So long Melbourne!
We’ve been a little quiet with the website stories while we took a little break for Christmas, but as we’re about to move on from our little city break here in Melbourne I thought I’d do a quick one to wrap up the three weeks we’ve spent here.
We are extremely lucky to have our lovely friends Jane and Ramsey, who very generously let us stay in their house over the Christmas/New Year period. Not only was it fantastic to be in a place with solid walls and a roof for a bit, but it was great to not have to figure out where on earth to stay over the holiday period as everywhere is jam-packed!
We’ve spent the last three weeks in Bonbeach, a lovely suburb on the eastern side of Melbourne. There’s a train station with a direct line into the city and the beach is only a few hundred metres away as well. We’ve really enjoyed the variety of places to walk the dog here – the beach, riverside, through sporting fields and even what feels quite rural in one direction (a big field full of long grass anyway). The kids have met the neighbour-kids here too and spent time playing with them in the street and bouncing on their trampoline. It’s also been really helpful to set up my laptop in one spot and leave it there – just makes the work that little bit easier if I’m not packing up and moving around, or worrying about power.
Most of our camping gear (and the camper trailer and car) are getting older, and with constant use and time outdoors, some of it is starting to fall apart. Melbourne was also a good opportunity to fix or replace broken stuff, ready to hit the road again. While we were here, we fixed the canopy (no easy feat that one), replaced the busted hose on the gas stove (again, surprisingly difficult to sort that out), put the car in for a service, attended medical appointments, took the dog to the vet (twice), and stocked up on things that we couldn’t get in Tasmania (like Vietnamese coffee and tins of exotic curry pastes…).
Once all that was taken care of, the rest of the time was ours to experience the best of Melbourne. I won’t bore you with an in-depth description of all we’ve done but here’s a bit of a list!
- Watched the FINA World Short Course Swimming Champs (thanks Juliet and Eugenie)
- Hit the Melbourne shops for Xmas shopping
- Caught up with two clients, meeting one for the first time
- Went to the Queen Victoria Markets
- Saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage show (thanks Jude, Rob and Eddie)
- Went to the Boxing Day test at the MCG
- Explored Mornington Peninsula twice, including Arthur’s Seat
- Went to Phillip Island
- Went to the Melbourne Museum
- Explored the Melbourne Botanical Gardens and Shrine of Remembrance
- Took the kids rock climbing
- Caught up with friends (Colty and Karen + kids, Megan and Geoff + kids, Narelle and Dean)
- Went to St Kilda Esplanade Hotel
- Went up the Eureka Skytower
Plus had a few trips to the beach and a lot of relaxing as well.
We’re now ready for the next bit of the camping adventure though. First we’re heading east, all the way back to the NSW border. A few years ago when we did a six-week trip down the NSW coastline, we made it as far as Mallacoota (for lunch!), so we thought we’d head back there to start. Then we’re working our way back slowly west! Fingers crossed for sunshine (and no wind) the whole way. 😊
