Tuesday 11 March we drove away from Canberra towards Batemans Bay. We stopped along the way for a comfort break and explored a major tourist heritage town Bungendore en route. We had a snack and checked out the Main Street….before moving on…. Very quaint!
The weather had deteriorated on us and we drove away into the rain which made the mountain passes interesting to say the least along the route. Spectacular scenery!
We arrived in Batemans Bay which sits on the Clyde River Estuary, an open intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary. The river flows into the Tasman Sea at Batemans Bay which is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales. Aided by photos the operator had sent us, we easily followed the instructions on how to enter the private apartment block and underground garage. We got ourselves settled and then took the lift to our apartment – which was absolutely stunning with amazing views out to the water, modern well-equipped kitchen and bathroom, and a really comfy king sized bed. Very very happy indeed!
So once we had unloaded the car into the apartment, we popped out to the shops for some provisions for dinner. We enjoyed dinner ‘at home’ and sitting on the balcony watching the world go by. There was a sail boat anchored in front of our apartment which we particularly enjoyed watching – surprised by how much tidal variation there was – and, at one point concerned that he would swing into rocks if the weather picked up. None of the boats we saw were occupied….. Felt quite nostalgic….
Wednesday morning we were up early and went for a drive visiting numerous secluded bays along the coast enjoying the lovely scenery. We ended up in the marina (where else?!?) and booked ourselves a boat trip up the river for Thursday. Whilst out and about we visited the Soldier’s Club and had a couple of drinks on their balcony having ‘joined’ the club. Was surprised by how busy (and noisy) it was…..but clearly some large groups of friends were on holiday together.
We rested up back at our apartment before we later returned to the Soldier’s Club on foot. Very nice place with great staff and well-priced libations. There was a Lindy Hop dancing class (for oldies) going on in the lounge LOL and, although we didn’t take part, we enjoyed watching them strut their stuff with some of them even dressed the part! We then retired to the restaurant and had a fantastic dinner…
Thursday morning we headed out on foot along the seafront. Was only a 45 minute walk or so but felt longer in the humidity….and I was relieved when we arrived at the jetty to confirm our seats on the boat trip. Driving wasn’t really an option as all the local parking was very time restricted and the only appropriate one was actually a fair walk from the jetty. So it made sense….
Interesting art work along the way and lots of pelicans to admire….
All confirmed, fish and chips ordered (lunch being included in the ticket) we went to a water-side cafe and enjoyed a cold restorative glass of water whilst we waited for the boat to be loaded up. While we were sitting there a minibus turned up and everyone headed down the jetty – and every single person was on a stroller! There was a tour guide with them looking after them and, coincidentally all the strollers were brand new and the same make. So not sure if that was part of their deal or not but a hell of a coincidence!. Anyway, we waited patiently while all these people were loaded on – some of them actually needing to be virtually carried onto the boat and gently placed into their seat. Some strollers were loaded on too but not the full compliment so all a bit confusing!
Finally it was our turn and we boarded and took our allocated seats. We then cast off and the boat took off towards the ocean – there is a dangerous bar here at Batemans Bay to the sea – and the sea was raging….so that was exciting for us anyway LOL.
The Captain’s commentary was both informative and entertaining – he had a bit of a naughty sense of humour – and the old dears seemed to enjoy his banter (and I’ll include myself in that description LOL). Back down the river we stopped again at the jetty and this time the food was loaded on and then we were off again. The lunch was piping hot and absolutely delicious – not sure how they manage that with mass catering – but they did so kudos to them. After lunch we went at sat outside on the bow of the boat and enjoyed being in the fresh air as we drove past oyster beds, passed houseboats and under low bridges.
At the end of the line – in that the river was no longer navigable for us because of very low bridges – we stopped and tied off. We got off to stretch our legs and Richard purchased an artisan ice cream in the village store before returning to our boat seats for the return journey. Oh yes and did I explain there was a full service bar on board??!!?? So we sat in the sun again enjoying a cold beverage or two….well until at least the tea / coffee / cake / biscuits were rolled out later LOL.
We finally returned to the jetty and walked back to the apartment – we rested up – and explored the rooftop pool before spending our last night in Batemans Bay at home, enjoying the balcony and the amazing views over the anchorage yet again. This property had definitely been a great find!
Friday morning we packed up, checked out, and drove towards Narrabeen where we were going to see another of Richard’s ex-colleagues Kieron and his family. So I’ll leave this blog here and please return soon for another episode. Bye for now.
On arrival at the War Memorial – quite late in the day having moved apartments – we went to the reception desk and they asked us if there was anything in particular we wanted to see. We explained that we particularly wanted to experience the Last Post ceremony which is held daily before the closure of the facility for the day. They asked if there was any significance to us wishing to witness the ceremony. I explained that I was a member of the UK Royal Naval Association and wherever we are in the world we visit a war memorial to pay our respects. I also told him about losing our oldest D-Day veteran Don Sheppard last year.
He then asked us if I would like to lay a wreath at the ceremony in his honour – both of us were completely blown away by this suggestion – as we know that each evening an Australian serviceman or servicewoman is honoured at this Last Post ceremony. So we said, yes please. They supplied the wreath and gave us a remembrance card to complete. We decided to honour Don Sheppard, who was a family friend, who passed away In September 2024 at the age of 104. He was a Royal Engineer who landed on Juno Beach, Normandy, in June 1944. After eventually passing through Nazi lines in August he moved onto Belgium, the Netherlands and eventually Germany where he was one of the soldiers who liberated the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. So very fitting that our wreath should be in his memory.
I was walked through the ceremony by one of the staff and was lucky enough to meet the relatives of Private Herbert James Rowland who died in Gallipoli. The family had been waiting two years for this special commemorative day and the reason why there was spare wreaths was because some family members were unable to attend as Brisbane airport had been shut because of Cyclone Alfred. Very humbling indeed. The ceremony was touching and emotional and is streamed to You Tube daily. If you want to watch it please visit You Tube and type in Private Herbert James Rowland or follow the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moUy_2sQ-jE. I can only apologise for my t-shirt and shorts – would never have worn that if I’d have known that I would be involved in such a momentous occasion.
Having shed a few tears we left the spectacular War Memorial behind and headed to Dairy Farmers Hill Lookout – great night shots but sadly no sunset.
We then headed to Commonwealth Park for an open-air concert. This was very uncomfortable as the plastic chairs were basic to say the least. We moved a couple of chairs from the eating area to the concert area to be more comfortable – a great family atmosphere with picnics and blankets everywhere. Sadly we were then told off for moving the chairs so had to return them to the food outlet area. But with nothing to sit on and having had a long day I wanted to leave as I my back was creaking badly.
So sadly we didn’t hear the music and returned home to have a snack and a glass of wine in front of the TV.
Monday morning (10 March) we headed back to the Australian War Memorial to have a proper look around and joined a tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and, as the only UK tourists on the tour, he enjoyed making fun of us…. Although overall they were obviously proud to be part of the Commonwealth family fighting for King and Country.
This whole place is absolutely amazing – beautiful grounds and fantastic exhibits – including a Spitfire and a Helicopter from the Vietnam conflict. The stories were humbling, moving and quite staggering – particularly the despicable way in which the Vietnam veterans were treated on their return home. Such a waste of life…
In the afternoon we drove to Vass to see Sandy and Nigel where they had camped up with their huge caravan. We enjoyed having a look around their van and then had a lovely dinner and a few glasses of wine…. And, of course, we were having so much fun we forgot to take any photos! Lots of laughs….thanks guys. Sadly we had to leave them for the final time and said our farewells….
Tuesday we packed up and headed back to the War Memorial as we really hadn’t finished viewing everything and this time we did it alone. We enjoyed walking around and admiring the place again this time focussing on some other conflicts and peace keeping efforts that the Australian services had been involved in. The War Memorial is being redeveloped right now and we were informed that only 10% of their artefacts are on display at any one time…so the expansion will enable them to have a wider range of things for the people to see. This development is not without its detractors though as some of the investors funding the works are arms manufacturers and that didn’t necessarily sit well with the wider population.
Sadly leaving the war memorial behind us – having left a donation of course – we drove off towards Batemans Bay. So that’s where I’ll leave this blog and hope you enjoyed it. Please come back soon for the next chapter. Bye for now.
Thursday 6 March we were up really early and at 6.30 am left the apartment and walked down the street to drop off the keys to the managing agent. We then waited for an Uber to arrive. Which came about five minutes after the expected arrival time so not too bad. At Melbourne airport we quickly navigated the bag drop off system (having checked in online) and then through security. Pretty empty this early in the morning. We had breakfast then went to our departure gate…by which time we found out that the plane was delayed.
Eventually, about 45 minutes later than scheduled, we boarded the plane and took off towards Sydney. Why Sydney rather than fly direct to Canberra? Canberra flights are much more expensive (business demand pushes the price up I guess) and hire car companies charge a one way drop off fee (and we were ultimately flying out of Sydney home). Taking these factors into consideration it was the better financial option to fly into Sydney although it meant we were now facing a three hour drive on arrival….
We landed, got our baggage quite quickly, and then headed out to the courtesy bus area. We waited and waited but no Ace minibus came along – although we had let them know our estimated time of arrival (and flight details) when booking the car. We tried to go online to resolve the situation but that didn’t work – there were ‘no drivers in the vicinity’. Great, not! Finally we resorted to the old fashioned methodology of calling them on the phone – and yes, they were on the way, but we had to move ourselves across the road to a different collection point.
A Hertz courtesy minibus turned up so we asked if they would take us (Ace are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hertz International, dealing predominantly in the off-airport car rental market in Australia) and the answer was no! Hmmmm…. Eventually Ace turned up – we were the only customers – and we were transported to the car rental office which is actually a shared facility with Hertz. Go figure!
Inside the office there were some Chinese customers who were fussing – their car was not ready and English was difficult for them – they even had to ask how to actually start the car! This request made me giggle but I was told off by Richard for my lack of empathy. There was also a guy who turned up with his dog and was told to tie it up outside. He did so and was then told he could not collect his booked hire car because dogs (other than service animals) were not allowed in rentals – the guy behind the desk was pretty harsh telling the guy dump the dog or no car! The guy was clearly distressed by this news…but I do remember reading it in their small print…so he left and sat outside the facility while he worked out what to do next. Felt very sorry for him. Sigh…
We eventually got dealt with and, already behind schedule by around 1 1/2 hours, we were upgraded to a slightly larger petrol CX-50 which is a compact crossover SUV produced by Mazda.
Delighted to finally be on our way we took off and drove towards the Australian Capital Territory. We stopped at a service station for some refreshments and a comfort break and, eventually, arrived at our apartment block in Canberra. Getting the keys to the apartment and the fob to enter the car park was easy enough but, despite driving around and around, we couldn’t actually find our allocated parking space. As this is a privately-owned block it was important that we only parked in the nominated place…. Eventually we got out of the car and walked up and down – I headed towards the apartment lift thinking there might be a map or something left in the apartment for us. And, lo and behold, right by the lift was our space! Phew…mystery solved LOL. We quickly parked the car and unpacked.
We were delighted with the accommodation – two bedroom unit on the top floor this time – and the facilities. So we set out on foot to the Canberra Central Mall which was a five minute walk away for some provisions. But afterwards ended up stopping in the Asian Food Court, had a Chinese meal and a couple of beers, before heading back for an early night.
Later on we contacted Nigel and Sandy who we had missed in Caloundra – we knew that their schedule would overlap with us at some point, and we couldn’t believe it when we realised that they were staying just outside Canberra…. What a lovely coincidence! So we quickly made arrangements to meet them in the morning as they were going to show us around as they had previously lived here.
Friday morning Nigel and Sandy picked us up at 11 o’clock – gosh it was so lovely to see them again – and we headed off to Mount Ainslie to see the views of the city from this elevated lookout.
Afterwards we visited Old Parliament House which was splendid….old leather seats, a ‘Speaker’s Chair’ and lots of Westminster-looking architecture…this is where the Federal Parliament sat from 1927 to 1988. We visited both the House of Representatives (the Commons) and the Senate (the Lords)…. after checking out some political satire first. No country was left untouched by the various artists….nor any topical subject ignored.
Moving on we headed to Nicholls which is a quaint English village including a traditional pub, of course! We went into the George Harcourt Inn for lunch and had a really good feed of traditional English favourites – from fish and chips, bangers and mash to a ploughman’s platter.
During lunch we told Sandy and Nigel of our plans for Saturday – which was to go to the Queanbeyan Rodeo. We had seen adverts for this en route to Canberra and it had always been something we had wanted to experience….they were of the same persuasion…so we all booked our tickets online there and then. Yay! Saturday sorted LOL.
After lunch and a great catch up we headed back to the City to visit the New Parliament House which was built ‘up the hill’ atop Capital Hill and was opened by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, in May 1988. This was very different with lots of marble…and vast amounts of seemingly unused space….
After exploring this modern building, again with visits to the Senate and the House of Representatives, we concluded our ‘tour’ at this point and Sandy and Nigel took us back to our apartment. We rested up and, despite earlier complaining that we couldn’t eat again for a week after our hearty lunch, we decided to go for a walk. We ended up in the West Civic Pub for supper where we shared a meal…. And lovely it was too.
Saturday morning we headed off to the rodeo in Queanbeyan – Nigel kindly offering to drive us again as they had to drive anyway, staying in a place called Vass about an hour outside Canberra CBD. En route we had breakfast on the Kingston foreshore before heading off to Queanbeyan.
We were very excited although not quite sure what to expect. We arrived…yeehah!…checked out the cowboy hats and boots before taking some seats in the stands for the first part of the show…. Well it was amazing! We saw bareback horses, bucking horses (specifically bred for this purpose), bulls (large and small), lassoing steers with many iterations from catch and tie down / team lasso (neck & leg) / lasso & tie / lasso only (neck). There were both cowboys and cowgirls involved in the competitions – and some pretty talented kids too. There were also some speed events with horses racing between bins on a circuit.
At lunchtime we headed over to get some drinks….and a bite to eat. Heading back to the arena and we realised that the crowds had filled in and there were no longer seats available in the stands. So we found some chairs and sat quite close to the railings keeping us safe from the rampaging horses and bulls…great view until the kids came and stood in front of us. Hey ho…. Everything appeared incredibly dangerous and a couple of people being thrown around by bulls / horses showed us very quickly how it could all go so badly wrong. The medics were on the scene immediately though and I have to say, the back-up staff at this event were splendid. The bull athletes who ‘encourage’ the bulls to depart the arena once they have got rid of their burdensome riders – they do this on foot – to the “rounder ups” on horseback who collect the loose horses once the riders have been despatched to the dirt and the (not so funny) clowns who entertain the crowd when the arena is being set up for the next competition.
Such an exciting day out – and will just leave you with a range of photos to give you a flavour….
Sunday we were supposed to be leaving Canberra but, as Cyclone Alfred was expected to hit Brisbane and the bad weather (heavy rain) was anticipated to come inland we decided to stay a couple of more days – especially as we now had friends to share it with! Sadly we couldn’t stay in our apartment as it was fully booked after our departure but we found another one about 10 minutes walk away online.
So on Sunday we checked out of one – headed to the Kingston foreshore for breakfast, then onto the National Gallery and the Portrait Gallery – where we particularly enjoyed the water features and the lake.
We then went shopping for some provisions before checking into our next apartment which we found easily….this was different in that it was a serviced apartment with a reception desk and everything. So checked in, got the keys, and a fob to access the car park. The car park had the narrowest entrance ever and the guy warned us it was very tight underground too having to negotiate a 90 degree turn immediately at the bottom of the slope…so as our car was a little larger he gave us permission to park in the disabled bay or the bays with the yellow striped lines as they were easier to access.
So with both of us breathing in (and turning the wing mirrors parallel with the car) we drove towards the car park entrance. We squeezed through with no problems and got parked up easily. The walls had huge chunks out of them so clearly this had caused previous guests some difficulty…. Good job Richard! We then unpacked the car again and used the lift to our apartment….and very nice it was too. We then took ourselves off to the Australian War Memorial…..and the rest will follow in the next blog. Come back soon.
Saturday 1 March we drove away from Torquay towards Geelong where we wandered the promenade and enjoyed the vibe of this popular seaside town.
En route we treated the car to a “no touch” laser car wash in the knowledge that our off road dusty driving times were behind us (hopefully LOL). Leaving Geelong behind we headed towards Melbourne. Because of the unnecessarily complicated way the hire car had set up the pricing this time we avoided the toll roads so it took a bit longer than anticipated. Finally we arrived in the City and picked up the keys to our apartment from the managing agent (whose office was nearby), found the secure underground car park, unburdened the car into the apartment and then drove towards Melbourne Airport. In the meantime we’d found out that the off-site car rental office was closed for the day – despite our contractual requirement to return it by 5pm. So we phoned to get confirmation as to what we should do and couldn’t get any sense out of anybody at the call centre so made our way there anyway..….
Nearing the office we filled up with petrol and arrived – Ace and Hertz offices were side by side in a desolated industrial area and both were indeed closed for the day. There was a sign posted on the door to say drop your keys in the secure drop box after hours….but not wanting to drop them in without any means of returning to our apartment (and the potential of getting stranded) we decided to book an Uber to return us to the city. We weren’t the only people who were there trying to return cars either – complete confusion reigned LOL. So when the Uber arrived and confirmed it was for us, feeling somewhat relieved, we posted the keys and enjoyed the ride back to our apartment.
Our apartment had been very reasonably priced and we were surprised especially as it was in Docklands with river views from the balcony. When we got there we found out why – the whole area is being renovated and we were surrounded by cranes and building works. Not the best view from the ‘office’ window…. But, as it was the weekend, who cares, nobody was working! Anyway, overall, we were pretty happy. We popped out to go shopping for some provisions and enjoyed a dinner at home and a quiet night in. Here we are checking out the balcony.
Sunday morning we had a slow start and after a leisurely breakfast we decided to ride the (free) historical circle tram to help us work out the city layout. We were supposed to be able to get a network map on the tram but the driver had sadly run out of them….
The views from the tram were not great – and it was very busy – so we got off near to the Museum of Melbourne where we enjoyed the very varied exhibits. On the way we popped into a large hotel for a comfort break and reception staff (assuming we were guests) asked if we needed assistance. So I cheekily asked for a tram network map – and hurrah, all sorted!
The strangest exhibit was of a famous Australian racehorse – Phar Lap – who had won 37 races from 51 starts (including the 1930 Melbourne Cup). His final race in 1942 was videoed and watching this footage in the museum alongside his taxidermy body was quite surreal. Allegedly he was so good that he was poisoned (with arsenic) in the USA after his last race by competitor racehorse owners (alleged to have Mafia connections).
After the museum we returned to the trams having now worked out the system. The trams (within the City boundaries) are totally free so we enjoyed hopping on and hopping off. How amazing! We got off at Riverside and wandered to Federation Square where there was some sort of festival going on – we watched a bit of the break dancing competition – before bailing out as the music was somewhat monotonous and the standard of competition was not (in our inexperienced eyes) very good. At least no one recreated the Australian kangaroo dance from the Paris Olympics LOL.
We then headed towards the river, wandered the waterfront checking out the boats and art installations before deciding to go aboard the Afloat Bar and had a couple of drinks before returning to our apartment on the tram for another quiet night in.
Melbourne was actually pretty quiet on Sunday…although it also had the most eclectic mix of people that we had seen so far on our travels. Most memorable was the elderly short skinny bald man dressed in a mini pink dress with lots and lots of pearls and stilettos. No wig, no make up, just happy in his (her??) own skin…. All very odd. We also came across many strangely clothed locals and tourists alike. Most of the tourists were Chinese / Japanese and Korean – who annoyingly photo everything numerous times and are a little inconsiderate in terms of letting us in to get our photos…. I’m surprised they find time to explore as they are recording everything on their phones as they stroll around before checking the footage and repeating as they see fit!
Monday we took a tram to check out some old malls – Block Arcade and Royal Arcade. They were very familiar and reminded us a bit of Leadenhall Market in London.
Then we continued walking to China Town. We realised that the most popular eatery had a queue up the street before it had even opened at noon. So we continued exploring before finally popping into this establishment for a snack as it had now opened and the queue had been accommodated inside – which was actually like a tardis, surprisingly large. The servers didn’t really speak English and the ordering was not completely straightforward. But we had some lettuce wraps (with pork) and some vegetable spring rolls. The food was very good and tasty.
Afterwards we continued exploring – next stop AC/DC Lane – which is full of street art. This might have been something to see originally but, sadly, people had been tagging over the original paintings so it has became a bit messy and not particularly interesting. What a shame….
We then continued and ended up in the Love Museum – where some of the installations were a little risqué – before visiting the Art Gallery which had a lot of early Australian History depicted. Find it very interesting to see the European artists’ impression of life in Australia with the women wearing their traditional Western clothes from the period – bet a full length dress with bustle was very comfortable in the heat and ultimately practical for working the land!
Melbourne was actually started by free settlers – although there had been a convict settlement at Sorrento in Victoria for a short period – and, in fact, most of the early European settlers of the Melbourne area were ex-convicts who had been released after they had served their time but with no repatriations they had to start lives for themselves in the new territory.
Moving on we headed across the river to the Sky Deck which we had purchased tickets for online. We started off in the VR Theatre which took you around and across Melbourne visiting iconic things such as the Formula 1 race, the Open tennis, up and down the river, in a helicopter and riding pillion on a motorcycle. Best bit for me was the rollercoaster ride and the fairy penguin parade as they came ashore for the night in nearby Philip Island. All seats were individual with headsets and with surround sound and with the seats moving it felt like a pretty authentic experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Then we headed up to the Sky Deck and enjoyed views across the City.
Then we went to the Edge which is a glass box which comes out of the side of the building horizontally on the 88th floor – so we had a bit of fun there mucking around for the photos! If you think I was a bit harsh on Richard then note I was just getting revenge for New Zealand….
We actually thought this may have been simulated too until afterwards when we went into the cage which looks over the side of the building and we could see people inside the Edge through the glass walls…. We had an American backpacker in the Edge with us and she was pretty frightened to start with – especially when the lift started making terrible noises – and the opaque glass went clear. Sadly phones were not allowed in the Edge so no photos of our own…
Then we went to the Sky Deck bar as we had money off vouchers and we thought it would be nice to sit up there and have a drink looking over the city. But it was really no more than a cafe and despite the amazing views it wasn’t a particularly comfortable environment.
Leaving the Sky Deck via the shop (of course) we walked across the river to the oldest pub in Melbourne (the Mitre Tavern) and sat in the courtyard with a cold glass in hand. Was very popular with the yuppie crowd as they came out of work…. Was also pretty loud.
Moving on we headed back towards Docklands on the tram stopping off for some supermarket shopping on the way. We popped into the local pub Tap 831 on the way home too…was surprisingly good. Back home we got on with the laundry, had dinner, and another early night.
Tuesday morning we were up very early and found we had an ant infestation coming in from outside throughout the apartment. Yuck! Anyway, no time to deal with it other than giving it a good spray around as we were going out for the morning. We had a 30 minute uphill walk to the pick up location for our Puffing Billy tour. The tram timetable was too late to wait for it (just in case) so we walked and got there around 7.30 am. At 7.40 am on the dot a Go West minibus turned up to pick us up. We had wanted to ride the Puffing Billy steam train but, unless you can book six months in advance, there is very little chance of getting tickets for it. Clearly the tour companies are allocated so many seats on each departure which reduces the ability to book independently. Anyway, we settled into the minibus, said hello to our fellow travellers (Asian of course) and then we were driven to Belgrave. We had a quick snack in the station cafe before boarding the train – all the same tour were allocated seats in the same carriage. There is a ‘right’ side and a ‘wrong’ side on the carriage in terms of photo opportunities – people sit on the rail and hang out…neither of us fancied that as it looked incredibly uncomfortable. So happy to sit on the ‘wrong’ side of the train and walk across to the door on the opposite side to take photos..
We stopped at Menzies Creek for a refuel before continuing on to Lakeside which was the end of the road for us. The train did continue further but, to be fair, old wooden benches on a rickety old steam train are not the most comfortable of rides, so we were happy to be leaving the train behind at this juncture. But had to get our photos done first of course LOL.
We had a drink before rejoining our minibus (which had driven the route to collect us) and we had a snooze on the way back to the city. Back in our apartment we complained to the management company on line about the ants and the air conditioning (which was not cooling, just recycling the air around). A young Japanese woman came quite soon and inspected the problem – air con was fixed immediately – was on the wrong setting – but without a manual how were we supposed to know??!!?? She also inspected the ants and, allegedly, she was going to deal later when we were out for the evening.
We went out as planned to Tap 831 and had some dinner there. Food was pretty good although they messed Richard’s order up – serving him grilled fish with vegetables rather than fish and chips LOL. Healthier option though…. Anyway, what we didn’t know, was that this was quiz night and we were lucky to get a table – there were some big (established) teams of friends and work colleagues in situ. We spotted one team who were cheating by looking up things on their phones but we played fair. Our general knowledge / geography and music was pretty good. But sports – Oz centric – was rubbish and, as a result, we came joint last. But as we were the only tourists and the only team of two we weren’t too disappointed. The funniest question of the night was “Where are Lanzarote (pronounced Lan-za-roti) and Tenerife (pronounced Ten-e-rif-e) located?” We told him how to pronounce them and it was pretty obvious we knew the answer LOL.
After a fun night we returned to our apartment and still had ants (reduced numbers though) and the air conditioning was still working. Fine and so to bed….making sure nothing was left on the floor to get infested….
Wednesday morning was our last day in Melbourne so we had a late start and breakfast before we headed on the tram outside of the free zone – meaning we had to purchase Myki tickets (which was easy at the tram station machine) and top them up to tap on and off for our journey. We got off at the Shrine of Rememberance and walked to the War Memorial, visiting first the information centre, followed by the crypt, and then up to the balcony. It was all very moving and beautifully done.
Afterwards – despite the high temperatures in the low 30s – we walked to the Botanic Gardens and enjoyed walking around. Especially seeing so many fruit bats nesting in the area – flying foxes are one of our favourites as their little faces look like cute dogs LOL. Then we headed to the Lake and sat on the terrace chatting to all the birds around. We also enjoyed watching the punts go out on the lake.
Afterwards we walked back to the main entrance, rejoined a tram and returned to the South Bank. We checked out a few bars on the South Bank but it was completely rammed with people coming out for an after-work drink and we couldn’t take the queues. So we crossed over the river and got a tram back to Docklands and returned to Tap 831, our new ‘local’ LOL.
We stayed there for dinner and then went back to the apartment to clean up and pack.
So that brings this part of our Australian adventure to a close. Come back soon for the next episode which takes us to Canberra.
