Day 1: Launceston to Melbourne
Melbourne deserves so much more than two nights. We spent six nights here on our first visit and saw many of the sights. This time was more of a “bridge” between our stops at Cradle Mountain in Tasmania and Echuca, near Melbourne.
Our flight from Launceston was delayed but were weren’t bothered since we didn’t have a connecting flight. We took the SkyBus from the airport to downtown. Our first stop was a Chemist Warehouse near the station for some bug cream — looking ahead to our time on the coast — and contact lens solution, since I was running low. Talk about visual overload! So many bright colors, signs … yeesh. I was in and out of there ASAP. We found our hotel easily enough. We stayed right near the station for ease of getting on our tour tomorrow and for taking the train out the following day.
Finding the Greek restaurant we wanted to try proved impossible, however. (I think we walked about the intersection where it was supposed to be about three times.) We finally ran into a cleaner in an interior courtyard who pointed it out but said they were only open for lunch. Oh well. We ended up eating Indonesian food and that was really good. Then we did laundry, because we (deliberately) had a washer and dryer.
We remembered all the modern skyscrapers in Melbourne and yep, they’re still there.
Day 2: Phillip Island Penguin Parade
Today was our big event, the Phillip Island Penguin Parade. Speaking of big events, our visit happened to coincide with the Melbourne Formula One race, so there were lots of barricaded streets and racing-themed whatever.
The penguin parade is at dusk, so the rest of tour was spent sightseeing near Melbourne and the coast. It was a great day trip.
The following day we were off on the train to Echuca. Here’s a view of the Melbourne skyline across the fields.
Essentials
Lodging
Our room at the Meriton Suites Melbourne was our most expensive stay this trip. I did pay more because I wanted laundry facilities. This was day 39 of our 61 day trip to New Zealand and Australia and I thought we’d need it by then. We also wanted to be close to Southern Cross station for getting in and out of town easily. The suite was beautiful and comfortable and the staff were great. And yes, we did laundry. They’re well-hidden but there’s a full size fridge and dishwasher in the kitchenette.
Dining
We had dinner our first night up the street at Kedai Satay. We tried the chicken satay and beef rendang. The food and service was good and it was low-key and inexpensive. Just what we wanted. Love finding little places like this. There are boatloads of restaurants in the Melbourne downtown area, of all different kinds. The other night was ate at the penguin parade, since we didn’t get back to town until 11:00-11:30 PM.
Transportation
We flew into Melbourne and caught the SkyBus to downtown. It drops you at Southern Cross station right downtown, with lots of transport connections nearby if you need them. We walked everywhere the short time we were here, and caught the train out of town from Southern Cross. Melbourne has excellent public transportation.