Melbourne Trip

Day Two. After breakfast we set off early for Tilba. This was my second visit to the area and it really is well worth the visit. Mount Dromedary in Tilba was first named by Captain James Cook in 1770 after him noticing the likeness to the one humped camel. In 1850 gold was discovered in the town and people flocked there. The gold began to peter out around the turn of the century and the land was given over to dairy farming. Today, Tilba is famed for the ABC cheese factory. I have a wedge of cheese with chives in the fridge and it's yummy :)

Leaving Tilba we headed for Bega, our next destination. Recent flooding meant a lot of rivers were higher than normal and a poor turtle had managed to lose his way so I jumped out, picked him up and moved him off the road so he didn't get run over. After Bega we drove to Eden and then on to our motel for the night in Lakes Entrance. We covered 396km (246 miles)

Day Three

We traveled to Melbourne today via Stratford upon the river Avon (sound familiar??), Yarragon and finally arrived in Melbourne.
This is our view of Melbourne city centre from our hotel room. This trip covered a distance of 382km (237 miles)The same view at nightMelbourne still has a great tram network. Not so great for car users though as they have ridiculous rules (in my opinion) whereby a car wanting to turn right has to move to the far left, wait for the lights to change green for the opposing traffic and then continue the manoeuvre. Sounds madness to me, glad I wasn't driving otherwise the car would have been cut in two by a tram! Below is a picture of the free tram which runs around the city. It's mainly frequented by tourists and is packed like the proverbial tin of sardines.
The main purpose for the Melbourne trip was to celebrate Taras' Grandma's 80th birthday. The family gathered at the very swanky Langham hotel in the centre of Melbourne where we had the largest selection of food in one place I've ever seen. It was buffet stlye and every taste was catered for. Below is a small selection of the desserts (most important course!!) that were on offer.










The hotel was situated on the banks of the river Yarra. Below is a picture of Melbourne at night with the river in the foreground.