VIOLENT storms shatter the peace of Christmas. This was the headline we read as we flew out of Melbourne to Alice Springs. When planning our trip to Australia we had imagined Christmas on the beach with barbecues and picnics. As it happened, this was the case but in the mid afternoon Melbourne was hit by five individual thunderstorms, gail force winds and a tornado. At the time we were wandering around the truly spectacular Royal Botanical Gardens and although we sheltered for a bit it was impossible to dodge all the storms and ended up absolutely soaked through. Our clothes were literally dripping despite having waterproof jackets on. The rain fall was three times the amount usually considered "heavy" rain! Some areas had a white Christmas with hailstones the size of golf balls. We suffered only marble sized hail stones - they still hurt and pictures the following day showed windscreens shattered by them.
Despite this soggy end to our five day stay, we really liked Melbourne. It was our first stop in Australia having flown in from Bangkok. It's a city easy to navigate and whilst there is not a huge amount to do in Melbourne, the surrounding area is a must see. We stayed at The Langham Hotel which is brilliantly situated on the south bank of the Yarra River. The standard of the hotel did not live up to its five star rating due mainly to inexperienced/poorly trained staff. However, as the India Cricket Team was staying there if it was good enough for them it was good enough for us!
We did two trips. One to Phillip Island to see the penguin parade. These are little penguins, 30 cm tall, that return to their nests at nightfall. They appear in their hundreds and it is really spectacular to see. The better of the trips was The Great Ocean Road, a whole day exploring the wonders of this stretch of coastline. We saw kangaroos, koalas and kookaburras, all in their natural habitat. The breathtaking coastline is topped off with sandstone formations, just off the coast, known as he twelve apostles (although only 8 exist and this number is reducing).
In Melbourne itself we went to St Paul's Cathedral, Flinders Station, Queen Victoria Market, the shops and went to the viewing platform of the Eureka Building (the highest viewing point in Melbourne). It is easy to get to these places as there is a free city tram that circles the main city. On the first day, still suffering from jet lag, both Rob and I managed to fall asleep whilst on the tram whilst it was describing all the main hot spots!
Christmas in Melbourne is really different to how we expected it to be. It's a lot less commercial than in the UK and the build up is really quite low key. There are a few Christmas trees scattered around but very few decorations. Christmas songs are played but they somehow seem out of place. The main sign of Christmas were people wearing Santa hats. In the Crown Casino (the largest casino in the southern hemisphere) there was a Christmas play on the half hour with a talking Christmas tree a giant umbrella and a carousel. We saw it twice and still didn't understand the story - Disney doesn't need to worry! Outside the casino on the hour there are fire balls coming out of eight columns. Sounds spectacular but was actually quite naff.
On Christmas Day before the storms we had taken a tram to St Kildas beach. Here we saw a penguin nest alongside the pier with a chick inside. Rob went for a paddle and there were groups around having picnics and even the odd barbecue. This is more what we had expected from Christmas.
We liked Melbourne. It reminded us of a city in England but perhaps a bit more buzzy. However, given the rain and despite the test match cricket due that day, we were not too sad to leave.
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