest Chinese neighborhoods outside of China. It is filled with Asian restaurants and shops of all kinds.
In the middle of Chinatown, we see the part of Melbourne Maider was excited to experiment : the lanes, theses are hidden streets covered in graffitis and home to hidden bars.
Quick break in the Queen Victoria center, one of the many malls of the city. Very hard not to fall for a nice Nutella crêpe.
We have to say it is at least the third food truck selling French crêpes that we see in the city since this morning. We were told that there were a lot of French in Australia and indeed, we have heard French speaking at literally every street corner !
Right behind the mall, we walk through another one of those lanes that Maider loves. This one is filled with graffitis, here even the trash cans and stairways are covered.
We then cross the pedestrian and commercial Bourke Street, to reach the famous Royal Arcade, ancient famous shopping gallery of the city.
This covered gallery is the oldest one of the city.
And leads to another very famous arcade, the Block Arcade. This one is even prettier, with its mosaic floors and charming little shops. The Christmas decorations are already everywhere (we have a hard time realizing we are going to be spending Christmas in warm Australia).
This arcade was built in 1891 and kept all its authenticity.
Just before exiting, we see a rather large queue in front of the Hopetoun Tea Rooms, and we wonder why. And we understand as soon as we look inside the coffee shop. It sells cakes that look absolutely delicious. Maider who was still thinking about the Nutella crêpe, couldn’t keep her eyes off the cakes, and almost lost the group !
We continue to walk through these shallow lanes, like Central Place, a perfect place to grab a bite on the go. So we decide to come back here after the tour to grab lunch. It smelled way too good for us not to come back.
Before ending the tour we walk past Melbourne’s main train station, the Flinders street station, from where we took the train a couple times already to get to and from our Airbnb. This station is another symbol of the city with its Victorian style.
Finally we cross the bridge over the Yarra River and arrive in the Southbank neighborhood.
The artist’s district.
We will only go on the riverwalk to have a view on the skyline.
The tour ends pretty quickly then because the rain starts to really pour down. We were told that in Melbourne too we could have all 4 seasons in the same day (as if we didn’t get enough in Patagonia an New Zealand) and that happens to be true today. Because after the nice morning, the heavy rain around lunch time, we get a gorgeous blue sky all afternoon.
Before leaving the CBD, we stop in two other lanes that Maider had written down, to see some more graffitis. The first one is Hosier Lane.
And the second one named after a world known Australian rock band : the AC/DC Lane.
This lane has massive artwork.
As Valparaiso, Melbourne is very well known for its street art. Each year artists come here to create incredible designs. And many performers from Europe or Asia come all the way to Melbourne to put their mark on the city.
Now that the weather is a little bit better, we walk across the Federation Square, a very popular cultural space along the Yarra River. And where there is a Christmas concert tonight (come on guys, we aren’t even in December yet!).
Before heading for a last stroll in Southbank, without getting wet this time, to admire the skyline.
St Kilda, seaside neighborhood of Melbourne
We spend an afternoon visiting the neighborhood where we are sleeping, Saint Kilda. Located by the sea, just South of the city center. Palm trees, beach, trendy bars, everything is united to feel on vacation. And when the sun shines it is even better!
St Kilda is also known for its penguin colony. These Fairy Penguins, also called Little Blue Penguins, are the smallest species of penguins. The colony counts about 1,000 penguins year round. The best time of day to see them is between 8 and 10 pm. Since we are there in the middle of the afternoon we don’t get our hopes too high.
We walk along the walkway, with a very nice view on the CDB from afar.
And as we get closer to the rocks what do we see? Two adorable little penguins. They don’t make a sound and don’t move much. We have to bend over to be able to see them, but Maider doesn’t want to leave. They are so cute !
We finally end up leaving and walk back on the pier, from where we have nice views on the St Kilda beach.
There is a lot of wind and the sea is pretty agitated.
We then loose ourselves in the streets of St Kilda, where all the houses are big and beautiful.
Before arriving in Acland street, filled with bars, restaurants and trendy shops. We feel a nice cosmopolitan and trendy vibe coming out of the neighborhood. We really feel on vacation, and it’s hard not to sit down and have a beer on a patio. But the prices are a little over our budget (especially since our f*** up with the visas), so we decide to buy a 6 pack at the local liquor store, that we will enjoy on our balcony.
Despite the terrible weather for our last day in Melbourne, we still go out for brunch in a delicious Asian-French fusion restaurant. We really seem to find everything we loved about Chicago here, a neighborhood vibe in a large city.
Grocery shopping
Because we don’t want to loose any time the day we pick up the van, we decide to do the grocery shopping the day before the pick up. It’s also one of the reasons we booked an Airbnb, and not a hostel. So we could store all our stuff in the fridge. So despite the rain that doesn’t stop falling, we go to the nearest supermarket.
Tomorrow we pick up the van at 8 am and will start driving towards the Great Ocean Road. But before that we enjoy one last pizza, beer and Netflix night.
Our stay in Melbourne was really short, and we would have loved to spend more time here. Especially because from what we have seen, this seems like a city we would have really enjoyed. And why not even live in? Who knows?
Yet another video ending with us having a sip of beer :