Melbourne - 22nd Feb

It was our last day in Melbourne so wanted to do the things that we had missed. After a slow get up, we took a tram and then walked to the Aquatic Centre for our swim! We thought that it would be nice to swim in the outdoor 50m commonwealth pool, however when we arrived there was a school gala being held. This meant that we could only use the indoor 50m & 25m pools as well as the splash pool.... oh to have the choice! It felt amazing swimming and seeing the ‘Melbourne Aquatic Centre’ sign – almost like we were on the other side of the world! It takes moments like these once you stop for it all to sink in. To finish off we had a swim in the splash pool, which had a wave machine and made us laugh like children!

From here we headed back to the city and went to the Victoria State Art Gallery. Although some of the modern art was quite cool, our feet were aching and walking around the European history section did not really float our boat.

So instead we went to a bar called Chill-on – which was made completely of ice.  We were provided with big fluffy boots, a fluffy parker style jacket with hood, gloves and vouchers for our included cocktail and shot. Once in the bar it really was freezing (-10^oC), compared to the 30 degree outdoor temperature. It was impressive with huge ice statues, ice chairs and tables – even the glasses were made from ice. We didn’t last long as we got too cold but it was a great experience.

As a treat in the evening, we enjoyed ‘Ping Ping’ curry (micro-wave meal) for tea before we prepared for our early morning flight. Once we got back to our room to pack our bags, we met our roommates – a girl from Toronto and a guy from Switzerland.

Overall we both really liked Melbourne. It has a very quirky edge to it which is both welcoming and intriguing. It is also quite European so we felt safe. One thing that we never ended up doing was a trip to Phillip Island to watch the penguins, however we had experienced this in New Zealand and again on the Great Ocean Road tour so did not feel like we missed out. There were also things we missed which we would love to go back and see, like the Victoria Markets and Fitzroy.