Luke Yates’ Australia – part 1
What do you do when you plan a trip to Australia to watch England retain the Ashes, only to find that England are, well… a bit rubbish? Luke Yates decided to make the most of his time in Australia. And he started his journey in Melbourne.
A lot of travel articles tend to begin at the beginning, end at the end and feature a day by day account in a level of detail only your mum would appreciate. I’m going to try not to do that, and only mention the places and activities that were actually worthwhile and more importantly, worth sharing.
I recently spent three weeks in Australia, travelling to several regions with the rough plan of seeing some cricket. This turned out to be a disaster as the England team managed to lose the Ashes before we even arrived, so a trip that was planned around watching England continue their domination of Australia transformed into something completely different, and much more exciting.
Soaking up the sport
That said, we did get some cricket in. We spent a couple of happy days in the sun at the MCG in Melbourne. For me, a visit to this city is not complete without finding a way to catch some sort of sporting event. The MCG is an absolute goliath of a stadium. I’ve only seen larger crowds at Wembley and Old Trafford. The “G” regularly hosts cricket and Aussie rules football throughout the year so there are loads of chances to get in a visit.
In addition, Melbourne hosts the Australian Open tennis, Australian Grand Prix, the Melbourne Cup and has several other stadia hosting cricket, rugby league and rugby union. There’s really no excuse not to catch an event in this fantastically sporty city.
Take to the trams
Melbourne is a lovely place. It’s friendly, clean and its neighbourhoods each have their own character just waiting to be explored. I’d recommend the bohemian beach life of St Kilda, and the indie pubs and bars of Brunswick. Start exploring and you’re bound to find somewhere that suits. The trams are an excellent way of doing just that.
Hostels in Melbourne? Look beyond the CBD
Melbourne may be missing some of the more obvious tourist delights, but I think it delivers far more in terms of personal enjoyment and memories. Do try to find a hostel outside the CBD (Central Business District) though. There was nothing wrong with ours; it was just a bit quiet and lacking in character, especially in the evenings. It’s an accusation that can be levelled at many business areas of big cities.
If Melbourne is chilled and mellow with a beautiful skyline, Sydney is a completely different beast. That’s where I was heading next.
Next stop … Sydney
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Luke Yates 1st Blog | 2nd Blog | 3rd Blog
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