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Sunday, February 21, 2010
Greetings from Melbourne, We spent two nights in the seaside town of Lakes Entrance so had a full day to enjoy the area. After all the driving of the previous two days we decided to stay put and explore the area on foot. Lakes Entrance is on an inlet from the ocean and to access the beach one has to cross a footbridge to a large spit of land. From there it is possible to access a number of trails either along the beach or through the bush. We choose the beach route but soon realized that the heat and the intensity of the sun would not allow us to venture too far. This was a magnificent beach stretching miles with very few people around (see pics) but the water was surprisingly cold and the waves huge so swimming was not an option. We thought this spot might have provided some natural protection from the sun but this was not to be so we headed back to the hotel for a nice swim in the pool.
The next day we were off again in the direction of Melbourne 300 Km to the west. The roads are fairly good in these parts so we were able to make good time. Our friends in Sydney had loaned us their GPS for the car so we gave it a try in order to locate our destination in the centre of Melbourne. Both Melbourne and Sydney have toll roads and it is necessary to pay either prior to or after using the road by purchasing certain vouchers. We managed to avoid the Sydney tolls but not so in Melbourne. Our GPS insisted we use the M1 into the city where the last few Km are tolled so we now have to pay the fee before the car rental company receive a bill - a real pain!
We did manage to find our accomodation quite easily so the GPS proved it's worth. We have a nice 1 bedroom apartment in the heart of Melbourne and can access many of the attractions by foot. Melbourne has a good public transit system with extensive use of street cars (trams) and a subway. There is also a free tram that circles the centre core so is very useful. Sydney also has a free shuttle system that runs through the city core, in fact this idea of free transit is something being pursued quite aggresively in Aus as a way of getting people to stop using their cars - maybe something Canada should consider!
Tomorrow (Monday) we will explore the city and the next day we plan to drive to the Great Ocean Road - a popular attraction in these parts and a must do for visitors - stay tuned.
David and Barbra
