Melbourne

The last stop on our journey home was Melbourne.  It was cheaper to fly via Melbourne rather than direct to Auckland, and as we had Nath's brother to stay with in Melbourne we thought why not!

We arrived after no sleep from Kuala Lumpur. The first stop on the way to Zane's was to the bottle shop where we bought some German and Belgium beers.  The rest of the day we spent doing washing and sleeping until the household returned from work. 

Day two Nath and I went into the city.  We met up with my cousin Aaron and walked around the lanes and had lunch there. From here we jumped on the free tram that goes around the city. It was pretty boring. I then met my school friend Emily for drinks on a cool rooftop bar. I bought one round of drinks for $47!!!! So expensive. I guess pimms at $13 a glass isn't the cheapest drinks to be buying.  

Day three Nath and I hung around Chelsea where Zane lives. There is a cycle path that runs the length of the coastline so we biked along part of it.  We had lunch in Mordialloc before cycling home. 

Later that afternoon we headed to the MCG to watch a twenty/20 match between Australia and South Africa. I was disappointed in my first MCG experience as there was no atmosphere at the stadium. Only 20,000 people there in a stadium that can hold 100,000. Also, the game was very one sided and did not create a close finish, the result was never in doubt.

Day four we headed into the city to the Queen Victoria markets.  We were surprised at the cheap meat prices and were hoping NZ might be similarly priced. Wishful thinking me thinks! We bought some lovely flat bread sandwiches which we ate in the sun before walking down to the river front.  Here I met another cousin for afternoon drinks and a long awaited catch up.  We returned to Zane's in time for BBQ dinner - first time we had had steaks in awhile! 

The last full day in Mellbourne was family day. We went with the kids to pick strawberries, but Nath and Zane did all the picking and the kids ate more than they collected.  After picking we were thirsty so went to a lovely winery called Montalto.  Here we drank Pinot Gris and ate pizzas.  They had a big grass area so the kids were able to run around and play which left us able to drink wine. The final stop was in Flinders - a playground for the kids and a coffee shop for the adults.

The next morning we packed our bags and had a twenty minute walk to the train station with our packs on! I'm glad it wasn't a hot day.  We met up with Emily for lunch in the lanes before we took a bus out to the airport to begin the final leg of our journey home.