Wandering Fel

Since today is the my last day in Melbourne, I squeezed a visit to Brighton Beach, St Kilda Beach and Fitzroy neighbourhood within one day. Our trip started early in the morning with a visit to Brighton Beach, which is internationally known for its colorful beach boxes. Brighton is also one of Melbourne's most exclusive suburbs and it has so many gorgeous looking landed houses along Dendy Street Beach. In order to reach the beach where the colorful beach boxes are located, we had to take a train from the city to Brighton Beach Railway Station at Sandringham line. From the station, we took a 500-metre stroll down to the bathing boxes while navigating ourselves by using Google Maps.

This bathing box was originally used as ladies changing sheds in the 1800s so there's no electricity or running water inside the beach box. Now this colorful bathing box costs around AUD 200,000 (there's a record-breaking sales back in 2011 at AUD 260,000). These boxes are only for sale to local bayside residents (who can afford it I suppose). Maybe they view this box as lifestyle investment. Or for personal fulfilment? No matter what the reason is, we, normal commoners/ tourists, are allowed to take picture of the boxes and taking picture with them for free. That's good enough for me. Hahaha. 

After our morning walk to the beach, it is time to fill ourselves with good brunch. The popular cafe in Melbourne's CBD, The Hardware Societe, can be easily spotted by its throngs of customers littering the street of Hardware Lane waiting for a table. We did not mind sitting in communal table because we were kinda pressed for time. Hardware Societe's scrambled eggs (AUD 17) really live up to its reputation, being so fluffy and milky and infused with so many hearty ingredients. An addition of the pork chop brings the whole dish to the new height of brunch pedestal. Do note that Hardware Societe closes at 3PM everyday so don't come here for late tea break or dinner, okay. 

With our tummy filled and energy replenished, it is time to explore another popular beach in Melbourne, St Kilda. The inner sourthern suburb was originally a seaside resort in Melbourne's. St Kilda is famous for its food, entertainment and nightlife. The most famous attraction of St Kilda'sbeach is the St Kilda Pier, which was originally constructed in 1853 and the iconic kiosk on the pier built in 1904. Visitors can walk part of the way on top of the breakwater or descend to a boardwalk at sea level. The atmostphere of St Kilda's neighbourhood is so relaxing, one cannot help but feels like lazing around while suntanning at the beach. To reach St Kilda, you can take tram ride: no. 16 tram from Swanston Street, no. 96 from Bourke Street, or no. 12 from Collins Street (around 25 minutes) to St Kilda; no. 3 from Swanston Street to Carlisle Street (around 35 minutes) and Alma Road (around 40 minutes). 

While we were walking along St Kilda Beach, we passed by the historic theme park, Luna Park. This theme park has been around and provided 100 years of fun-filled adventures to the Melbourne families. The entrance of Luna Park kinda gives the creep though, like I'm about to enter a spooky theme park from the Silent Hill's game. So yeah, I gave it a miss. But if you are interested to check it out, the most famous attraction in the park is gotta be its Scenic Railway Roller Coaster, a large wooden coaster that projects its passengers, at high speed, around the outside of the entire park. The admission to the theme park is free but you will need to purchase individual ticket for each rides. 

One of the attraction at St Kilda that attracts us the most is Acland Street which is famous for its many restaurants offering a variety of cuisines, including Vietnames, Indian, Italian and Malaysian. However, restaurants are not what we are coming for here. We came to Acland Street because of it is also known as the cake street with so many cake shop lining up one after another displaying a variety of beautiful and pretty cakes on its window. However, after buying and eating a few cakes from the Acland Street, we only like the fruit tart from Monarch Cakes. Bummer. 

After the disappointing cake adventure at Acland Street, we were pretty determine to bounce back from the despair by having yummy ice cream at Gelato Messina at Fitzroy. After we had our ice cream and recovered from the gloom, we visited the nearby garden, Fitzroy Gardens, which is one of Melbourne's most historic and beautiful gardens. The layout of the garden follows a classic Victorian-era design, complete with its magnificent elm trees, a variety of flowers, and ornamental shrubs. 

There is a Conservatory building in the middle of the Fitzroy Garden which exhibits five floral displays each year. The building was built in classic Spanish Mission style and opened in March 1930. The schedule for the floral exhibitions is: Hydrangeas and fuchsias from November to February, begonias and gloxinias from February to April, tropical plants and poinsettias from April to July, cinerarias and cyclamens from July to September, and schizanthus and calceolaria from September to November. I have totally no idea what kind of flowers some of those names are referring to, so do give them a visit when you are in town. 

The next important spot that we were about to visit inside Fitzroy Garden is Cooks' Cottage, the oldest building in Australia which was built in the year 1755. The cottage was originally located in Yorkshire, England, and built by the parents of Captain James Cook. The cottage was then brought to Melbourne by Sir Russell Grimwade in 1934. I was wondering how they brought over the whole house across the continents back then. Astonishingly, each brick was individually numbered and packed into barrells and then shipped to Australia bits by bits. The entry to the cottage includes a comprehensive fact sheet for a self-guided tour which is available in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Thai, Indonesian, Japanese, German, French and Korean. 

We went back to the city area after wandering around the garden for 45 minutes because we wanted to catch the night market of Queen Victoria Market. The market is the largest open-air market in Australia and you can find a lot of stalls setting fruit, vegetables, imported gourmet foods, fashion, crafts, jewelleries, bags and all sort of general merchandise. The market opens 5 days a week: 6AM - 2PM Tues and Thurs, 6AM - 5PM Fri, 6AM - 3PM Sat, and 9AM - 4PM Sun. 

 

What's the best way to celebrate the busy day other than to drink it with your best travelling buddy? Cheers with dark rum, mate! Performances and live bands are available to create the market's festive atmosphere on Sunday. 

We were getting hungry though and it's already 7PM-ish which is considered quite late in Melbourne. Some retail shops have started closing down at this hour and we were kinda in panic to find some place to eat. Not used to early closing of these shops after all because we came from where shops close around 10PM-ish. That's when I remembered my churchmate's suggestion to dine at Mamasita, a Mexican bar/restaurant located dogdily at the top of 7-11 in Melbourne's CBD. We were kinda having reservation about the place because we seldom eat Mexican food in Singapore but we decided to go for it anyway since the restaurant is pretty crowded. When there is a number of people dining, you can at least say that the food should not be that bad, right? Turns out the food at Mamasita is fantastic. The creamy stuffed jalapeno totally transported us to the land of Mexico (which we have never visited before) with its rich and savory taste combined with the kicks of the jalapeno. 

The chicken in pepita coriander sauce (AUD 26 for half) taste so awesome. The chicken are seasoned well and cooked nicely together with the black beans, kidney beans and the black Mexican rice. I have never been so satisfied eating Mexican food before. Yumz. 

While we were walking back to our accommodation from Mamasita, a random hipster guy overhead us speaking in Bahasa Indonesia and he quickly introduced himself as a fellow Indonesian. He's so friendly and chatty up the point that our skepticism against him disappeared within a good 5 minutes and he invited us to go to Brunswick, a hipster area in Melbourne. The reason of why he chose this place is because he wanted us to try the best cheesecake in the world. Yep, he was not kidding about it. Consider Lee and I crazy but we decided to go along with his invitation and this random fella brought us to Vegie Bar and ordered the cheesecake for us to try. He even paid for it. Oh my gawd, I am amazed by my fellow Indonesian's hospitality in Melbourne. Oh right, how's the verdict of the cheesecake? While the blueberry cheesecake taste good (and huge), Lee and I concluded that we could not really tell if this slice of cheesecake is really the best in the world because after all, we have not finished exploring the world. But it was pretty good though, you should give it a try. 

Hardware Societe is located at:

120 Hardware St

Melbourne, Australia

Hardware Societe's opening hours:

Monday to Friday 7.30AM - 3PM

Saturday to Sunday 8AM - 3PM

Mamasita is located at:

1/11 Collins St

Melbourne, Australia

Mamasita's opening hours:

Monday to Thursday 5PM - 11PM

Friday to Saturday 12PM - 12AM

Sunday 4PM - 10PM

Vegie Bar is located at:

380 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

Melbourne, Australia

Vegie Bar's opening hours:

Sunday to Thursday 11AM - 10PM

Friday and Saturday 11AM - 10.30PM

The tour does not pick guests at hotels, so Lee and I had to make our way to the pick up location, Her Majesty's Theatre at 219 Exhibition Street before 9AM. You are not allowed to consume food and drinks on the mini bus except for water. Similar to Bunyip's Great Ocean Roud tour, the number of tour participants for Yarra Valley wine tasting tour is kept minimal at maximum of 15 people. There were 12 people back then during our tour. Most of them are actually local tourists visiting from Brisbane. In fact, Lee and I were the only Asian in the tour. 

It seems that the tour operator rotates the winery that they visit on day-to-day basis (probably depend on the crowd level, etc) but the list of the wineries that they can select from is as follows: Rochford or Oakridge, Yering Station, Yering Farm, Coombe Melba Estate, St Hubert's, Helen's Hill Winery, and Medhurst Winery. That day, the tour brought us to Yering Station Winery and the winery staff ushered us to introduce their wine products and he let us to sample a few of their products. This was the first time I went for a wine tasting and well, I had to say that I was a total noob. So let me give you some noob tips if you had never attended one like me. If you notice, there will be a bucket somewhere which actually has the role as a dumping bucket. Do you know how Gordon Ramsay in Masterchef test the participant's dishes? He did not eat the whole dish and only takes a small bite of the dishes, right? Apply the same logic to the wine tasting because technically, if you want to try out so many different kind of wines, you should not drink too much from one product to another. That will get you high pretty fast. So just take a sip of the wine and pour the rest to the bucket.   

 

I am not really a fan of wines to be honest with you and if I have to choose, I always stick to the white wines instead of red wines because red wines give me a huge headache when it spills on my clothes. My noob-ness obviously will not make me a good wine-reviewer so let's see what Sarah Ahmed, the Wine Detective (omg, does this career really exist?), had said about Yering's wines. The 2015 Estate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were among the highlights for Sarah after she sat down and tasted through some of Yering Station Wines. She said that the Chardonnay has an enticing flinty nuances to its ripe white peach and candied lemon peel palate and overall, a well-balanced, enjoyable Chardonnay. Oh wow, I know how a good Chardonnay taste but I don't think I would be able to explain it in such a way. Meanwhile, she said that the Pinot Noir has the earthy beetroot, chinato dried herbs and bitter chocolate notes jostle with the fruit flavor and overall, has nice tension, length and line. Uhh, okay, let's just trust her words if we are noob, shall we?

After the wine testing at Yering Station Winery, the tour brought us to the next winery which is also our lunch venue, the Rochford Winery. The lunch menu varies from season to season and you can select 1 of the following 4 dishes: 

Rochford Winery Lunch Menu for Spring 2017

- Pan Seared Fillet of Barramundi with white beans, chorizo, tomato & calamari

- Winter Squash Lasagne with buttermilk ricotta & spinach pesto

- Slow Cooked Oyster Blade of Beef with pearled barley, parsnip & rosemary

- Coq Au Vin with red braised chicken maryland, winter vegetables, field mushrooms & pancetta

Lunch is served with a glass of Rochford wine & filtered tea/ coffee

The highlight of the tour is definitely the visit to Domaine Chandon which is a part of the French Champagne House, Moet et Chandon. The staff will introduce and explain different kind of wines made by Chandon. The best thing about the visit is that every participant will be given a glass of sparkling wine at Domaine Chandon. You are allowed to taste the wine first before making selection. 

Once you get your drink, you should make your way to the outside patio because after all, sipping a glass of wine while enjoying the breathtaking view of Yarra Valley is a good pleasure in life. 

Cheers to the bubbles in my hand. After the visit to Domaine Chandon, we visited the old Farmhouse Cheese Shop at the Yarra Valley Daily for a cheese tasting. I have only been eating Kraft cheese for maybe most years of my life so I could not really appreciate the fermented and hand made cheeses made by the dairy. You can view and purchase a large range of cheeses, pates, and terrines from the shop and keep them in the on-board fridge on the tour bus. 

Our last stop at Yarra Valley ironically does not involve any alcoholic liquid. But I suppose at this stage, I could not even tell the difference from one wine brand to another. Moet et Chandon is still my ultimate love throughout the trip. But this does not mean that the last stop of the tour was not fun at all. After all, who would not get excited in chocolate shop? Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery is the home to a vast range of chocolates. The chocolaterie staff will introduce up to 10 different chocolates from dark to milk to white and the best thing is, you can taste these 10 different chocolates. Yumz. You can also wander around the shop floor and observe how these chocolates are being made in the production area. 

Yarra Valley Wine Tasting Tour details:

- Price: AUD 135 - 145 (discounts may be available for early birds)

- Picks up from Melbourne

- Visit a selection of 4 of the Yarra Valley's best wineries

- Enjoy a flute of champagne at Domain Chandon

- Lunch at Rochford Winery

- Sample handmade cheeses at the Yarra Valley Dairy

- Sample up to 10 products of the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie

Tour duration: 

9AM - 6PM (left Yarra Valley around 4PM)

Bunyip's one day Great Ocean Road tour started with a 1.5 hours drive from Melbourne city. Since the sun has not even risen yet at that hour, most of the tour participants just continued their sleep in the small bus. Bunyip's tour is designed in such a way that one group should only consist of small number of people (around 10ish). I find this kind of arrangement is way better and easier to manage for the driver/ tour guide. Our first activity for the day started around 9AM when the driver pulled over for a short beach stop to allow us having some tea/coffee and biscuits for breakfast. Oh right, please don't have a lot of expectation on food provided along the tour because after all, you are no longer in the city. This is actually a good start for us to wake up properly while introducing ourselves and have a small chat with the rest of the group and the tour guide himself. 

Our next stop is the high lookout at Cape Patton. The lookout is located between two coastals town, Lorne and Apollo Bay. The road to Cape Patton was build back in the year 1935 but the link from the lookout to the Great Ocean Road was only built in 1919. You can read more on Cape Patton and its connection to the Great Ocean Road on the signboard available nearby. 

The lookout offers a very spectacular ocean outlooks and the sight of long sweep of ocean beaches culminating in Apollo Bay. This is the last highpoint on the journey to Apollo Bay. After this, the Great Ocean Road runs along a series of coves and beaches with big surf. 

We made a 20 minutes stop in the coastal town of Apollo Bay because the tour guide needs to pick up two passengers from this town. The coastal town is located between Wye River and Cape Otway and it is a popular stop-over point for adventurer embarking on a Great Ocean Road trip. Apollo Bay offers a good selection of restaurants (mostly seafood) and lodging as well. You can immediately feel the vibe of relaxing at the seaside emanating from this coastal town. 

Apollo Bay is also calling itself as a town full of interesting characters. Hmm, looking at this yellow car...I suppose there may be some truth to this statement. 

Other than great seafood and quirky characters, Apollo Bay also offers a lot of surfing spots and beach walks. Kayak hiring is available too if you are interested. Surf beaches closest to Apollo Bay include:

1. Apollo Bay: an eastern facing beach offering a progressive beach waves which is known to be a great learners wave. Surf schools are available in the area and lifesavers are spotted on patrol during summer months (do people surf in winter?)

2. Kennett River: a sheltered point break with a reef/ rock bottom. Since it seems to be rocky and there is a risk the waves will crash you upon the rock if you are not careful, this does not seem to be recommended surf's point for beginner surfers. 

3. Wye River: sandy beach break offering right and left waves. Similar to Apollo Bay, lifesavers are on patrol during summer months.

Our next stop is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Australia, Cape Otway Lightstation. The coastal area alongside Great Ocean Road is actually not an easy path to travel for the ships back then. Historic records have shown that there were so many shipwrecks along the coast and this had led to an expedition of Charles Latrobe through the Otways to reach Cape Otway to scout out a lighthouse location. It was not an easy feat for the guy to conquer and in fact, he only managed to succeed on his third attempt in 1846 with the help of the local Gadubanud people. The lighthouse has been so handy in years to come, helping so many shiploads of European settlers to reach Australia. You can enter the lighthouse and climb up all the way to the top between 9AM to 4.30PM daily but please note that an entrance fee of AUD 19.50 applies for each person. I personally feel that the entrance fee is kinda too expensive for the experience so I did not enter the lighthouse. 

There is a restaurant located near to the lighthouse where Bunyip has partnered to provide us meal for the day. The meal provided is referred to as Australian lunch which consist of salad, some meat and potato. Basic stuff so don't expect so much on them. Once our stomach is filled, we continued our drive along the Great Ocean Road to the even more interesting scenic adventures. But just when we were about to dose in the car (there's something about getting sleepy in the car after eating, I dunno why), our tour guide woke us up and asked us to look up. We were passing through an area full of trees but most of the trees are actually leaf-less even though it was summer. Kinda wondering what has happened to the trees, turns out the leaves are eaten by these wild furry local animals only exist in Australia, the koalas. They look so meek and soft and yet, so ravenous. We managed to spot a few of them on the top of the trees. Munching while hugging the tree branch. Hmm. What a good laid-back life they are living, I guess. 

Gibson Steps is also referred to as the gateway to the famous 12 Apostles rock formation. The 12 Apostles is a magnificent rock formation which was created by constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland since 10 - 20 million years ago. The stormy Southern Ocean and powerful winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed, rock stacks up to 45-metres high were left isolated from the shore (and hence, it looks like the rock majestically arising from the sea). If you are counting and you cannot find 12 rock formation, you may start to wonder if you have passed your math exam successfully back then in school day. But not to worry because it turned out that when the 12 Apostles were christened by Victorian tourism in the 1920s, there were actually only nine rocks in the cluster (huh then what's with the name?). Now, there are only eight rocks standing because of the rapid rate of erosion. It may even be lesser and lesser in the future with the way nature is behaving nowadays, so do give them a visit quick before they are all gone. 

Just a short 10 minutes drive from the 12 Apostles lies another scenic spot along Great Ocean Road, the Loch Ard Gorge. The gorge is home to a beautiful bay and an inlet of clear, blue water. It is flanked by two cliff faces and tufts of vibrant grenery. The bushy greenery though is home for the snakes, we even saw a sign warning visitors on the random spot of snakes along the path. Yikes. 

The gorge is actually named after a large ship from England, "Loch Ard" which have suffered a crash upon the beach. From the 54 passengers, only two survived the shipwreck, a 15-year-old boy called Tom Pearce and 17-year-old girl Eva Carmichael. The story did not develop into love story though because Eva returned to England soon afer, having lost most of her family in the tragedy. Pearce, however, continued to live a fruitful life in Australia. 

One of the many viewpoints available at the Loch Ard Gorge will give you a beautiful view of the cliff and the crashing waves. You can also enjoy looking at the Grotto, a sinkhole geological formation which kinda looks like a cave above the sea. 

 Bunyip's One Day Great Ocean Road Classic Roud details:

- Fees: AUD 130 

- Departs: Daily 

- Includes: All park entrance fees, Aussie lunch (sausages and salad), tea/coffee/biscuits, tour guide

- Options (must be pre-booked):

(1) A 15 mins helicopter flight above 12 Apostles - additional AUD 145

(2) Hop on/ Hop off (overnight or extended coastal stay) at Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay or Port Campbell. Only a small day pack is allowed, maximum 5 kg - additional AUD 30

- Tour duration: 

Bunyip tour departs between 7.15AM - 7.30AM from Bunyip Tour Office and returns approximately 8.30PM

The highlight of the State Library of Victoria is definitely the La Trobe Reading Room with its majestic dome ceiling (my phone camera could not get the whole dome reading room in the screen). The domed, sky-lit structure was designed to imitate London's British Museum Library and Washington's Library of Congress. 

The reading room houses more than 150,000 items relating to Victoria's cultural and social history in the form of manuscripts,  periodicals, pictures, music, heritage materials and of course, books. If I am a student who is studying in Melbourne, I would probably choose to study here all the time. But then again, it may not be that easy to commute here all the time if my school is not situated nearby. Just daydreaming then. 

Other than books, visitors to the State Library of Victoria can also enjoy a lot of exhibitions, some are permanent. The library's Cowen Gallery houses one of Australia's most significant collections of Victorian artworks. You can see the history of Melbourne from one oil paintings to another depicting Victoria's rich history in scenes of European settlement, early Melbourne streetscapes and portraits of some of Australia's most influential figures. 

Cowen Gallery consists of two adjacent rooms, the Blue Rotunda and The Red Rotunda. You can see the Blue Rotunda room above which displays 20th century works such as portraits of authors, artists and others who have contributed to Victoria's rich culture. While on the other hand, the Red Rotunda (which is pictured below) contains 19th century paintings and sculptures of some Victoria's early settlers and other individuals who also made significant contributions to Melbourne's culture. 

Other than reading room, we note that there is a chess room somewhere on the upper levels of the library. I was never a good chess player although I, at least, know the basic rules of chess. I wonder if the modern Australian like to play chess. The room was deserted when I visited the library. 

Once we had finished our own tour of the State Library of Victoria, we walked to the side of the library building to find Mr Tulk, a cafe which is named after State Library's first librarian, Augustus Henry Tulk. The cafe was used to be the State Library's locker room which is later on renovated and designed in a reading book theme with communal table available in the middle of the cafe. This is really a good place to enjoy yourself with a book/ paper and a cup of coffee. 

I had been having one of too many coffees that day, so I decided to go for its less stronger caffeine fix, Chai Latte with Soy and Honey (AUD 5). It tastes so comforting with the addition of soy and honey. The usual chai latte which I have in Singapore is usually too sweet, up the point that it makes me rage instead of comforted. Haizz. Food are available too but Lee and I were thinking of visiting another cafe to have our meal so we only ordered Sourdough Fruit Loaf toasted & served with butter (AUD 7.5). I was kinda having an overdose of sourdough actually so I did not really enjoy the food. I wonder if sourdough is a national staple of food in Australia. 

The next cafe that we visited after Mr Tulk is actually the cafe which was recommended by our random Melbourne encounter at Seven Seeds with a Singapore lady. She suggested us to visit Manchester Press for its bagel and coffee. Manchester Press offers two type of bagels, Open Bagels such as Smoked Salmon Lox (AUD 15) and Grilled Chorizo (AUD 14.50) and Closed Bagels such as Reuben (AUD 14) and MP Club Sandwich (AUD 15), which you can see from the picture below. Both Open and Closed Bagels come with a serving of  salted pretzels and pickles. Lee seems to be enjoying her MP Club Sandwich but I was not really a fan of my Smoked Salmon Lox. Maybe I was not really a fan of bagel overall because bagel tend to be slightly on the tougher side to chew. 

 State Library of Victoria and Mr Tulk Cafe are located at:

328 Swanston St, 

Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

State Library of Victoria's opening hours:

Monday to Thursday 10AM - 9PM

Friday to Sunday 10AM - 6PM

Mr Tulk Cafe's opening hours:

Monday to Thursday 7AM - 5PM

Friday 7AM - 8PM

Saturday 9AM - 4PM

Sunday Closed

Manchester Press is located at:

8 Rankins Ln, 

Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia

Manchester Press' opening hours:

Monday to Friday 7AM - 5PM

Saturday to Sunday 9AM - 5PM

You would need a ticket to access the observation deck of Eureka which is located at level 88. There are two different categories of admission which you can select from: Individual and Family package. 

Individual Admission for Skydeck:

Adult Ticket - AUD 20

Concession Ticket (must show valid student, Health Care or Seniors Card on arrival) - AUD 15.50

Child Ticket (4 - 16 y.o., <4 free admission) - AUD 11.50

Family package deals:

2 adults + 2 children - AUD 46

2 adults + 1 children - AUD 46

1 adult + 2 children - AUD 34

Extra child - AUD 9.50

   

The observation skydeck is located 285 metres above ground and yet, it only took us 38 seconds to get up there. It is no wonder that Eureka Tower is known to have the fastest elevator trip in the Southern Hemisphere. You can enjoy the view of many attraction sites of Melbourne City from Albert Park Lake, Port Phillip Bay, and the Dandenong Ranges and beyond. With 30 viewfinders available around the Skydeck, you will definitely spend at least 45 minutes in the Skydeck.  One of the viewfinder show me the aerial view of the white Government House and its surrounding greens, the Royal Botanics Garden of Victoria. The Government House was completed back in the year 1876 and it was called the grandest house in Australia back then. Its Italian architecture-inspired tower can be seen from miles away. It was the largest governor's residence in Australia and it is designed in a similar way to Queen Victoria's palatial Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. If you are interested to find out more about the house, a guided tour will take you to the grand Ballroom, State Dining Room and Billiard Room in the house. 

The Royal Botanic Gardens which surround the Government House is an extensive greens which extend over 36 hectares and it has a huge diverse collection of over 50,000 plants from around the world, including rare and even threatened species. If you visit Melbourne with kids, you may be interested to visit the Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden where kids can play in the ruin garden, meeting place, wetland area, bamboo forest, gorge, plant tunnel, rill and kitchen garden. Other highlights of the Royal Botanic Gardens include the National Herbarium, Tropical Hothouse, Plant Craft Cottage and the Guillfoyle's Volcano water reservoir. It's really too bad we had no time to visit the garden during our visit to Melbourne. 

Eureka Skydeck is located at: 

Riverside Quay, 

Southbank Melbourne, 

Australia

Eureka Skydeck's opening hours:

Daily 10AM - 10PM

(Last entry 9.30PM)

Christmas day and NYE 10AM - 5.30PM

(Last entry 5PM)

Royal Botanics Garden Victoria is located at:

100 Birdwood Avenue,

Melbourne, Australia

Royal Botanics Garden Victoria's opening hours:

Daily 7.30AM - sunset