Melbourne in Winter

A city I will never tire of visiting so when we got the chance to come again I didn’t have to think twice. Someday I would like to visit in the midst of summer but somehow I always seem to arrive during or in the midst of winter. Melbourne has a reputation of experiencing four seasons in a day at the best of times and this certainly applies in late July. Melbourne Australia a winter wonderland.

Melbourne in Winter. Victoria’s Unkept Secret

However don’t let the weather get in the way from thoroughly enjoying this fantastic city. After a nearly four-hour flight from Perth we arrived during Friday rush hour to Tullamarine airport and we highly recommend the Skybus service which for AU$18 will take you directly into Southern Cross station in the heart of the city. The bus is direct, comfortable, fast, efficient and running every ten minutes. From here it is easy to catch a train in all directions upon purchasing a MYKI card. After travelling to our friends we had a good nights rest before we spent the next day in the city.

The next afternoon we took the train into the city and as it was late July in Melbourne it was COLD. We really do get spoiled in Perth in winter with temperatures in the late teens so Melbourne really did feel like the Antarctic! Our first stop was the Victoria Markets. From here we walked around the city centre past the impressive Flinders St station to Federation square and down towards the dominating MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and the adjacent Rod Laver Arena, home of the Australian tennis open.

In the background the shiny skyscrapers and dominating Eureka Tower stood watch. The night sky drew in and the streets became more crowded as Saturday night revellers came out to play. One of the most popular venues amongst all age groups was Crown Casino. This mammoth but highly impressive building is owned by one of Australia‘s wealthiest families and is certainly worth a visit. After losing some money on the roulette and blackjack tables we had some drinks at a few of the many bars located within the complex. We luckily found the last remaining seats at one bar which enabled us to view the magnificent spectacle of flames shooting out all along the waterside. You could easily spend hours here with an abundance of restaurants also on site. As the early morning drew near we called it a night after a long day and headed back to the southern suburbs.

One word best described the next day, Cold!! Not since being in Ireland in January have I felt such bone chilling conditions, the four seasons in one day certainly applied today. Sun, rain, wind and hail all made an appearance, but it did not stop our touring. The first stop today was Flemington Racecourse, a twenty-minute taxi ride from the city, as my father wished to see the course. It certainly was a million miles from the sun soaked Melbourne cup in November as my Dad wrestled the wind and rain to capture some pictures of the course. It is a very impressive venue and needs to be as over 100,000 spectators attend the big event in November each year. After being dropped off back at Flinders St we took the free tram to the docklands area and the Etihad Stadium and back across the city to Captain James Cook’s family home, originally built in the UK but has been painstakingly taken down brick by brick, numbered and shipped to Australia in 1934, subsequently re- built-in Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne.

Here you are taken back a couple of hundred years to a time before running water and toilets and it is an excellent opportunity to learn about the first fleet and Captain Cook who “discovered” Australia in the name of the UK. The admission is only just over AU$6 so well worth a visit. After hopping on the free tram we returned to the city centre and over to the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, Eureka tower.

For AU$19.50 we shot up the ear popping 88 floors and enjoyed a panoramic view over the city. Here the botanical gardens, MCG, Rod Laver arena, Yarra river and Federation square all come into view. We then headed on to the seaside and suburb of St Kilda for some drinks before preparing for our last day in the city.

Our final day involved going into the suburbs and to the residents of Pin Oak Court, nothing noteworthy about this address you might say but to millions of soap fans around the world, especially in Ireland and England, a place they are all familiar with as Pin Oak Court is Ramsay St, Erinsborough or the fictional neighbourhood in the long running TV series Neighbours. My mother was interested in going but unfortunately the guided tour was fully booked. Never fear we took a friend’s car and sat nav and before we knew it were standing outside the homes of regular everyday folk which on allocated days is the set where actors such as Guy Pierce, Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue have all appeared. There is a full-time 24 hour security guard on site but as long as you don’t photograph the residents you are free to walk around and take pictures.

It is quite surreal if you have seen the show to be outside the homes but on filming days the street is closed off as the security guard informed us. We then spent our last few hours in the city getting a bite to eat in one of the many outdoor restaurants before again taking the Skybus back to the airport for our four-hour flight back to Perth. Another amazing time was spent in Melbourne and I can honestly say I have never had a bad moment there. The city is much busier and livelier than Perth and the people are amazing. There always seems to be a great atmosphere in the city and it’s a sports fan’s dream with the many impressive arenas and busy sporting calendar all year round. Foodies, culture vultures and all age groups will enjoy the Paris of the South, we hope to return and certainly will.

* We wish to thank our friends for hosting us on this occasion, they know who they are, we all truly appreciate it, Thanks guys*