I'm a web designer, travel marketer and long term wanderer, on the road since 2003. Check out my
The clocks at Flinders Street Station is a traditional meeting place in Melbourne, so if someone says to you “meet me under the clocks”, that is where you would go.
Happy birthday dear Melbourne…
…Happy birthday to you!
The 30th of August is Melbourne Day, and today Melbourne was 175 years old.
[Melbourne Day Birthday Cake]
Although Melbourne Day is an official day, it’s not an official holiday, so it’s not celebrated with gusto. Most people don’t know about it actually. If you were to pick a true Melbourne Day it would probably be Melbourne Cup day. It’s the horse race that stops the nation, and we get a day off for that one.
[Melbourne Day Flags and St Pauls Cathedral]
There were various celebrations on around the city, and the one thing I wanted to see was the replica of the Tall Ship Enterprize. Well it’s not very tall, but it is still special. This was the ship that brought European settlers on the northern bank of the Yarra River on the 30th of August, 1835.
[Enterprize at Melbourne Docklands]
While free admission to the Enterprize was excellent, the freebie of the day award would surely go to the Melbourne Day Coffee Cups, a useful and oh so appropriate Melbourne themed giveaway.
[Melbourne Day Coffee Cups]
Boxing Day Test – Melbourne
Boxing day in Australia means two things on the sporting calendar – The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Cricket is the most popular summer sport in Australia. It is remarkable that the game has remained popular considering that Test Match cricket goes for 5 days and still doesn’t guarantee a result.
I like how it involves playing teams from places like Pakistan and the West Indies. I also like how the captains wear blazers before the start of play, even on a blazing hot day.
Pakistan Captain Mohammad Yousuf
Public Art: China Express Mural
China Express Mural by drewfunk.com, corner Little Lonsdale and Swanston St Melbourne.
China Express Mural
More Australian birdlife
It’s not just in the bush that you can see Australian birdlife. I see the occasional exotic parrot species in the inner city, such as these corella’s in Albert Park, Melbourne.
Corella's in Melbourne
Melbourne's Art Deco heritage – Save Lonsdale House
In an age when cities around the world are preserving Art Deco buildings, The City of Melbourne has given the go ahead to demolish one of the cities best examples.
Lonsdale House is set to be demolished and replaced with a glass box shop. Visit Save Lonsdale House to find out more.
Lonsdale House – Melbourne
Wicked Camper Review
Wicked Camper Review
Air travel in Australia is a convenient way to get between the capitals, but you will only see cities doing this. To experience the rest of Australia, a road trip is the best way to go.
I don’t own a car, so trying out a Wicked Camper for a few days was a good excuse to hit the road and see some of my own country.
Wicked are best known for their wild paint jobs which adorn their vans. Each van design is unique, and I can tell you I had no problem looking for my van in a crowded car park.
I took a drive from Melbourne to Adelaide via the coast. This drive takes in the Great Ocean Road in Victoria and the Limestone Coast in South Australia.
[Wicked on the Great Ocean Road]
Wicked Highlights
I initially baulked at taking a drive in a campervan. I imagined I would be driving a large RV type vehicle, which I had little desire to try and park. It turns out that the Wicked Campers are standard size vans. My van was a Mitsubishi Express, which felt just like driving a regular car.
Anyone that can drive a car will not be out of their driving capabilities with a Wicked Camper. Being a compact vehicle also means you will have a smaller fuel bill compared to larger RV’s and camper vans.
Another concern for me was the process of returning the vehicle and having it inspected. I have hired a car before where upon returning it the car hire company have tried to pin a tiny scratch on the car as my responsibility.
Wicked have a policy of no charge for minor dints and scratches. Now that is not a licence to head to the nearest demolition derby, but I think that is a sensible policy, and one less thing to worry about.
The Wicked fuel policy is you collect the car with whatever is left in the tank, and you return it with whatever is left in the tank.
Camping
The obvious advantage of hiring a campervan is that you are going to save loads on accommodation. You can either stay at free camping sites, or you can park your van at a caravan park, which still works out cheaper than staying in a hostel.
I spent four nights in the campervan, and spend two nights at free camping sites. One of those nights was at Cape Otway on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.
[Cape Otway Campsite]
I had only been parked for half an hour and I spotted a wallaby by the campsite. The camping area was right on the beach so I could hear the ocean as I lay in bed. You wouldn’t experience that on a bus.
[Campsite Wallaby]
The back of the van has custom decking built in. there’s enough room to store backpacks and camping equipment so you don’t have to sleep with it. A mattress and pillows are supplied, and the van has curtains that cover all the windows.
[Campervan Storage Deck]
I also stayed at caravan parks, which is a good option if you want a night on the town without worrying about driving back to a bush campsite. Caravan parks also make for good pit-stops to recharge electrical equipment and have a hot shower.
[Campervan Bed]
Camping Kitchen
The vans are fitted out with a camping kitchen at the back of the van.
[Campervan Kitchen]
The kitchen includes:
- Cooking burner
- Countertop
- Sink
- Water Container
- Ice Box
- Pots & Pans
- Cutlery
Having the kitchen and cooking equipment supplied was another great money saver. I bought all the food I needed at a supermarket, saving me from eating out at fish and chip shops every night.
I stayed at campsites which had tables, but if you happen to find yourself in the middle of nowhere, you can convert the storage trays into a table.
[Campervan Table]
Hiring a Van
Wicked Campers start from AUD$55.00 (per day), which will get you a Standard Wicked Van (2 Seats).
Wicked also offer a price guarantee. If you get a competitor’s written quote cheaper than your booking, you will get AUD$5 per day less than that quote (within 48 hours of doing your booking).
I spent AUD$130 on fuel which covered 1170 km’s. I was driving solo so the trip would have been more economical if I was travelling with someone else.
Hit The Road
When visiting Australia it can be tempting to just fly between the capital cites on low cost airlines, but then you wouldn’t really see much of what is the world’s sixth largest country (and world’s largest island).
If you are going on the road for a longer period of time I would recommend getting a book or map on free camp sites. You will make up the cost of the book in one night.
Campervan supplied by Wicked Campers
Probably the best train logo in the world
Getting the train in Australia is not the quickest way to get around, but it is an enjoyable way to travel. The Overland runs between Adelaide and Melbourne and takes about 10 hours to cover the 828 kms.
I got the train mostly because I wanted to try it out. The ticket price was as cheap as any airfare on offer, and I could spend the day doing laptop work in the cafe carriage.
The Overland service was re-launched in 2007, which included a logo update. I would have to say that The Overland probably has the best train logo in the world.
The Overland Emu Logo
Flight Review: AirAsia X – Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur
Flight: AirAsiaX D7 2723
Date: 13 March 2009
From: Melbourne (MEL)
To: Kuala Lumpur LCCT (KUL)
AirAsia X is the long haul brand of Malaysian low cost airline AirAsia. They fly from Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne. They also fly to London Stansted, making it the first low cost airline to fly the whole length of the kangaroo route.
I was curious to fly this relatively short sector to see if I could handle flying a whole day to London on a low cost airline. Would the low fares on offer (up to half the price of a full service airline) offset the lack of frills you would usually get on a regular Australia to UK flight.
[MEL - KUL Air Show]
The first thing I noticed when entering the plane was the size of the seats. The seats are noticably slimmer. The cabin of the Airbus A330 is arranged in 3-3-3 format. Qantas, for example, use a 2-4-2 seat configuration on their A330 aircraft. AirAsiaX have a nine seat row compared to an eight seat row. That means each seat had to give up 1/8th of width to accommodate the extra seat. I noticed that lost 1/8th when I sat in the seat.
[AirAsia X seat backs]
As a low cost airline the pricing is a la carte style, so you buy a cheap seat and pay for any extras you fancy. You can pre-order extras when you are booking your ticket or purchase items onboard.
[AirAsia X Water]
Food and beverages are available for sale (there is no free water), as well as blanket and pillow packs and a video entertainment pass. The pass gives you access to the inflight entertainment, consisting of movies, tv shows, music and games.
[AirAsia X Food Prices]
As I was flying to see how cheap I could get the ticket, I ordered none of the optional extras. I bought my ticket when flights to Melbourne first went on sale at headline grabbing prices. The only optional extra I purchased was checked luggage. This was my return ticket breakdown:
Flight
Ticket 78.00 AUD
Surcharges, fees and taxes 320.00 AUD
Sub total 398.00 AUD
Services and Fees
Supersize regular (up to 15kg) 14.00 AUD
Total Amount 412.00 AUD
My total ticket was 412 AUD for two 7.5 hour flights. Normally flights from Melbourne to KL would run at about 1000 AUD, so this was a bargain price.
The flight was overnight and I usually can’t sleep on planes, so it was pretty boring without movies. Other than that the flight was fine. The main thing is I’m now in Southeast Asia with an extra $500 dollars in my pocket from the savings on the flight. This is what I will remember long after I have forgotten the details of the flight.
So would I fly from Melbourne to London with AirAsia X? It depends mainly on the price and on how badly I wanted to go to the UK/Europe. If I was to save $1000 on a ticket then I would probably do it. Long haul flights are generally mind numbingly tedious anyway and I can’t sleep in economy seats (not that I’ve ever flown up the front) but I would buy the entertainment access as it would be too hard without the distractions of watching movies.
If it was only a couple of hundred dollars difference between AirAsia X and a full service airline then I would take the latter.
Hand of Man – Crushing cars at the Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is Australia’s premier rock festival. I didn’t think I’d go to another Big Day Out but this year had Neil Young as the headline act.
It was an interesting mix of crowd – from the baby boomer Neil Young fans, the Generation X’ers (myself included) who’ve been attending the BDO since it started in the early 90′s, and the current Gen Y crowd.
As part of this years side show was The Hand Of Man, which has been to all the Australian Big Day Out shows for 2009.
The Hand of Man is a hydraulic mechanical hand that is controlled using an ergonomically accurate glove. The hand responds to the movements of the operators own hand movements and the mechanical hand is big enough to crush a small car.
[The Hand Of Man picking up and crushing a small car.]
[The Hand Of Man mimicking the hand movements of the operators hand.]
Watch the Hand Of Man pick up a car video.
(Language Alert: There is swearing in the background from the band Bullet For My Valentine.)
If you can’t see video watch Hand Of Man
