My Australian adventure……part 1

I’ve just returned from an amazing but short visit to Australia as you may have seen in my previous blog.

What a trip this was, with a 03 night stay in Melbourne before flying to Cairns for a 03 night stay in tropical North Queensland.

It all started well, as I got to the final departure gate the scanner beeped when my boarding pass was entered……..i was then advised my seat had been changed and a new pass was required. Once I got this new boarding pass I was amazed to see ‘Business Class’……..as you can imagine I was very excited!

Me at LHR

It was all I expected it to be, plenty of room and a seat that collapses to a flat bed. Even the food was something special and staff who are quite happy to just keep refilling your wine glass……perfect!  So I settled down and watched 2 movies and arrived relatively fresh.

We had 03 nights at the very nice Crown Metropol hotel, a stones throw away from the Yarra River which runs through the centre of Melbourne.

Yarra River and city skyline

Yarra River and city skyline

As you can imagine when we arrived at 9pm none of us were tired so we decided to go out and find a bar…….and amazingly attached to our hotel was an entertainment arcade including restaurants, bars, casino and a disco.  We noticed that the sports bar had football on and was very busy as everyone had sat down to watch sunday afternoon football from the UK………funny experience as we were there til about 2am watching footy from back home.

So Monday morning after breakfast we were met in reception by Caitlin, our guide from a tour company called ‘Hidden Secrets Tours’.  We had been booked on Melbourne Lanes and Arcades walking tour. Melbourne pic 2  This is a different kind of tour to the norm, we saw local designers and specialty retailers that often are only found in the city. We got to see some of the quirkiest cafes, independent designers, street art (graffiti), architecture, with historical tales of Melbourne along the way.  Street art is allowed in certain areas, with only one rule……..if you can do better then carry on……..who decides that?

Street Art

Street Art

And midway through our tour we got to sample a delicious hot chocolate/coffee in a typical coffee shop. Melbourne pic 3

typical alleyway

typical alleyway

This really was a unique way to explore the city given that we only really had that day to see what Melbourne had to offer.  I’ve put a few images on my blog to give you idea of what its like.

I’ve got to be honest Melbourne is now up there on my list of favourite cities alongside Vancouver.

On day 2 we were were booked on a full day tour to see the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles. Great Ocean Road The Great Ocean Road is one of the world’s most scenic drives and having now done it I can agree!Great Ocean Road view

We stopped at small coastal villages and surf towns along the way Me on Great ocean road beach before getting to the highlight of the tour……The Twelve Apostles.Twelve Apostles pic 3

These if you don’t already know are magnificent rock stacks that rise up majestically from the Southern Ocean on Victoria’s dramatic coastline.  This is an amazing sight to see and I hope my pictures give you an idea……i’ve got plenty more and videos if you would like to see them.  Twelve Apostles pic 4Twelve Apostles pic 6 london bridgeTwelve apostles pic 2Twelve Apostles pic 5

Twelve apostles

So that was basically the first half of my trip, as on day 3 I flew to Cairns for a 03 night stay on what I was hoping would be my favourite part of the trip.  I’ll bring you all the info and pics in my next blog!

Let me know if you have any questions or want to see more pics.

Haydn

 

 

 

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About Me

Hello everyone, My name is Haydn , I live in Caerphilly South Wales with my wife and 2 young sons. I have been in the Travel Industry for just over 23 years now, specializing in cruising for the last 13 years. I have been on a variety of Cruise ships,…

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