On Thursday evening, we finally went to Melbourne. A trip that I had been looking forward to for a long time. Myself and two other girls (Mira and Hanna) flew from Sydney to Melbourne after work, where Lena, the fourth member of our Melbourne group, was already waiting for us at our Airbnb.
This time we didn't skimp on our Airbnb. In advance, we had chosen an apartment in Southbank, Melbourne. With a pool on the ninth floor and our apartment on the 19th floor with a wonderful view of the city. Since it was late when we arrived, we just fell exhausted into the comfortable beds on Thursday evening and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, we planned to explore Melbourne. After a leisurely breakfast in the park, we took the tram which is free in the city center and went to the docks, where we had a nice view of the skyline and the Melbourne Star Observation Deck.
We then took the tram back to the city center, where Mira and I bought a coffee since it is supposed to be particularly good in Melbourne. And we were not disappointed! Then we went to the Flinders Street Station and Federation Square, which serves as a venue for art, culture, and public events and is also very impressive to look at. Our next destination, and something that was at the top of my to-do list for Melbourne, was Hosier Lane, the most famous of many street art side alleys in Melbourne. We spent a lot of time there admiring the graffiti and taking photos.After wandering through the streets a bit, we went back to the apartment to freshen up quickly and then put on our swimwear to go to St. Kilda Beach. Unfortunately, it was too cool to go swimming when we arrived, but we still walked along the beach with our feet in the water towards the pier, where we should see penguins at sunset.Since there was still some time until sunset, we all sat in a beach cafe and ate fries. Then we walked down the pier and sat on the jetty, waiting for the penguins. The weather was still good with only a few clouds in the sky, creating a beautiful atmosphere. Behind the boats on the water, we could see the Melbourne skyline, which became brighter as it got darker outside. Just before sunset, Hanna took another walk and by chance already discovered two penguins hiding among the rocks, which the rest of us also wanted to see. As it got darker, more and more penguins became visible. Some came out of the rocks for protection, while others returned from the water after hunting and marched a short distance on the sand to get under the rocks. It was super impressive and the penguins were so cute! I honestly didn't expect to see any because there were so many people there to watch, but the penguins didn't seem to mind. Luckily!When it got dark, we took an Uber back to our apartment, but instead of going straight to our room, we went to the pool. We actually expected there to be people at the pool, but surprisingly we were alone, which was even better for us because we had the pool and the breathtaking view to ourselves. So, we toasted our trip with cider and all sat in the pool. It was definitely a moment that you would want to freeze time and one that I will remember for sure. On Saturday morning, we got up early. Our plan: drive the Great Ocean Road! We returned to St. Kilda at 9 am sharp after buying snacks for the day, where we had rented a car in advance. Lena and Hanna both have their driver's licenses, so they took turns driving and Mira and I made ourselves comfortable in the back seat and took care of the music and navigation. We finally reached the Great Ocean Road after dealing with city traffic and getting lost 2-3 times, which begins about 105 km outside of Melbourne. After just a few kilometers on the road, we were all speechless with admiration; under a bright blue sky, we drove along the 243 km long road along the southern coast of Australia and definitely had the breathtaking view we had hoped for. We had a few destinations in mind that we definitely wanted to stop at, but in the end, we decided on the spot and stopped whenever we found a particularly impressive view.
Our main goal that we definitely wanted to reach was the Twelve Apostles. These are up to 60 meters high rock formations standing in the water (fun fact: instead of 12 there are actually only 7), which are the second most photographed tourist attraction in Australia after Ayers Rock. We reached them by 4 pm and we were definitely not disappointed. It was very windy on the viewing platforms, but the view was so beautiful and just like the photos we had seen before on the internet.
After reaching this goal, we also visited the Razorback and the London Arch, two other impressive rock formations, and then decided around 6:30 pm to start the journey back. Initially, we had considered watching the sunset, but then decided that it would be too late and that we also needed to eat something when we got home. We took a shorter route back through the countryside instead of along the coast, and it took about 3 hours to get back to the city. Once again, completely exhausted, but also super satisfied with the day, we just went to McDonald's and then called it a day. On Sunday, our scheduled last day in Melbourne, we checked out of our accommodation and stored our luggage in a hostel in the city. Then we returned the car and took the tram to Brighton Beach, where the 82 colorful beach huts were located, which are also a landmark in Melbourne. Of course, we took many photos at the beach huts and then spent some time at the beach before returning to the city. We had lunch in the Botanic Gardens and took a nap. Then we strolled through the city and at around 6 pm, we picked up our luggage and ordered an Uber to the airport. We arrived at the airport about 2.5 hours before our flight was scheduled to depart, so we had some time to wander around and eat. Lena had a flight with a different airline that was supposed to depart 20 minutes earlier, so we separated from her earlier and she went to her gate. When it was time to leave at 9:05 pm for Mira, Hanna, and me, the plane hadn't arrived yet. The airport staff tried to scan boarding passes and line us up so that we could board as soon as the plane arrived because the flight delay meant that the plane might not arrive in Sydney on time, where the planes are only allowed to land until 11 pm. We waited nervously until 9:20 pm when it was finally announced that the flight had been canceled and we would receive further information shortly. My second canceled flight. I don't know why I have such bad luck with flights...
The canceled flight meant that Mira, Hanna, and I had to spend another night at the airport in Melbourne and couldn't sleep in our familiar beds as planned. While it was not as problematic for me since I have Mondays off, Mira and Hanna had to quickly reach their host families and explain that they couldn't work the next day.
Shortly afterwards, we were informed that our flight was scheduled to depart the next morning at 9:35 am. At least it was an early flight and not even later. However, it was not really worth it to pay for an Uber back to the city now and find a hostel, so we made ourselves comfortable on the benches at the airport and got some sleep.
After almost 16 hours at the airport, our plane finally flew back to Sydney as planned on Monday morning.
Despite the canceled flight at the end of the trip (I mean, we all said that we would love to stay longer in Melbourne, haha), it was super nice in Melbourne! The city is just so special and artistic, somehow very different from Sydney. The buildings look so interesting and everywhere you can find sculptures, street art, or buskers. Personally, I think Melbourne is even more beautiful than Sydney and if I were to go on another trip to Australia, I would definitely visit Melbourne. The other girls completely agree with me, and we have already joked about quitting our au pair jobs and flying back to Melbourne. But of course, we don't mean that. ;)
Next, we will go to Cairns in two weeks and in six weeks, I will already leave my host family and travel to New Zealand. It's incredible how time flies!
