Back where it all started...
Trip Start
Apr 30, 2007
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43
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Trip End
Nov 29, 2008
Melbourne,
Australia
Friday, April 4, 2008
On Wednesday 2nd April, instead of landing in Heathrow at 5am (as i had previously booked to do..) Aimee and I left the Gold Coast and headed south to Melbourne.
After a flight, a bus and a taxi ride we finally got to our hostel but had to wait 3 hours until we could check in. We made ourselves comfortable in the bar which doubles up as a lounge area in the day time and watched a film. Stef and her room mate Paul came down to say hello and then Tanya dragged herself out of bed and came and said hello.
We checked into room 124 and started to unpack and get sorted. Aimee's first impressions of the hostel was "its a jail cell".. I on the other hand think it is one of the nicest hostels i have ever been to!! The kitchen is massive and clean enough, although it is rammed at dinner time and no one cleans their plates so its a bit of a scramble. Breakfast is free though which is good and also free tea & coffee and pasta & rice! You also get a towel when you check in and the bedsheets look like they have been boil washed. I've never seen sheets so white
Hostel Room
. They also put plastic covers on the matress and pillows to stop bed bugs which is also a bonus... bedbugs are the worst.So anyway, our first day we just got our barrings and had a look around and then caught up on sleep. Unfortunately our room over looks the smoking area so it smells a bit and its really noisy at night. Oh well, you cant have everything i guess.
Thursday 4th April.
Aimee and I got up at a half decent time, had a shower and then headed into the city and wandered for the day. Had a look around the shops and went sight seeing. Then we headed to Starbucks and sat outside and watched the world go by.
Melbourne is a nightmare for weather.. it really is true when they say Melbourne has 4 seasons in a day. The morning started off cloudy, the afternoon was sunny and then the rain kicked in. Early evening the sun tried to shine before nightime settled in. We waited for it to snow but instead it was really really windy. Apparently there is a hurricane on its way. Oh good.
We have now booked to do the Great Ocean Road. We leave on Sunday and get back on Tuesday. We have hired a camper van which only cost $150 for 3 days. It looks like this:
http://www.seniorcamperrental.com.au/2_berth_breezer_5328_australia_camper_rental.html
You cant stand up in the back and it doesnt have a shower or a toilet but enough room for the two of us and a little kitchen area for Aimee to cook her pasta!!
Thursday afternoon a girl called Katie from Nottingham moved in, she's travelling alone so we asked her to come and have a drink with us and headed down to the bar
Hostel Room
. We cooked dinner and then sat in the bar for a bit. There was some live music playing and Paul from Stefs room came to join us as well. Then we headed up to say goodbye for the last time to Stef :-( as she was leaving in the morning to get her flight to Sydney and then a connecting flight to Singapore. Friday 5th April.
Aimee, Katie and I got up early, had free breakfast downstairs and then headed off to the Zoo for the day. It wasn't brilliant in all honesty, pretty small and not much going on but it got us out of the hostel for a few hours. We wandered around and resisted getting our faces painted! Then we headed back to the hostel for some dinner and some chill out time. After a much needed McDonalds and a few card games in the bar, we headed out into St Kilda for the night. Back into the Elephant & Wheelbarrow.. so strange being back in there after nearly a year. Back to where it all started!! We ended up in some random bar called Minx playing 21 questions. After a few too many glasses of wine we headed back to the hostel and got changed into our pj's and watched some tv. Some random guy stole my door key and ran away so i am now keyless and looking at facing a $10 fine. Damn him.
Saturday 5th April.
We dragged our hungover bums out of bed at midday, rolled over to McDonalds and then sat in the hostel bar and watched a film. Then we headed into the city and met up with B (a guy i know from my Malia days). I spent the evening chatting with B and drinking Strongbow (since when do i like Strongbow??) and Aimee went off with some of the guys from the hostel to play Monopoly. After a few hours B had to head off to a work party and Aimee and I had to pack ready for the road trip planned for the following day.
After a few hours of deciding what to take with us, we managed to grab a few hours sleep before heading out to the Great Ocean Road.
x
