Farewell Melbourne

Well today is Friday, May 18th 2012. We are moving out of our apartment on Grey St, St. Kilda on Sunday and heading North in two rented camper vans. We collected them today and it's just made the whole journey ahead of us seem real. The road trip we've decided to take over the course of 21 days starts in Melbourne and ends in Darwin. We'll cover around 4000km. It will be like driving from Donegal to past the middle of Africa. This is a link for a bike tour doing the same route we hope to. Except we're just doing it by our own devices. Eek! Biker Tour Melbourne to Darwin. I'm scared and excited and a little sad to leave Melbourne. We didn't intend on staying here this long but we all know how time has a way of eluding you.


The last few months have really flown by. We start to feel like we live here now; jobs, rent, routine. Because of this, we haven't really put ourselves out there too much and lost a little of the adventure spirit. In saying that, I would most definitely recommend Melbourne as a brilliant city to live in. It just has a really cool energy about it. I don't think I'll miss our specific location in Grey St, St. Kilda though, as it turned out to be the main  prostitute street in the area. The girls themselves are nice enough, but it does definitely bring down the whole feel of the place when you're walking along on a beautiful day and there's a drugged up prostitute waving at all the passing cars. Well, you live and learn.

Overlooking beloved Melbourne
 at the Eureka Skydeck Building

I've taken some lessons from Melbourne. I've learned how to make coffee, how to bar-tend. I've learned that to be even better behind the bar, having a few yourself is compulsory. Alcohol definitely makes you better at this job. I've learned that contrary to popular belief at home, Australia is not one big continent of fantastic weather. In Autumn and Winter, Melbourne is cold, overcast, very windy and very wet. I've learned that you never work for an Irish person. And I've learned that fun and adventure have to come first over money or work. It's an easy one to forget.



A few days ago Barney and I celebrated being together five years by having a gorgeous Malaysian dinner and a scrummy bottle of wine, whilst mastering the art of chopsticks. Thankfully we haven't fallen victim to the curse of Australia breaking up all couples who enter.

So bring on the first leg of our epic road-trip, The Great Ocean Road! Eight people, two campers, twenty one days...