Melbourne

We were welcomed at Melbourne airport by our friend Ellie, and after a short ride back to her house we enjoyed a well overdue catchup over a few too many beers!

We spent a week in Melbourne staying with Ellie and her flatmates Jade and Chris before taking on the Great Ocean Road. Before doing this we needed some wheels so we set about making that our first priority. After getting our heads around confusing licensing laws and 'roadworthiness' we finally found a 'beaut' in our 1993 Toyota Camry Station Wagon.

In between looking for cars, we spent a great day exploring the beach side neighbourhood of St. Kilda and went along to the MCG to watch the second one-day international between Australia and New Zealand.

This was our first Australian sporting experience, and it was certainly full of drama. We sat in block M13, which we later found out is notorious for being the 'bogan' (chav) section of the ground - no wonder we saw so much action. The crowd was lively to say the least, and we heard lots of amusing chants, saw various fights, and even witnessed two streakers running on to the pitch! The cricket was pretty good too!

The day after the cricket (Saturday) was Ellie's leaving do. It also coincided with the hottest day in Melbourne's history; a 'breezy' 46.4 deg.C! After spending most of the day viewing and buying our car, we were glad to step out of the oven and into Ellie's house where the air conditioning and a few cold beers were waiting!

The party was excellent and it was great to meet so many of Ellie's friends. We also enjoyed the Sambuca fuelled dancing, but we are proud to say that the English were the last standing (or were they Jen?)