Melbourne, Austalia, Feb 2007 - DPChallenge Forums

12/06/2006 03:22:15 PM · #1

"So where the bloody hell are you?"

The wife's old company has asked her to fill in for a month in their Melbourne office while the manager there recovers from a medical issue. There's no way in the world I can let her go with out me.

I'm looking for feedback from you Aussies and those from Melbourne in particular. I need to justify my trip to her and being out of work for a month. (She makes the money that pays the bills. My income keeps us fed.)

Anyone got any links or info about what it'll cost us for daily living expenses? She also wants to tack on an extra 7 days and do some traveling. What is transit like between Melbourne and Sydney and what'll it cost? What're the touristy things to do or avoid?

What're my chances of getting a job as a Photographers Assistant for one of you lot? ;)

lentil

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

12/06/2006 03:26:11 PM · #2

an XPT train from Melbourne to Sydney in economy for 2 adults will cost you $135 in Feb.
XPT

Victoria things to do and places to stay

still looking for other things. Maybe some Victorian people can help out with areas to stay in

Lisa

Message edited by author 2006-12-06 15:32:07.

Stagolee

Kodak Easyshare C180

Canon EF 50mm f1.2L

12/06/2006 03:36:55 PM · #3

I hope you enjoy your stay. The Sydney-Melbourne route is one of the busiest flight paths in the world and is very cheap around $100.00 Australian

Try this site for available flights and booking.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

12/06/2006 03:47:49 PM · #4

If you can afford it, do it. Melbourne is a wonderful city and there is plenty to do/see around there. You aren't a million miles from Tasmania either which is worth a trip too.

The great ocean road (on the way to Adelaide, opposite direction to Sydney is a great drive. You can get ocean and rainforest within about 5 miles of each other it seemed like.

Great city life in Melbourne too.

Some day I hope to move there.

TraumaHound

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

12/06/2006 03:51:09 PM · #5

I'm from Melbourne, living in Austin at the moment but Melbourne's home.

Best websites for pricing flights: Flight Centre and WebJet

One way flights from Melbourne to Sydney are typically on sale for under AU$100. (Incidentally, AU$1 = approx US$0.75 and rising). There are insane numbers of flights between the two cities. Although the trip along the coast from Melbourne to Sydney is quite beautiful. Plenty of great places to stop along the way such as Wilson's Prom

Daily living expenses should be pretty close to what you pay right now. I haven't noticed any substantial difference between Melbourne and Austin.

Getting around Melbourne on trains, trams, busses - Metlink Melbourne. A daily travel card for getting around inner city Melbourne will run you around AU$6.

Things to consider doing in and around Melbourne
* Eat at the huge number of great restaurants and bars.
* Drink decent coffee. Being from the US that might be a new experience for you.
* Explore all of Melbourne's little tiny alleyways. Lots of great shops and cafe's tucked away in cool places.
* Melbourne prides itself on it's art scene so find a play, show or concert. It won't be hard to find.
* Visit the wine country (hot air ballooning over the yarra valley is great fun)
* Hike the Grampians in and around Hall's Gap
* Great Ocean Road
* Wilson's Prom
* Visit the Victorian High Country

That's fairly generic off the top of my head stuff. I can get more specific if you want.

Sigma 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical HF for Pentax

12/06/2006 03:57:02 PM · #6

will reply more later but all I can say is you will not need many clothes! Feb is awesome, we can catch up.

nick

Pug-H

Pentax K10D

12/06/2006 03:58:20 PM · #7

Don't forget a trip to my hometown, Canberra. ;>þ

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

12/06/2006 04:03:22 PM · #8

Originally posted by Pug-H:

Don't forget a trip to my hometown, Canberra. ;>þ

Ahhh , sorry to hear the bad news Pug-h ;)

Stagolee

Kodak Easyshare C180

Canon EF 50mm f1.2L

12/06/2006 04:10:11 PM · #9

Originally posted by boysetsfire:

Originally posted by Pug-H:
Don't forget a trip to my hometown, Canberra. ;>þ

Ahhh , sorry to hear the bad news Pug-h ;)

Very sad indeed :)

Curious

Canon EOS-600D/T3i Rebel

12/06/2006 04:11:44 PM · #10

The Melbourne city council have been heavily promoting Melbourne as a tourist destination for a few years now and you will generally find some very friendly volunteers, dressed in red, standing on many of the city corners. They are well prepared with advice on things to do and directions to get around town. Its a great town to just stroll around exploring. Its very safe and has friendly people everywhere :)

I'll second what Gordon said; you can get to the ocean, forests and mountains all within a day trip.

You might look up The Enterprize tall ship which is a replica of the first ship to travel from Tasmania to the main land. A few dollars will get you an hour or two out in the bay. It leaves from Williamstown. (My farther-in-law volunteers as a crew member)

If you like old-world type stuff you might like to make a trip out to Ballarat to visit "Souverign Hill" which is a historical gold mining town. The staff all where period clothes, you can walk through an old gold mine and pan for gold in the old stream as well as other things. (Its very touristy and a big day out from Melbourne but a bit of fun)

Make sure to take a look at Melbourne from the Rialto Tower observation deck too.

There are always little art and photography exhibitions going on here and there in town but you probably need to do a little local research once you get here.

Finally, as others have said, do yourself a favour and try some of the different restaurants and cafes. Melbourne has awesome food.

Edit: Typo

Message edited by author 2006-12-06 16:13:16.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

12/06/2006 04:12:57 PM · #11

Great coffee, good lattes and really close to South Australia so you can get away from the Victorians. And Cooper's pale ale.

Curious

Canon EOS-600D/T3i Rebel

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

12/06/2006 04:16:43 PM · #12

Nick is right about the weather. Feburary is about the hottest time of year here. In Melbourne you never know though. A couple of weeks ago we had snow in the Dandenongs (Small mountain range just outside Melbourne) then two days later it was 36 degrees celsius. The weather is generally great but always an adventure :)

TraumaHound

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

12/06/2006 04:22:40 PM · #13

Originally posted by Gordon:

Great coffee, good lattes and really close to South Australia so you can get away from the Victorians. And Cooper's pale ale.

There's a much better reason to go to SA than getting away from Victorians (why would you want that?). Incredible wine.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

12/06/2006 04:25:40 PM · #14

All great information, all. Thanks. Keep it coming!

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

12/06/2006 04:27:22 PM · #15

Originally posted by TraumaHound:

Originally posted by Gordon:
Great coffee, good lattes and really close to South Australia so you can get away from the Victorians. And Cooper's pale ale.

There's a much better reason to go to SA than getting away from Victorians (why would you want that?). Incredible wine.

My in-laws are from SA. I have anti-victorian sentiment by proxy.

TraumaHound

Canon EOS-7D

12/06/2006 04:39:28 PM · #16

Sounds like the dates wouldn't work out for either of these but just in case... It might actually be worth keeping in mind avoiding these dates. Hotel prices go up a fair bit during the F1 in particular.

The Australian Open Tennis is on in Melbourne between the 15th and the 28th of January. Also, the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix is held in Melbourne between the 15th and 18th of March.

12/06/2006 04:48:06 PM · #17

Originally posted by Gordon:

And Cooper's pale ale.

Oh man have you tried "Vintage" its killer

hotpasta and I have been wanting to catch up so maybe we can have a GTG.
(and drink coopers)

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G

12/06/2006 04:49:35 PM · #18

Originally posted by boysetsfire:

Originally posted by Gordon:
And Cooper's pale ale.

Oh man have you tried "Vintage" its killer. hotpasta and I have been wanting to catch up so maybe we can have a GTG. (and drink coopers)

Count me in. ;)

Tim

Nikon D300

12/06/2006 05:26:57 PM · #19

Speaking of a GTG - I'm going to be in Melbourne for the week between christmas and new year - would be good to meet some of you.

Really I wouldn't even bother looking for an excuse to spend a month in Melbourne - especially in Febuary. it's a beautiful city, very friendly. The only thing that Sydney has over Melbourne is sydney harbour - much nicer than port phillip bay/yarra river.

The drive along the coast from Melbourne to Sydney goes through some amazing country/coast. But I would say that living halfway between the two.

12/06/2006 09:35:28 PM · #20

Ok, so I have some questions:
- The CountryLink rail passes, are they a good deal? Is there much I can see up the eastern coast if I wander that way? Which would be better if I wanted to round trip from Melbourne to Brisbane and back?

- Is Ululu/Ayers Rock worth the expense of a flight out there? The Flight Center site was quoting AU$286 or something.

- Any recommended winery/tours. I'd love to hit a few especially any that have good Pinot Noir. I'm betting I can blindly throw a rock and hit a Shiraz or two. ;)

- Food Reasonable? Can I expect to get breakfast for $AU3-4, lunch/dinner for AU$6-10.

- Internet. Around Internet cafes common? I gotta get my ~~online~~ DPC fix. What's the easiest way? I plan on bringing my own laptop.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G

12/06/2006 09:53:02 PM · #21

g'day again

_eug,

- Melbourne-Brisbane is a damn long way so I would fly and stop in sydney if you want. There are some damn fine beaches, if not some of the best in the world just short drives from the capitols.

- Ayers rock is pretty spectacular especially from a photography point of view if you have time it would be interesting to see the outback.

- There are some fantastic wineries in the Yarra Valley just over an hour from Melbourne. (also good to photograph)

- Food, theye are some pretty cheap prices you are expecting depends what you are willing to eat i guess.
(another idea is just too hang around

hotpasta have you seen the food shots in his portfolio? )

- And you will not have a problem with the internet.

Anything else just ask

nick

Tim

Nikon D300

12/06/2006 10:17:10 PM · #22

Your meal prices are probably a just little bit low - you might manage a muffin & coffee for breakfast for less than $5 but usually I would be looking at $6-10 for breakfast/drink and a little bit more than that for lunch - dinner of course like anywhere could be $2 or $200 but that really depends on what you want to eat. You can usually find a good cafe meal for less than $10 but most good resturants mains will be $20-25. As a guide - a Big Mac meal deal is $5.45...

I'm not sure about Melbourne but there are lots of wireless hotspots in Sydney where you can get free broadband access and I assume it's a similar situation in victoria - and a lot of mcdonalds are now offering free internet access. In fact the NSW government announced last week that it was going to set up a free wireless broadband service to the whole Sydney CBD - hasn't happened yet but it sounds like a good idea to me. But there shouldn't be any problems getting your DPC fix.

You can throw a rock and hit a winery from pretty much anywhere in Australia - Victoria is no exception. Good Pinot Noir regions are a bit harder to find - Tasmania is the place to be (a bit cooler than the rest of the country) but there are quite a few around Melbourne. The really good victorian wines (IMO) come from the North East regions but thats probably biased.

I haven't been to Ululu/ayres rock - but the accomodation out there will make the flight seem cheap.

The Countrylink backpacker pass seems like a good deal but it's a bit focused on the Sydney region and you would have to spend quite a bit of time travelling to make it worth while. It's usually $110 for to catch the melb-syd train but you can now catch a plane for less than $100 (if you book early) and be there in an hour.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

12/06/2006 10:40:46 PM · #23

Ayer's Rock is quite a distance from Melbourne (smack dab in the middle .... of nowhere... I mean the country).

pssst... you might want to look at a map. Australia is the size of the continental US. ;oP