We drove into suburban Melbourne and over the next few days prepared our campervan for handing it back on February 1st. We cleaned it from top to bottom and attempted to sell bits and pieces that we bought along the journey. The campervan was looking in great shape but we were worried about a few chips in the windscreen which we picked up weeks ago and knew we'd have to get sorted. We saved money any way we could just in case we'd have to pay hundreds for a new windscreen and gave the camper a DIY wash rather than forking out for a professional clean. In the evenings we chilled out reading our books and savouring the last few days of being in the camper where we had lived for 2 months. I was getting very excited as soon I would be seeing my mum who was flying out to meet us in Melbourne.
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| Shiny Campervan |
February 1st came and we left our campsite and drove down the complicated roads to Melbourne, full of tram ways and hard to comprehend turns. We found the apartment buildings where mum and her friend Jo had arrived at and parked up. Mum came down and we had a cinematic run and hug moment with a few tears as I hadn't seen her in 5 long months which felt like a lifetime.
We dropped our bags off at the beautiful apartment which we would be spending the next few days in. Mum and Jo had organised and paid for it and it was pure luxury, modern and with amazing views over Melbourne's harbour. After a whistle stop tour of the apartment we got back in our empty camper and drove it to Travellers Autobarn. We fuelled up but weren't able to get a gas refill as easily as we could in Byron Bay. After explaining the campers problems the guy decided to call it square, we didn't have to pay for the gas refill or the windscreen repairs due to the difficulties we'd had with the front door lock, broken sat nav and the original cleanliness of the camper. We walked away feeling great as we'd saved a lot of money and felt that Travellers Autobarn gave us great customer service.
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| Melbourne |
We walked through town back to the apartment and went out shopping for supplies. After weeks of tomato pasta and beans on toast we were able to buy fruit and vegetables, yoghurts and sweets! We had delicious fajitas for dinner and watched TV before getting in to our massive and amazingly comfy bed.
The next morning was a lazy one as mum and Jo were still jet lagged and we couldnt get out of our amazing bed! We had breakfast and went for a walk. First to the harbour and then over the bridge and along the South Bank. Jo treated us to our first ice cream in Australia and we savoured every bit. After walking through some very pretty gardens we sat down by the river with a view of some sculptural art pieces and rowers on the river. We walked to Federation Square where we sat and had some expensive nibbles at a cafe. We window shopped along various streets before walking back to the apartment where we chilled out for the evening. The following day was another laid back one where we booked two tours and wandered around eating ice cream. Craig and I would be returning to Melbourne later in the trip as we were flying to Fiji from Melbourne so we didn't want to do too much in order to save lots of activities for later.
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| Amazing nachos in Federation Square |
On February 4th we got up early for our first tour which was a trip on the Puffing Billy Steam Train. Unfortunately Jo wasnt feeling well so the three of us left withour her. Our first stop was for morning tea where we had scones with jam and cream and met some of the native birds. We then drove on to Belgrave Station where we boarded the steam train. It took us through some beatuiful landscapes and through the Melbourne countryside. We got to Menzies Creek and got back on to the bus which took us to Sassafras a pretty little town full of quaint shops which we had a chance to look in though we could have spent hours there.
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| Puffing Billy |
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| Me and Mum in Sassafras |
The following day we wandered to the other side of the Docklands and stumbled across a boat show. We then caught the free circle tram to Federation Square and we had a look around the Victorian Arts Centre Makers Market. We crossed the bridge and found a Turkish Market and then stopped at the lovely cafe for lunch. We explored a little bit of Chinatown and then walked back to Docklands passing some trees wearing Aboriginal style wooly jumpers.
