Melbourne

Today was the closest we've come to a chill day while in Australia. For the first time since arriving in Sydney, we slept in past 8:30 and didn't rush to get out the door. We had our breakfast, finished tidying up, and then left for Mount Dandenong.

We drove about 45 minutes outside the city towards Mount Dandenong. Once we got there, we walked around the various viewpoints and balconies. In the distance we could see mountains and the river as well as the CBD sticking out clearly in the middle of the city. It was hazy and cloudy, so the view wasn't as good as it could've been. We didn't stay for long before getting back in the car and driving about an hour into the city.

We stayed on the other side of the river from yesterday and visited the Shrine of Remembrance. The stone building is shaped like a pyramid with the top lopped off. We walked around the outside looking for the way in, realizing it was near where we started walking around trying to get in 🤦‍♀️.

Once we got in, the ground floor was a gift shop and visitors center. We walked around the foyer before heading up the stairs. The first level has galleries and information about the two world wars. I mean, it wasn't nearly as extensive as the memorial in Canberra, but we saw some nice things. The next level up was the crypt with a statue of father and son to symbolize the generations of the two wars. It was a very poignant room.

Continuing on, the next level was the honor roll in books along the outer walls. The inner wall had a plaque commemorating lives lost. There was also a doorway that led out to a balcony all the way around the building. The balcony gave great views of the CBD across from the shrine. We took some pictures before heading back through the building and to the car.

When we checked in for our flight earlier in the morning, Qantas offered us an earlier flight due to potential bad weather, so we headed to the airport just after 3 (the drive was estimated to take about an hour) to drop the car off and get our bags checked in. It was a quick process and security wasn't busy, so we breezed through.

Our terminal wasn't very big, and there were no lounges, but we did have restaurant credit, so we got some food before walking to our gate. The flight to Sydney wasn't a long one, but we still got warm beef and onion pies and complimentary drinks (including alcohol). I was surprised because the flight was less than an hour and a half!

Once back in Sydney, Rosemary and Brad kindly picked us up from the airport and brought us to Little Bay so we could catch up about our travels. We said goodbye to them and went upstairs to rejig the bags (again) so that all the wine was in big bags to be checked. (Domestic flights in Australia don't have liquid requirements in carry on luggage).

Before we went to bed, we needed to decide what we were doing our first night in New Zealand tomorrow night. Because Australia has been so go go go, we've not planned New Zealand. Many hours later, around 02:30 we had the first couple days mapped out and we went to bed. New Zealand looks like it's going to be just as busy and sleep depriving as Australia to try and see as much as we can.Read more