Day 309 / 2014 - Ballarat to Melbourne

We are now on our last leg for this year before flying home for Xmas. From Ballarat we headed back down the Western Fwy towards Melbourne. We are expected back in Melbourne on Monday at the Retreat factory to get our boot fixed and hopefully the awning fitted.

One the return trip we called into Melton to catch up with a young couple we had met on our Royal Carribean cruise in 2013. We wanted to call in to say hello since we were in the area and Anne wanted to meet their new baby.  Leaving Melton we stopped in a overnight rest area a BP service centre another 30km towards Melbourne along the Western Freeway. Service centres are strategically roadhouses along the freeways offering fuel and food. There is a large parking area for trucks and caravans and this one included a McDonalds restaurant. The noise through the night was loud and a strong wind blowing from midnight rocking the van around (no it wasn't us) making for a restless night.

Next morning we headed to Retreats Factory in Campbellfield. We were not sure what work would be done apart from the Boot. We knew the wall wouldn't be done as they couldn't fit it in until April but we were hoping the awning would be installed either way we wern't looking forward to multiple visits towing a van through Melbourne traffic. At Retreat we spoke with the guy who would be doing the work. Looking at the damage on the side Grant stated it didn't look as bad as the photos showed and believed he could fix everything in a week which was great as it would save us having to come back again.

Retreat wanting the van for a week threw us a bit as we had no plans for any alternative accomodation. No problem they said you can stay with your van at the factory we can provide power and water. As well So each morning Anne and I would go out and do the tourist thing around Melbourne and return late afternoon. It took them from Monday to Thursday night to finish the repairs and we ended up staying until Friday morning. We also had a list of warranty problems with the van. Technically out of warranty they really only had to fix the boot leak as that was reported before the warranty expired but they did replace all the other faulty parts under the current warranty. For us the service provided by Retreat outstanding.

We learned to travel around Melbourne using the public transport. They have a transit payment card called MyKi which you purchase for $6.00 then you put credit on to it much like a pre paid card. Each time you board a train bus or tram you wave the card at reader to register your on then wave at the reader again when you get off. We tried driving the car around Melbourne but the roads are quite busy so we found it easier to drive to the nearest train station, park then catch the train from there. Broadmedows which is a shopping centre near where we were staying had a large undercover parking area and the train station was just a cross the road. Once in town you can catch a tram or train to other areas.

Wandering the streets of Melbourne we took in the sites and checked out the shopping centres. There are many to choose from both in the centre and suburbs. Broadmedows became a favourite simply because it was convenient to where we stayed, provided easy all day parking when jumping on the train. Taking the tram to the port Anne wanted to check out how to access the Spirit of Tasmania to see how easy it will be to get on. Returning we went to Harbour town in the Docklands district where the Melbourne Star wheel is located. This is a ride the same as the London Eye which gives a birds eye view of the city and surrounding landscape. We also took the city circle tram which does a loop around the central CBD as well as out to Docklands which is free to ride. Fitzroy gardens which is at the east end of Flinders street near all the government offices is a very popular spot for office staff going for lunch. It also appeared to be a great place for them to take a nap. In Fitzroy gardens is Captain Cooks cottage originally built in England was moved to Melbourne in 1934.

Going into Burke St Mall we happened upon Myers and went up and had a look at Santas Christmas Cave. There were lots of Kids with their mums waiting to ride Santas Train and visit Santa. Ann found some minature Chrismas villages and wanted the windmill but alas they had none left in stock. From their we looked for and found the hotel we had stayed in back in July 2005 with Frank and Alice. The Causway Inn is located down a small laneway off Burke Street Mall just opposite Myers. We have now booked in there again for our final night in Melbourne before flying home for Christmas. Going to Melbourne would not be complete without a visit to the Victoria Markets. The place is quite large with many stalls of goods all set out in row upon row. Not sure if there are any real bargains there as the prices weren't that much similar from other discount shops.

We drove the car to Berwick a Suburb of Melbourne about 50km from the CBD along the Monash and Pacific freeways. Berwick has a Dutch shop and when Anne found out they sold cooked crokets as a meal well we just had to go there. From there we went to Frankston then up the Nepean Highway back to the port. From the port we drove right through the centre of Mebourne up William street then onto Sydney Rd and Hume Hwy took about an hour and a half to go 20km. I think Anne hasn't quite got over the volume of traffic here yet.