Melbourne - last week in Australia

8.10 -16.10

8.10 - Today we needed to return our car. However, first we had to clean it, as quite a bit had accumulated over the 2 months. With all our belongings, we took an Uber to the hostel. We spent the afternoon washing clothes, shopping, and relaxing. We had to hang our laundry in our room since there was no line in the hostel.

9.10 - Today we explored Melbourne with the City Circle Tram - a free tram for tourists. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a boat ride on the Yarra River in the sunshine. Additionally, we bought a small suitcase for our excess luggage at one of the many outlets.

10.10 - The whole day was initially planned for tourist attractions. However, the provider changed the start time to the early afternoon, allowing us to finish our laundry in the morning. First, we took a tour bus to the Puffing Billy steam train - a well-known Instagram hype. The only tickets we could get were through a tourist agency bundled with other attractions. It was definitely worth it. The train went from Menzies Creek through a beautiful forest to Belgrave. During the ride, we could hang our legs out of the train carriage. After that, we drove several hours to the next attraction, The Nobbies. This is a viewpoint on the coast, and we enjoyed the sea in the evening light. We then traveled to the Penguin Parade, which also took place on Philip Island. We watched as little penguins returned from the sea to shore after sunset. It was forbidden to take pictures as the penguins are very sensitive to blue light. The penguins are really small, and one might think they are babies.

11.10 - After arriving home late yesterday, we went out for a leisurely city exploration today, visiting Albert Park, known for Formula 1, and the Finders Keepers market. The Finders Keepers market took place at the Royal Exhibition Building. It is a spring market where you can find pottery, clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, and food. Unlike other markets we visited, this one only happens once a year and is more like a Christmas market.

12.10 and 13.10 - We spent the weekend traveling by train to Torquay, where we surfed and visited the National Surf Museum. The surfing conditions were the best we’ve had so far, but we were not alone in the water since it was the weekend. Nonetheless, we had great fun.

14.10 - We spent the morning packing, which was sweat-inducing. In the end, everything fit in our luggage, and we could only hope that the weight was acceptable. We spent the afternoon in St. Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne by the sea. On one side, there were small alleys with cafes, the beach promenade, and beautiful houses, but on the other side, we also saw many homeless people and dilapidated houses. Additionally, St. Kilda has an amusement park, which did not appear open when we were there.

15.10 - On our last day in Australia, we took a leisurely walk in the Botanical Garden and enjoyed one last iced coffee by the Yarra River. Australia showed itself from its best side once again with summer temperatures. In the late afternoon, we took the City Express to the airport, naturally hitting the evening traffic. First, we weighed our luggage and had to repack a bit. Despite slight excess baggage, the woman at the counter was friendly, and we did not have to pay more. Relieved, we passed through security and flew 14 hours to Doha. Now we are waiting for our final flight to Zurich. See you soon, Zurich.