Mayhem in Melbourne
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2005
1
44
108
Trip End
Aug 15, 2006
Melbourne,
Australia
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Anyone seen any tennis yet? (Our day at the Open)
. Apart form job hunting we have been really busy. 2 years ago when we were on a canoeing trip in Latvia we met a couple called Matt and Chrissy. Matt is from Tazmania and Chrissy is from New Zealand but they live in Melbourne. We kept in contact with them and they invited us around for a BBQ. We had good craic and arranged to go to the Australian Open with them. The Open was great fun apart from the extreme heat reaching 45oc which meant temperatures on the court were 50oc. You couldn't even sit on the seats without roasting your bum. Play was suspended until the evening when it got cooler so we headed to the shady bar. It seemed that for the Aussies this was what the Open was about rather than the tennis. That evening we got to see a few matches but most of the big guns play on centre court but we still managed to hear Sharipova scream from across Melbourne Park!
We also met up with another Tazzy and his Aussie girlfriend Hannah who we met in Cambodia. We went for an Indian in a restaurant called Gaylords and then hit a few bars in the town.
Last Saturday Lynn - Kerry's Mum bought us tickets to go to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, her home town
Conor gets psyched...Hewitt Style!
. Sovereign Hill is a living museum set in 1851 during the gold mining rush. It was like stepping back in time. They have authentic shops, houses and schools and river when you can pan for gold and the highlight - a tour of a real mine.Everyone walks around in authentic clothes and are all in character including the village drunk who Conor threw Mairead into to have a photo taken, he said we looked so similar! That night we went back to Sovereign Hill for dinner and a sound and lights show which told the story of the 1854 Eureka Uprising. It was really well done. We both couldn't help but think what the equivalent in Belfast would be. We could have our own "living museum" and build a replica of the Falls and Shankill Roads during the troubles. Tourists could learn how to make a petrol bomb and then have the chance to throw it! For the less active tourist they could just chill around the 11th night bombfire and enjoy a warm glass of cider!
On Sunday we went to an all day festival called the Big Day Out. The line up included the White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, 2 many djs, The Go Team and Iggy Pop. We were at the park for 11am and already it was 30oc, so we really needed to keep up our fluid intake so first stop was the bar! Then it was over to the silent disco. The set up is 2 djs blast out their own tunes and on your way in your given headphones and you choose who you want to listen to. Its actually funnier to watch the people rocking it out in silence! All the bands were excellent live but for us The Magic Numbers and The GO Team stole the show.
