From Southeast Asia, we planned to meet my parents in Australia to spend about a month exploring Australia and New Zealand with them. Melbourne was our kick-off point. Patrick and I flew in from Singapore (about a seven-hour flight) and my parents flew in from Phoenix, through Los Angeles (a sixteen-hour flight). Within about a day or two of our arrival, the world started shutting down due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). When the NBA decided to cancel its season, we knew our time was limited but decided to make the most of our trip and continue for as long as possible. Fortunately, we did get to enjoy our week-long stay in Melbourne!
Immigration was simple for us upon arriving in Melbourne since we had applied for and received our visas in advance. We were asked a few questions about locations travelled (associated with the coronavirus), then went through an automated gate to scan our passports and have our photo taken. And that was it! We got our bags and picked up a SIM card from Vodaphone (25 AUD for 55 GB and 1,000 minutes, much more expensive than in Southeast Asia!). The easiest ways to get into the city from the airport were by Uber/taxi or a bus, which was about 22 AUD per person. Our timing was such that a car service driver just had his ride cancel on him, so he offered to take us to the city for 50 AUD. We agreed since it was relatively comparable to the bus, but much more convenient.
We stayed at the Adina Hotel Apartments, #38, which was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo. It was a great location, centrally located near the river and across the street from a stop on the free trolley line. I’ve summarized some of the fun activities and places to eat that we enjoyed in Melbourne!
Melbourne Activities
- Penguin Parade at Phillips Island: A very worthwhile evening on Phillips Island to watch the penguins come in from fishing at sea to come home to their baby penguins. We booked this adventure through the Little Penguin Tour company and purchased VIP tickets, which allows you to sit above ground where the penguins walk in from the ocean. If you purchase the regular tickets, it’s probably much more difficult to see the penguins. The tour bus picked us up at 3 pm at the Rendevouz Hotel. It took about 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to Phillips Island from Melbourne. Our guide David gave us some fun facts/information about Melbourne on our way out of the city, but there was still plenty of down time to relax on the drive out.
Once on Phillips Island, David pulled over to view some wildlife – kangaroos, wallabies, and grey swans. He also drove us around the island to a nice viewpoint/ walkway at “the Nobbies”. We could get out and walk around for about 40 minutes or so. When we visited, the weather wasn’t great and it was very windy! Along the walkway, you can see some penguin burrows, and we even spotted some baby penguins! This was a good, but brief, picture opportunity as we found out that we can’t take pictures after dusk (when the penguin parade starts). Once our walk at “the Nobbies” was finished, David drove us to the Penguin visitor center.
Here, we had about an hour to get some food (restaurant and café at the visitor center) before the penguin parade started. The night we visited, the penguins were set to arrive around 8:05 pm, so we made sure we walked out to the viewing area around then! The penguins are so cute and aptly named “little”, being only about a foot tall. The VIP viewing area was perfect. Some would pause and take a break after reaching shore before climbing up to the hill to their burrows. When they reached their burrow, there were shared shrieks between partners and parents/babies. We stayed at the viewing area for about 45 minutes. They come in from the water in groups, apparently finding each other at sea and coming to shore in numbers for safety. We spent the last 15 minutes of the allowed hour viewing time walking back along the boardwalk, which ran alongside a common path that the penguins took up towards their burrows. We were also fortunate enough to see a bandicoot while watching the penguin parade! Apparently considered extinct in the wild, they have been releasing them on Phillips Island as a trial reintroduction and they have been doing well so far. They look like rats, but the ranger quickly exclaimed how lucky we were to see one!
The bus ride back to Melbourne took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. We were dropped at our respective hotels (only about 10 people on our tour) around 11 pm. A great day and well worth the driving time out to Phillips Island!
- Laneways Walking Tour: This is easily self-guided as there are plenty of maps available to take you through the many laneways in Melbourne, famous for the street art and graffiti. Some are more upscale than others, with more shops and restaurants (Hardware Lane, Royal Arcade, Block Arcade, and Degraves Street). It was fun to explore these small streets!
- Free City Circle Tram (#35): This tram is mostly for tourists and circles the center city area while playing a recording with information as you pass historic spots/buildings in the city. It’s a little hard to hear over the sound of the train on the tracks, but interesting when you catch the descriptions! We did a full loop, getting off/on at Queen Street to explore the Victoria Queen Street Market (about a 10-minute walk from the tram stop). Examples of the historic sights include Parliament Station, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, State Library of Victoria, and Marvel Stadium (home to Melbourne football).
- Victoria Queen Street Market: Many souvenir stalls, fruits/veggie stalls, and a fresh meat/fish indoor area. There were also some prepared food shops/restaurants near the meat market. Check the market opening/closing hours before visiting!
- Yampa River: Take a stroll along the Yampa River and enjoy an afternoon drink or snack at some of the restaurants. There are nice wide walking paths and pedestrian bridges to get from one side to the other.
- “Fire Show”: There is a fire show along the Yampa River, which is just blasts of flames from concrete towers along the river. You can feel the heat at ground level, but otherwise not that exciting.
- Melbourne Park: A nice large park located right in the city. Great to spend some time walking around here.
Melbourne Restaurants
- Bowery to Williamsburg: Cute coffee and sandwich shop. We ordered a turkey sandwich and a bagel sandwich.
- Armory Float: A great setting as it is located along the Yampa River. Tables are first come first serve; you order at the bar, take a number, and the food is brought out to you. We got beers here a few times and lunch one day (ordered fish and chips, whole fried fish tacos, and salads).
- Armory Bar & Eatery: Adjacent to Armory Float along the Yampa River. We ordered beers, burgers, and mussels. Similar to the Armory Float where you order at the bar, take a number, and the food is brought to you. Casual bar food with a view.
- Florentino: A small Italian restaurant on Bourke Street. They had a Grand Prix special (unfortunately the Grand Prix ended up being cancelled due to coronavirus), which was a duck pappardelle with a glass of wine. We also tried the beef ravioli and beef ragu with an octopus appetizer and shrimp scampi. All very tasty!
- Q75: Located at the meat market. The porchetta sandwiches are huge and delicious!
- Cargo: Located in the Docklands area, which seemed quiet on a Saturday. We got brunch here and enjoyed it!
- The Atlantic: An upscale restaurant in the Crown Plaza hotel. The food was good, but the service was just okay. The restaurant is located near the “fire show” along the Yampa River.