3 days for a city like Melbourne is too short.
The famous Flinders station tower in the central business district, very compact and busy center of all the action.
The yellow cabs are not the only thing that give a manhattan feeling. There are more coffee places than I've ever seen before in such a relatively small area, and the skyscrapers are mixed with historical buildings in all shapes and sizes.
The after work drink is BIG here. People go straight from work to a pub, tapas bar or fancy restaurant. You see a LOT of nicely dressed ladies on the tram as early as 17.30. (Oh yeah and all the cliches about wine are true too.)
The Library! It's Sinking!
Schoolkids going to the museum.
The sparrows are huge and fat and very cheeky.
The guy on the right started smoking a pipe after I made this picture. I think they are old pals.
After my first 2 dazed hours walking around town, I encountered the smallest cafe of Australia. It was an old fire hose cabinet in a small alleyway, with just enough room for Michael, the owner. All the guests sit on tiny, custommade furniture on the street.
But what really drew my attention is the comics lying around instead of the standard celebrity magazines and newspapers! This guy new his stuff, we talked comics for hours and he introduced me to some very cool new books.
It turned out that he owned the place for only 6 days when I dropped in. He had great plans for it and we talked a lot about his redecoration plans and how to compete with the billions of other cafes in town.
After my second visit to 'The Hole in the Wall' (working title) he told me to visit his friend the gallery owner on the 3rd floor of the same building. It was the most amazing bizarre interior I've ever seen, full of gadgets and weird furniture, and the most amazing views over the city.
The artist who had been exhibiting that week. I learned he quit his job to pursue art, and had 3 hours left to sell something, or he had to move in with his parents on the country side.
The picture is a bit dark, but the toilet was absolutely amazing. The water came out of the mirror, with the handle ingeniously embedded in the mirror too.
One of the many restaurant streets in the afternoon sun. There are no parks in the centre, (a couple of very big ones outside though) but still feels pleasent to be outdoors.
Check the badge.
Cheeky seagulls on the southbank. You can also admire the ultramodern, comfortable, understandable and nice looking tramstop on the bridge, one of the many features of Melbourne that Amsterdam could learn something from.
The guy on the right is Ai, an ambassador of Couchsurfing who has made it his mission to show travellers the hidden cocktail jewels of Melbourne. Me and these two lucky german girls saw every hidden tiny brilliant club in town, and had more cocktails in one weekend than in our entire life before (at least I had.)
Flaming Absinths!
To take a brake from all the colourful alcohol, he took us to a bakery/chocolaterier/cafe/cakeshop that was open till midnight. It was 3 stores wide and at 23.30 completely full with people sipping coffee and hot cocoa. Or buying a wedding cake.
I think this is what my country needs to make it a better place.
Cake!
Chocolate and red wine!
A couple of bars: The Emerald Peacock, The Golden Monkey, Murmur, The Croft Institute and the Super Inn (chinese food at 2 am.) My favourite cocktail name: The 1000 Hand Slap.
The Princess theater in the morning.
My hostel was called the Nunnery and in a beautiful old building that was once really occupied by nuns.
Spacious livingroom with real fire, portraits of Mary everywhere, and a very old cat called Brother Francis.
Skyline from the southbank.
The Dome of the Melbourne Central shopping centre, built right over a historical tower.
The only tram that isn't hightech, spacious and ultramodern is the historical Circle Tram, which is free and full of atmosphere. This redhead girl seemed to fit so well in that setting, too dark to see but she had perfect hair for the 1900's.
Melboune as seen from St Kilda on the 9th floor. The lucky owner of this view is my roadtrip partner Claudia, who was renting it from a couple of couchsurfers who were currently in Hungary.
Our fearless, verocious vehicle that we used to explore the wilderness of Victoria (an automatic Ford...)
It was cloudy on our first day, but it only added to the atmosphere.
Because of the many curves it is impossible to take a nice picture of the Great Ocean Road itself, but trust me when I say it was like driving through one of those car commercials.
Claudia walking down the 366 steps to Wreck Beach.
Sadly without a real shipwreck, as we expected.
We did find loads of these mysterious shells, they look like feathers including the little tip at the end. The inside was curiously soft. Calling all biologists to identify these things.
Then finally, the next day, it was time for the much anticipated sunrise over the 12 Apostels.
The night before in the freezing cold, we had already seen them in the light of the full moon.
The sunrise took FOREVER. We were freezing our butt off, these guys even sat there waiting with a sleepingbag as a coat.
We started thinking that sunset would have been a better option.
one hour later there is finally a little bit of sunlight peeking over the hill to make our tourist pics possible.
WALLABY!! I THINK!! STOP THE CAR! U-TURN!!
London Bridge.
Wild kangaroos in Tower Hill park! It was like driving in a safari park, only this one was free and not even fenced... it was just there in the middle of villages and dairy farms.
Emu!
Wild Koala! Without doubt the highlight of our entire trip, because we were both reaally determined to see at least one koala. After almost 2 days and many hours of staring at trees, we started getting desperate, but then at the last moment Claudia spotted this old guy. We squealed a lot.
Some nice mysterious vegetation.
More Emus.
They roamed the picnic area and made burping sounds that we couldn't really interpretate. To be on the safe side in case it was a warning sound, we kept our distance.
These people did the same and fled.
Another 12 hour busride back east I was in Sydney again.
Do you remember the seagulls from the movie Finding Nemo? The obsessive zombie birds only thinking about food? Well i found out the hard way that part of the movie was based on reality.
Behold. I was walking the boulevard, admiring the view, eating some toast when the RAPED it out of my hands and then started a war over it. It was very intimidating. They are a hundred times smarter and more interesting to look at than pidgeons.
More schoolkids, under the Harbour Bridge.
I love this ad.
The Chinese garden of Friendship.
Where beautiful ponds with autumn colours await you.
Where visitors can hire a traditional chinese costume to walk around with.
And where you can observe unique sights like these. (Absolutely no clue what's going on though.)
This is the Sydney Skyline as seen from the 9th floor of an appartment block in Bondi Junction, belonging to my relatives.
My lovely aunt and cousin. I gained at least a kilo in the 5 days I stayed with them. They fed me well.
My cousin showing me around the famous Bondi Beach, very quiet and lovely on a weekday morning.
On the corner of the beach is this amazing club, with a saltwater pool right next to the sea. The pool is constantly filled with seawater from the waves, and my cousin told me this is where they train the coastguards.
I'm normally not a real sea lover, but here the waves where just mesmerizingly beautiful. You could see mini rainbows in the mist blowing of the top of the waves.
Didgeridoo players at Circular Quay.
Tourist pic.
Beautiful in and outside.
One of those buildings that you have to pinch yourself as a reminder that it's real and your actually here.
As seen from the botanical gardens.
Explorers in the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Giant fruitbats just chilling out.
A whole army of screeching kakatoes in the gardens, with the sydney tower in the background.
Moar late night chocolat restaurants. We really need this.
My cousin impersonating Mr. Hungry on a cool designated graffiti area in the University of Sydney.
Possum in a public toilet!! I love them! My cousin says I'm Possum obsessed.
Some Chai Latte in the park. My cousin is a volunteer for the Ambulance service, and spend his sunday morning assisting various dehydrated runners in a first aid tent at the sydney Half Marathon. He normally looks more awake.
My aunt insisted on taking me to the Sky Tower for the view.
Next she showed me around her sons college till I had seen every classroom and corner of the place. She is a very proud mom.
The Sydney conservatory (in an old fortress that looks like an Lego castle in the wrong country)
There is a LOT of good asian food in Sydney, and according to my relatives this was the best of the best. People lining up outside and putting their name on a waiting list.
Koalas in the zoo, finally!
Couldn't get enough of them, totally addicting cuteness.
We were told that their diet is so low in energy that they have to avoid activities like walking and thinking. So not only do they look mellow and relaxed, they really have a small brain.
Sleepy kangaroos.
I am too poor to spend 35 dollar for a real koala hug, so this is the alternative.
" Super soft!" awww..
The monorail was kick ass. Every city should have one.
Finally I discover a weird Australian product worth photographing.
Walking the Harbour Bridge.
We saw 3 wedding groups that evening taking pictures with this background.
There is a German restaurant that is packed with people every night. They serve a lot of meat in many variations (with a tiny bit of mashed potato and saurkraut) and exciting weird beers. (this plate is for 2 persons btw.)
The waitresses are all in costume and there is even a band!
The Opera house seen from Mrs. Maquires point.
Last pic of Australia. Next stop: Fiji!
