Melbourne & Great Ocean Road

Australia Day!
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We took advantage of the long Australia Day weekend to spend a four days in the southern Australian state, Victoria. Cheryl and I arrived in Melbourne Saturday afternoon and met up with Caro and Louisa who flew in a couple hours earlier. We went shopping on Bridge Road where we found some great deals on new purses and shoes.

That night we had our Girls Night Out! Caro and I had been wanting to get all dressed up and wear the new dresses we had bought while living in Australia and thought Melbourne would be the perfect place! We treated ourselves to some amazing steak and Shiraz at the Number 8 restaurant in the Crowne Casino overlooking the Yarra River on South Bank. After dinner we tried our luck on the 'Outback Jack' pokies (slot machines) and at the black jack tables. I didn't really win anything, but I definitely had a fabulous night trying!

Girls Night Out at the Crowne Casino
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The next morning, we hired a car and drove to the Great Ocean Road. The views along the coastline were breathtaking! We spent most of the day driving the Great Ocean Road while stopping at several scenic viewing areas and small towns along the way until we arrived in Apollo Bay where we had a room booked for the night. We were still a few hours away from reaching the Twelve Apostles, our targeted destination, and were running out of time. After weighing our options, we decided to book a scenic flight for the next morning to view the Twelve Apostles by air.

Crowne Casino
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Monday morning we headed to Apollo Bay's tiny little airport (with only two small airplanes) and met Vic, our pilot. Vic let me be the co-pilot of his six seater, Cessna 206...I was stoked! Vic flew us over the Cape Otway lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse on mainland Australia, past the Loch Ard Gorge to the Twelve Apostles. Though, only eight of the twelve limestone stacks remain standing just off the shoreline, the sight was still magnificent, especially from the air!

We made it back to Melbourne that afternoon and decided to find an Italian restaurant on Lygon Street. Afterwards, we went up to the 88th floor to the Skydeck88 observatory in Eureka Tower, the world's tallest residential building, for some stunning views of the sun setting over the city. We also lucked out and got to watch the Australia Day fireworks from the skydeck...a pretty amazing show and almost as great as the new years eve Sydney Harbour fireworks. Afterwards, Caro and I went out in the Edge, a glass cube which extracts from the 88th floor. Even the floor was glass! As the Edge was projecting out of the building, the attendant told us that if we were "really brave" we should lay down so that when the frosted glass turned clear, we would be able to see the city 300 meters below us.

Caro & I enjoying our drinks at Crowne Casino
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Tuesday, Caro, Cheryl and Louisa went to watch the Australian Open. Since I'm not really into tennis, I decided to do some shopping and see some sights around Melbourne. I browsed the Queen Victoria Markets, shopped along Bourke Street Mall and walked through the Chinatown and Greek precincts. Then I took a tram to Victoria Harbour and Waterfront City to the Southern Star Observation Wheel before heading back towards Southbank. I pretty much wondered around the whole city centre that day!