Day 21 Australia - Apollo Bay to Melbourne

Saturday 14th March, 2015 - Apollo Bay to Melbourne

Captain's At The Bay actually provides a breakfast!!

We set out along the Great Ocean Road and what a drive it is. Simply stunning!!

We stop in Lorne to wander and have coffee.

Again cockatoos!

Next stop Torquay where the Quicksilver surfing championships finished on Thursday.

The beach front town of Torquay is located 22 kilometres south of Geelong and at the northern end of the Surf Coast section of the Great Ocean Road.

.

Torquay has been a popular holiday destination for Victorians since the early 1900s and its beaches have been modelled on those of England with wide grassy foreshores and large shady trees lining the coast. Scenic walking tracks extend through much of the town's foreshore, and good views can be enjoyed from Yellow Bluff and at Point Danger with its Anzac Memorial perched high above the ocean on the headland.

Wow the beach is amazing! 

We decide we are not hungry after our great (free) breakfast and head straight into Melbourne.

Approx 185 km / 2.5 hours


Drop off your rental vehicle in Melbourne.
Drop-off Details:
Time:4:00pm
Date: Saturday 14th March, 2015
97 FRANKLIN ST
MELBOURNE Melbourne
Depot hours 08:00 - 16:00

Simply stated, Melbourne is friendly elegance. Enjoy Melbourne's Old World charm and
sophisticated elegance, as you stroll through formal gardens, boat on the lazy Yarra River, wander down broad, tree-lined avenues, admire stately buildings, or shop in the fine boutiques. There is a wonderfully friendly welcome found in the charming sidewalk cafes, the delightful trams, and the streets and markets of distinctive ethnic neighbourhoods. This is especially so in the boisterous crowds at an Aussie Rules Football match. Melbourne is a reflection of them all; a financial centre, a haven for theatre and fine arts, a culinary mecca, a multicultural gathering place, and a crazed sports capital. Altogether, the city's 19th Century nickname seems highly appropriate 'Marvellous Melbourne'.

Accommodation:
Hotel Lindrum
26 Flinders Street,
Melbourne VIC 3000
Duration: 2 nights

There are 59 beautifully appointed rooms to choose from in this Melbourne accommodation
located in the CBD - all carefully designed with the traveller in mind. Rich wood furnishings
combined with classic polished floors and heavy woven carpets create the stylish interior that can
be found throughout each room type. Rooms are private and spacious with a strong sense of
mood and intimacy; an ambience enhanced by the classic rich interior and mood lighting.
The hotel is within walking distance to world-class theatres and restaurants, sporting venues
such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Melbourne and Olympic Parks and major attractions
such as Federation Square.
The hotel is in the middle of this map.

We decide to find the hotel first as traffic was really bad, the Grand Prix was taking place this weekend.
After one failed attempt to find it we do it!! But there is no parking (note to self always ask 1- is there a doorman 2 - parking off street). I run in to register us and mention we have a car. What to do? Check in or take car back and then take taxi. The desk clerk said I will help you bring in the luggage and place it in your room. John is shocked when he knocks on the car door. Our stuff is loaded up, taken to our room. The clerk gives us directions to the car rental and we're off. Oh and I still haven't gone to the bathroom!!

We find the Hertz drop off, and the bill is $75 which is what we expected. A little different than the $1,600 that was charged to our card from the office in Adelaide. We'll have a discussion about that.

Freedom! We go for a beer and a snack, it's now around 3 PM on a Saturday and it is hot and sunny.

As the busiest suburban railway station in the southern hemisphere, it sees more than 1500 trains and 110,000 commuters every day. It is now listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, thanks to its 708m main platform, which is the fourth longest in the world.

.

ACMI, formerly the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, is Australia's national museum of screen culture including film, television, videogames, digital culture and art.[2] ACMI was established in 2002 and is based at Federation Square.

Chinatown Melbourne is the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world.

Look up!

The Manchester Unity Building is an Art Deco Gothic inspired office and retail building  constructed in 1931–32 for the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows.

.

St Paul’s Cathedral is the home church for Anglicans in Melbourne and throughout Victoria.

.

.

The Oxford Scholar pub.

Bourke and Swanston Streets -  Four weathervanes, in the shapes of a horse, pig, fish and bird, positioned above tram poles which rotate with the wind. Hand beaten copper with gold leaf detail. Each of the four weathervanes takes the shape of an animal: a horse, pig, fish and bird. They are positioned high on tram poles to give aerial performances with each gust of wind. The vanes have been conceived to represent specific aspects of Melbourne: the bird symbolises the city’s parks and gardens; the horse symbolises its culture and sport; the fish refers to its waterways; and the pig represents the city’s hope and future – the latter a tongue-in-cheek reference to ‘pigs can fly’. Jenkins said of the sculpture, ‘I wanted each of these weathervanes to be cartoon-like and even frivolous. We take our cities for granted and with the daily pedestrian bustle it is always business as usual. It takes something very unusual to attract someone’s eye. I want people to look up and smile!’ The City of Melbourne commissioned Jenkins to make this work, which took him four months to complete. Lord Mayor Councillor Des Clark unveiled Weathervanes at 11am on Friday 19 March 1993.

.

Then a huge great surprise! A graffiti lane. Lots more photos to come.

Hosier Lane.

Back to the hotel for a small break.

We step out for dinner around 7:30 and it is starting to rain. 

We had plans to try a local pub but it was packed. So we came back to the hotel and ate in their dining room.