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20/01/2010
Our final Greyhound bus journey was a long one. 12 hours overnight from Sydney to Melbourne. Arriving at the Southern Cross station tired and smelly we were happy to find out that our hostel was located just around the corner.
However, due to it being 8 in the morning we were unable to check-in until 11. So we put our bags in storage, freshened up in the bathrooms and moade ourselves some breakfast. Speaking to a guy in the kitchen he told us about the tennis and that it was worth checking it out and getting a ground pass for the day at $30 each. He also told us that Andy Murray was playing today and that there was a chance he maybe on one of the outside courts accessible with a ground pass. Not wanting to miss out we had a look on the internet at the hostel and he was right. Managing to give home a short call each we got our things together and headed for Federation Square where some tickets were on sale. Arriving there to a fairly long queue we were told we would have a better chance at the Open ticket booths a 10 minute walk away. So off we set at a brisk walk, overtaking fellow ticket seekers onroute. We got there and after 30 minutes queueing we found ourselves the proud owners of two ground pass tickets. Popping into have a look around we also found out that the Williams sisters were playing a doubles match on the same court as Murray a few hours before. With it still being very early in the day we decided to head back to the hostel to make ourselves a picnic, check-in and shower. Having sorted ourselves out and armed with bags full of food and drink and our tickets we jumped on the free Australian Open tram that took us to the entrance gates.
Once inside the atmosphere was electric. There was a big match going on on Show court 3 that was coming to an end and there was a lot of chanting and screaming. We tried to get in for the last few games but it finished before we could. Not wanting to miss out on anymore tennis we made our way straight to the Margaret Court Arena. After queuing a short while in the baking hot sun we were in and in fairly good seats. The stadium was big for an outside court, the 3rd biggest at the open i think so it was impressive. The previous game just finished and shortly after the Williams sisters and their Australian opponents came out to a big cheer. It was a good match with the Williams sisters dominating throughout and winning in straight sets. The second match we saw was between a Croatian - Veic and a French man called Monfils. This game was amazing. Despite the scoreline not showing it, it was actually a well fought out close match with Monfils winning in straight sets in the end. The crowd was really lively in this match with both playings doing a bit of showboating and crowd encouragement.
Then after a short break it was time for Murray and his match against a french man called Gicquel. Although not the biggest tennis followers, we had never heard of him and it showed in his tennis. Murray pushed him aside easily and won in 3 straight sets - taking the first set in just 20 minutes. It was an awesome day and a great birthday dayout for Alex ahead of his birthday. We loved it.
Shattered we headed back to our hostel for a good nights sleep.
Happy Birthday Me!! We woke up and I had my birthday presents from Steph and breakfast in bed :-) Having had such a busy long day yesterday we decided to take it easy today and visited the ACMI Melbourne's centre for moving images in Federation Square where I played on some retro computer games and we made our own Matrix style movie clip. After the museum we decided to head out of town to the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy and had a good wonder around the querky shops and stopped for lunch on Brunswick Street - massive jacket potatoes, Yum.
In the evening we had arranged to meet up with Ricky our friend from Airlie Beach for drinks, so we gave him a ring when we got back to our hostel and jumped on a tram to St Kilda where he was staying. We found the pub - La Roche - and set about getting drunk with him and his friends. After a good few rounds of cider we made our way to Espy but I had forgotten my ID so ended up in a club just around the corner. Some dirty birthday shots and a good few hours later we emerged slightly worse for wear and shared a taxi back into town with one of the girls. It was so much fun and good to catch up with Ricky.
The next day started slowly. Very hungover and with the smell of sick in the air... sorry steph. We didnt leave the safety of our hostel room til gone lunchtime before wondering into town in search of some food. Bellies satisfied and having taken advantage of the free wifi in Fed Square to call home we made our way back to the hostel to get ready for our date at the open air cinema in the botanical gardens. This was amazing. You bring your own food and drink and a blanket and set yourself up on the side of the hill and watch a movie under the stars. We watched Avatar and it was an awesome film, made even better by the surroundings. We took nibbles and a few beers but were greeted by armfuls of freebies when we arrived, from crisps to drinks which was sweet. It was such an amazing experience and would recommend it to anyone.
The next morning we packed up our bags, checked out of our hostel and made the short walk across town to the car rental place to pick up our wagon for the next two days. Getting bumped up from economy to standard for free we ended up with a Mitsubishi Lancer and it was very comfortable and spacious so we were delighted.
In search of the Great Ocean Road we set off east out of Melbourne to Victoria's second largest city of Geelong. Passing through Geelong we stopped in the little surfer town of Torquay for a picnic by the sea. It was really windy but the sky was clear and the sun was shining and it was beautiful. With the handful of kite surfers to keep us entertained we tucked into some crisps and sandwiches. Moving on from there we joined the Great Ocean Road and started the windy trip along the coast. The views were breathtaking with postcard perfect photo opportunities every 5 minutes down the road. Our next stop was Lorne where we parked up and visited a small market that was going on by the beach. I bought a book for $6 before we pushed on further along the coast. Steph felt a little motion sick due to the roads being so windy but I loved the drive until the road turned inland to cut through the headland. For a good 2 hours we didnt see the sea once. Slightly annoying as we were on the Great Ocean Road.
Whilst inland we decided to take a detor and headed for the lighthouse right on the point of the headland, without realising that we had to pay $20 each to get in so turned around. But it was not a wasted journey. On the radio when we were driving back out to meet the Great Ocean Road we heard an advert for the lighthouse and it said to look out for koalas in the trees on the drive in so we pulled over and looked up. It was about 4pm at this point so a good time to spot them as they tend to start waking up around then, and it was. We ended up counting about 13 in total which was pretty cool.
Meeting back up with 'The Road' we found ourselves back along the coast and stopping at the viewing point for the 12 apostles. They were incredible. With the sun low in the sky and the waves pounding against these towers of rock it was very relaxing after a long day of driving. We stayed here for a good while, watching the rich jump into helicopters for a scenic flight over the Apostles and the sun slowly set. However, with more driving to do we pushed on. Eventually meeting the sleepy town of Port Campbell. Another small and beautiful beach town full of laid back surfers and seafood eaters and our cue to turn around and head back to Melbourne on the faster inland roads. A good 2 hour drive back to Geelong we arrived there around 9:30pm and stopped for some dinner at a curry house. After filling our bellies we pulled up outside McDonalds and used the free wifi before wrapping up warm and parking up for a night in the car. Other than it being very cold we actually slept quite well and woke to another clear sunny day. Driving down to Geelong harbour and stopping off at Coles for some supplies we made the hour journey to Melbourne international airport to drop off the car and jump on our plane to New Zealand. Australia was amazing and we did so many cool things, lets see if New Zealand can top it.
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