Australia 2425. 29 December. Melbourne city

We set off early (8.30am) to make the most of the day before it got too warm,  with 3 modes of transport (bus, train,  tram) to arrive at the botanical gardens.  

We walked in past the war memorial and explored different parts of the gardens. 

After that we went by tram to Queen Victoria market and spent an hour or so buying souvenirs before a street food lunch of curry or burgers. 

It was boiling hot and sunny, and we walked back through the lanes,  having a coffee/ hot chocolate at a lane cafe before being to Flinders St station for the train and bus back to our Airbnb in Kew. 

It was packing up time ready for our move to Adelaide early the next day so we had a meal of leftovers and pizza. 

Australia 24/25 28 December. Melbourne

We stayed local to our house in the Kew area of Melbourne this morning. 5 of us walked to the Yarra Bend park for a coffee and rowing,  whilst Matthew stayed at home to get some uni work done. The Christmas decorations in the boathouse cafe were a reminder of the season,  but it was sunny and 23c.

In the afternoon we went to meet Will and Ellie, who Peter lived with when he first arrived. It's been nice to meet his new friends and to see where he was staying. (No photos of this though)

We were all ready to chill out after that and had a relaxing evening with dinner at home and a few rounds of cards against gravity. 

Australia 24/25 27 December Mornington Peninsula

After a couple of busy days we had a later start and travelled along the coast road to Sorrento Ocean beach at the end of the Mornington peninsula,  with a stop for breakfast/ lunch on the way.  

It was a windy,  surf beach with only a small gap for swimming between the lifeguard flags but we found a sheltered spot and enjoyed the sun and warmth for a couple of hours.  Jon and Matthew explored along the coast. 

When we'd had enough we went into Sorrento,  a nice town with lots of art galleries and clothes shops,  but as it was 5pm by then they were closing and we got an ice cream/churros and moved on.  

Mornington hot springs was our destination on the way back and we all loved the different temperature geothermal pools,  the views and the sauna and steam room.  We arrived at 6pm thinking we had a 90 minute session but we were told we could stay until 11pm. With an hour and a half drive home we didn't fancy that but we did stay until about 8.30pm and then drive home via Macca's (Macdonalds) as we'd not eaten. We discovered Aussie macdonalds don't have any veggie offering apart from garden salad or fries!

Australia 24/25 26 December. Cricket at the MCG

Today is the day of iconic sport viewing,  the Boxing Day test at the MCG. A crowd of over 87, 000 in the stadium for Australia v India.  

Public transport was surprisingly smooth, and within half an hour on a bus then train (using Myki cards we charged when we first arrived) we were at the MCG and met up with the Littletons again. 

The view from our seats on level 4 of the Shane Warne stand was great,  and we had binoculars to see the wicket and batsmen close up.  We were pleased for overcast skies and the wind as it was 37c.

Australia won the toss and opted to bat,  so we saw Konstos, the 19 year old score 60 on his debut, impressive as opening batsman against the likes of Bumrah bowling at over 130 kph. 

By late afternoon we were flagging in the heat,  and after 85 overs the cricket finished.  Matthew had chosen to score it all. Scoresheet complete with original suncream smudge features below. 

Train then bus got us home quickly and we were keen to cool down,  shower and eat. 

Finishing leftovers of steak and salad,  or pasta for those who don't eat steak,  we watched Kung Fu Panda 4 with an interlude to watch the flying fox bat colony fly over our house!

Australia 24/25 25 December Melbourne Christmas Day

A hot Christmas 11 hours ahead of the UK felt a bit surreal. We had minimal presents but Joanne had managed to bring a chocolate orange each for everyone.

Jon and Joanne headed to Hillsongs for a 10am service and Matthew preferred to go back to the Anglican church near where we were staying. Everyone else enjoyed a lie in.  

At Hillsongs we met up with Jo Wright,  who's in our connect group in Leeds! On the way home e collected our friends Kate,  Jim,  Finlay and Jake from their hotel and drove them back to our Airbnb. 

Jon did a brilliant job of barbecuing and the rest of us sorted salad and drinks for a feast eaten indoors as it was already almost 30c outside.  

After lunch it was time for the beach.  St Kilda was packed but we found space to relax and for the boys to play beach cricket.  

It was scorching hot,  over 30c and we were pleased when the sun began to set and give us great views of the sea and the city.

At dusk we waited to see the penguins from the pier but our patience ran out before they arrived,  apart from Jon and Matthew who did manage to see a couple.  The crowds of people waiting to see penguins was huge!

It was after 10pm when we arrived home but still 30c.

 Matthew and Joanne enjoyed cheese and wine and everyone else went to bed.  

Australia 24/25 24 Dec Back to Melbourne

Hard to believe Christmas is tomorrow, when the sun is shining and the temperature is 23c.

After a walk on the beach at Apollo Bay we headed back to Melbourne where we ate out a delicious brunch/ lunch at a place Peter recommended.  

We had to collect all our stuff from Peter's and cram into the car for the 30 minutes to our Airbnb so it was great to find out it's pretty spacious.

Joanne,  Peter and Amelia went to get the groceries and drinks. In Australia even some supermarkets aren't licenced so we had to go to a separate bottle shop, which was huge.  

Joanne,  Jon and Matthew went to a very warm and sunny carol service and came back to tea cooked by everyone else, and a kit kat Christmas shack (think Gingerbread house alternative)

A wander to see the sunset over Melbourne was followed by a surprise glimpse of the colony of bats over the house on the way back.  

And Christmas eve wouldn't be complete without a Christmas film.  Love Actually.