Melbourne

Already during the approach from Cairns to Melbourne, we had a great view of the city, which we would explore in the next almost 2 days and is considered one of the most livable cities in the world. Arriving at the airport, we had to once again organize our transport to the next accommodation, this time a booked room via Airbnb in an apartment. In Agnes Water, we had already received Myki cards for public transport as a gift from Jonas & Lisa, whom we had met there - many thanks at this point! :-)

However, we first had to use the Skybus to get to the city center and then take the tram to our accommodation, which was located in South Melbourne.

The booked room in the apartment of the locals turned out to be an absolute stroke of luck and we immediately felt very comfortable. In addition to a nice bedroom, we could use the kitchen, dining area, bathroom, and even the washing machines. We also received very helpful tips from our hosts for exploring the city.

We were already in the center of Melbourne with a half-hour walk, where you can easily get around with the free tram. The tram is highly recommended for every visitor to Melbourne and it is completely free in the purple-framed area. To get a quick overview of the city and see as much as possible in a short time :-) we also took a Free Walking Tour in Melbourne. This took us past all the highlights of the city for 3 hours and we were able to admire some street art, for example in the famous Hosier Lane. We ended the tour with a beautiful sunset overlooking the city at the Art Gallery.

After a 2-day stop at Ayers Rock and a multi-day road trip along the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians National Park (more on this in the next two reports :-)), we returned to Melbourne once again, as there were still some sights waiting for us, such as Queen Victoria Market and St. Kilda beach, which we unfortunately didn't have time for during our first stay.

This time, thanks to our rental car, we were much more flexible and so we could easily visit the famous colorful beach huts at Brighton Beach. Queen Victoria Market turned out to be a bit more difficult, as we now also needed a parking space. But we had received an absolute insider tip in advance. In the parking garage in the Docklands (Harbour Town), you only pay 10 AUD for 3-6 hours (in many parking garages in the city, you pay 8-10 times the same amount for the same time!), and it is also located in the Free Tram Zone, so you can easily and above all for free with the Circle Tram to the city center.