The New Zealand Chapters. IV: Raglan, Part I

The fog of sleep clears slowly as the world blurs into view. With a groan, I get up off the mattress, the fifth different bed I've slept in in 6 days. Sunlight streams into the bell-tent as the zip opening unravels and my toes step onto the dew-tipped grass. Every step towards the front brings a crunch from the gravel underfoot, my skin caressed by the warm morning sun. Stepping onto the deck, a smile involuntarily creeps across my face. Ocean as far as the eye can see, lush rolling hills, waves crashing onto the beach. The start of another day in paradise.

Oh Raglan, you sneaky little devil. Let me start this chapter with a public service announcement. If you're doing a working holiday or even just travelling New Zealand and happen to be on the North Island, do yourself a favour and spend some time in Raglan. The only thing I'd caution against is going there as your first destination. More than once have I seen people checking out Raglan and just never leaving. Heck, if I didn't have a deadline to leave and see the South Island, I would probably still be there right now. You think I'm exaggerating but there is an inside joke in Raglan where you ask people when they're leaving and the answer will always be tomorrow. Nobody leaves, and why would you when you've found paradise.

View from reception.

My love affair with Raglan didn't exactly start like a house on fire though. First of all, Raglan was never even part of my plans. Towards the end of my time in Ohakune, I spotted an ad for jobs in Raglan on the Facebook page. I sent the owner an email and she called me telling me I was hired and that she wanted me to help her set up the restaurant for the summer. After a bit of asking around, I found out that Raglan was a surf mecca filled with hippies and that a few of the winter staff from Ohakune were actually headed there for summer. That gave me my next destination and I let the owner know I would be there on the first of November after my North Island road trip.

First of November rolled around and I texted the owner, saying I would rock up pretty soon and that I was ready to start work. She replies with "I think I've hired too many staff and it's quieter than I thought, if you wait until December, I'll give you some hours." Does this sound familiar yet? It was the Powderkeg all over again. I told her to jog on, I didn't have nearly enough cash to live a month in Raglan without work. After doing so much research about Raglan though, I was determined to make it my next destination. You know that feeling when you're playing poker and you try to buy the pot so you raise-check everyone a ridiculous amount but there's that one bastard who calls your bluff, but you're in too deep now so you keep raising anyway and every time you do it, you ask yourself why, then you lose everything to that damn German who's now taken your laundry money for the week. You shrug it off and smile, a smile that is trying it's best to hold back a torrent of tears. Yeah, it kind of felt like that. I was committed now.

By research, of course I meant that I took a quick look on google maps to find out where Raglan was and that the backpackers closest to town was named Raglan Backpackers. Of course when I turned up, it was full. But I was in too deep now! The guy who owned the place gave me a few suggestions on where to sleep for the night. The first of which was Solscape, a 10 minute drive into the mountains. I headed there and obviously it was also full. With a stroke of luck, the owner, Phil, was in the back room and he poked his head out, saying he could give me a bed in the surf shack. It was just that, a shed that used to be a store room for surf boards. I wasn't so sure but it was a bed for the night. While walking up to the shed though, we walked pass caboose 8 (almost all of the rooms in Solscape are re-purposed train carriages but I'll go in to depth about that in the next chapter with my full review of the place). Caboose 8 was under maintenance but there were beds in there still. We poked our heads in and both decided it was good enough for the night. And that's how I spent my first night in Raglan, pure luck.

I did some walking around the place and one of the first things I saw whilst wandering around in the woods was a natural spring with a plaque that invited you to take a drink from the sacred space. Whoa... I thought the hippie thing was a joke, but as I was about to find out after, it wasn't. The train carriages, sacred spaces, tents and train station that served as the lounge had piqued my interest and I had a browse on their website to find out what the place was all about. Solscape at it's core tries to spread a message of sustainability, which again, I'll go into further in my full review. But anyway, at the corner of the website was a little button which said volunteers. At this point, cash was running pretty low so my thinking was volunteering for accommodation would be a good way to stop the cash from bleeding out too quickly.

The next morning, I walked to the reception to have some breakfast. Let me first say that the view you have from your table at breakfast will punch you in the gut with it's beauty. The kind of view that you sit at and pretend to write poetry and before you know it, a few hours have gone by. Solscape sits on Mt. Karioi so when you sit at the deck, the town of Raglan opens up beneath you alongside the sea and Ngarunui beach, which stretches on forever. With a good flat white, you could sit there forever with a glazed look in your eyes. Well at least until you finished your coffee anyway. They say a picture says a thousand words, this would be the kind of picture they're talking about, but it doesn't say a thousand words or I wouldn't be writing, would I.

At reception, I had a chat with Christian, the German receptionist who's been stuck in Raglan for 3 years, about volunteering. He said they were full at the moment but handed me an application in case something opened up. To his disbelief and my incredible luck, a volunteer left the next day and boom, I was in.

I spent a total of over 7 weeks in Raglan, volunteering at Solscape for 6 and a half. Let me begin to try and explain why Raglan remains very close to the top of places I've lived. First up, I lived in a fricking train carriage for a good 5 weeks. When was the last time you saw that sentence anywhere? If that wasn't good enough, I then moved into a tipi, then back into another train carriage, then into a huge belle tent, and finally into my car. Secondly, as a person who's grown up and lived most his life in cities and suburbs, it is incredibly refreshing to spend a majority of time lounging around outdoors, most of the time barefoot. For half the time we stayed at Solscape, our kitchen was outdoors and had 3 walls. Most of all though, it's the people. The core crew of volunteers we had obviously helped with the experience. Really cool, funny and chill people who just enjoyed life. Over the course of 7 weeks though, during which people come and go as is natural, I don't remember meeting any bad eggs. Anyone who stayed on longer or any new volunteers that replaced the old ones were just as cool and fit into the group just as easily. I suppose with a place like Raglan and Solscape, you get a very similar group of people who decide to stay on and anyone who doesn't like the vibes moves on pretty quickly.

3-sided kitchen.

On the volunteering and work front, a large part of it was housekeeping. Making beds, a little bit of gardening and maintenance, and a lot of toilet scrubbing. On days when you're feeling particularly high and mighty, I suggest you try wiping and scrubbing a toilet seat that's still warm. You'll be surprised how quickly that brings you crashing back down to earth. For work, I picked up a few hours here and there working in the cafe that was a part of the Solscape reception. Just basic waitering, although serving a wedding (I can't escape weddings no matter how far I run) was pretty fun, and we did have quite a few yoga retreats that had breakfast and lunches included.

I really didn't mind the work or volunteering though, working alongside friends with some banter and loads of good music is definitely a good recipe. Waking up and almost looking forward to work is such a foreign feeling especially when contrasted with my time in Singapore where every working day I woke up with a dread of the day ahead.

Good music and creativity is definitely healthily nourished at Solscape. In fact, in the time I was there, I played the guitar more than the past 3 years combined. Hanging out in the sun, playing the guitar with or without other people was a daily feature. The hippie vibes, alongside the sustainability, huge open spaces, sunshine, and mainly lack of internet or plug points led to a lot of drawing, colouring, reading, music discussion, and in my case, writing. Most of the chapters you've read so far were written in a stained, sun-kissed notebook during my time in Raglan before I bothered to transfer them here.

When I wasn't at Solscape, I was usually at the beach. That's the main attraction of Raglan, the beach and longest left hand break in the world at Manu Bay. I'll go into my adventures surfing, hiking, what I did for money, and the number of great bands I managed to catch in Raglan in the next chapter. Stay tuned, and see you next week.

The New Zealand Chapters. III: Hei konā rā Ohakune

"More so than the beauty and landmarks you see, it is the people you encounter that makes travelling what it is for me."

The amount of interesting people I've had the chance to meet and befriend over my years abroad, in their own ways, have shaped who I am today. For better or worse, usually better as most people you meet whilst travelling have open minds and similar mindsets, these connections and relationships are the key driving forces behind my travelling desires. Think about it this way, if I did not leave home, I would not have met some of my best friends today.

One such person is Mary Vu. Mary is another person I had the chance to meet in Japan, much like Sean. In fact, Mary and I were housemates for about 6 months in our lovely Octagon home. If you were ever housemates with me, there's a very good chance that you are British and Mary is no exception. Actually, despite constantly pointing out her Vietnamese roots to anyone new she meets, she's probably the most British person I know.

Mary was set to visit New Zealand for the second half of October, coinciding with both our birthdays. We decided it would be awesome to road trip around the North Island together. Her dates also lined up nicely with the end of the winter season in Ohakune and I decided our road trip would be my departure as well. Going back to my point about people you meet travelling, it's crazy how much of my New Zealand journey has been shaped and touched by the friends I met in Japan. Like I said, similar mindsets.

I'll eventually get to the road trip, but in Chapter 2, I promised to reveal more attractions around Ohakune so I'll do that first. Bear in mind that as it's relatively rural, you need a car to get to most place. First up, is Waiouru. The army museum is here and it's about 30 minutes drive from Ohakune. I enjoyed it and it shed a bit of light onto the ANZAC forces and World War 2. On the way to Waiouru, you also pass the Tangiwai memorial which was one of New Zealand's worst rail disasters. It's worth a look but if you're pressed for time, you could skip it. Just outside Ohakune is also the Ohakune carrot that is the town mascot because there's loads of carrot farming in 'Kune.

If you're keen on camping or hiking, the Waitonga falls half way up Turoa is a beautiful walk in any season but especially magical in winter with frozen pools and breathtaking views of Ruapehu dressed in white and painted in sunlight. It's part of a 4-day round the mountain great walk if you're keen on that. I could be wrong but I believe there is a freedom camping spot on the way up Turoa as well. Slightly further out of Ohakune is the Ruatiti Domain. It's another one of many free Department of Conservation (DOC) camp sites peppered around New Zealand. It takes awhile to get to but the drive there is beautiful, snaking around cliffs. It's one of the rare spots where having an open fire is allowed. I recommend visiting if you get the chance. Walk along the river, have a picnic or barbecue, and just hang out in its beauty. Like much of New Zealand, you'll feel like you've stepped into the set for Jurassic Park. Obviously there are loads more spots to see in the Ruapehu area such as National Park but I can only review what I have been to.

Waitonga walk

Ruatiti Domain

Alright then, back to the road trip. It was split in 2 parts as Mary visited the South Island in between while I chose to squeeze out a couple more hours of work to fund my trip. Little did I know, it would be the last of any steady work I would have in New Zealand. In part 1, we mostly hung out in an Ohakune which was slowly being evacuated due to the end of the winter season. It finished off in Taupo where we decided to spend a night to celebrate my 26th birthday. In a packed schedule, we started with white water rafting in Turangi. I found it pretty fun even if I expected slightly more from it. It's still great if you're new to rafting but I wouldn't do it again as you don't get any real sphincter-clenching moments.

We booked a bach in the DeBretts Hot Springs and got some dinner after checking in. Fish & Chips down by the great lake for the sunset. That's where I recorded the timelapse which is at the start of my Taupo video. Fun fact, you could fit Singapore inside Lake Taupo if you want a little sense of scale and have some pretty big tongs. We then went back to get baked in the hot springs after which you can hear Mary singing Happy Birthday in Sean's video. The next day, we hiked to Huka Falls then got baked again in some natural hot springs before enjoying the sunset on a different side of Lake Taupo.

Part 2 starts with the hiring of a Jucy camper van. Mary picked it up from Wellington and drove it back up to Ohakune. Note that if you're not present to collect the vehicle, you're not legally allowed to drive it. So as far as Jucy and the NZ Traffic Association is concerned, Mary did all the driving. Our itinerary started with black water rafting in the Waitomo Caves, followed by Hobbiton, Rotorua, Lake Tarawera, then Wellington. We slept in the camper every night.

I daresay black water rafting in Waitomo is a must-do if you're visiting New Zealand. After a quick intro, we changed into wetsuits and sexy pants then abseiled into the caves. Once down there, there's walking followed by crawling and then floating down the caves on a inflated tube before climbing back out of the caves at the end. Famous for the glow worms, the caves are a truly amazing sight when floating down in absolute darkness with the whole ceiling glowing like a infinite green galaxy of stars.

Sexy pants galore

Hobbiton, seems to be a strangely divisive topic in New Zealand. Speaking to most kiwis (the people, not the bird), they don't seem to be massive Lord of the Rings fans and seem to think visiting Hobbiton is a waste of time and money. Then again, maybe because they're constantly surrounded by greenery and rolling hills, it's not special anymore. If you're a fan of LOTR, I can assure you, it is special.

Hobbiton was initially built on a farm with very disposable materials, to be torn down after filming. However, because of storms, the crew could not tear it down and decided to only return to finish the job after 6 months. By then, the Fellowship had been released and locals recognised the hills in the horizon before working out which farm it was on. Needless to say, word got out and the rest is history. So Peter Jackson came back to film The Hobbit and this time, the farm owner agreed to let him use the grounds but on the condition that the structures were built to last and Hobbiton as we know it today was built.

Apart from the obvious appeal of being in the Shire, the fact that there are no visible modern structures like power lines as far as the eye can see is pretty amazing in this day and age. This is also what drew Peter Jackson to the area during location scouting. I have to note though that none of the hobbit holes have anything inside and are just doors cut into the side of hills.

Sulphur is the smell that will assault your senses as soon as you arrive in Rotorua, as well as the biggest i-Site I have seen so far. Known for it's geyser activity and subsequent hot pools, Rotorua is probably one of the bigger towns in the North. On our first night, we went to a Maori Show at Te Puia. Unlike many cultural shows I've been to, it was not over-the-top or gimmicky. The hangi buffet dinner was a nice touch as well. Again, I'd recommend going to a Maori show just for a glimpse into the principles that have shaped so much of New Zealand's history.

On day 2, we decided to drive to Lake Tarawera, mostly because I wanted Mary to do some proper camping. I wouldn't say the drive in is scenic but it was definitely interesting. A long drive on gravel roads past logging areas smothered out green camper in dust. With the Tarawera site, there is absolutely nothing there apart from a long drop which of course Mary loved. It was a 3 hour return hike to the Tarawera Falls which was a nice place to chill and have lunch. If tranquility and complete silence is what you're looking for, this is for you. Sit and watch the sunset reflect in the lake as long as you want with absolutely nobody else around.

We spent the last 2 days mainly driving and walking around Wellington. This chapter is long enough already so I won't bother with describing the city. I will say that I prefer it to Auckland and it is the windiest city in the world. After that, Mary flew off back to Japan and I prepared to start phase 2 of my New Zealand chapters. Easily the most interesting phase not just in New Zealand but maybe my entire travelling life, stay tuned for tales about my car, amazing Raglan and the hippie commune in the next few chapters.

Until then, thanks for reading.

On our trip I booked most of our activities through BookMe which is great if you're looking for discounts.

I also made a video of our road trip:

The New Zealand Chapters. II: Of Banks and Climbing up Walls

2 questions I got asked all the time in Ohakune were, “What are you doing in NZ?” followed by “Why Ohakune?” The answer to the first is in Chapter 1, and it's that I’m here on working holiday. The second question, funnily enough, is also in chapter 1. Because I wanted to do a winter season, and Sean was based near Ruapehu. It’s always nice to have someone you know when you’re finding your feet.

So, Chapter 2. My time in Ohakune, which is actually the most time I spent in 1 area in New Zealand. It’s a really laid back small town made up of mostly restaurants and bars catering to tourists passing through and skiing in the winter or hiking/cycling/doing the Tongariro crossing/rafting in the summer. I ended chapter 1 with needing to find job and a place to stay.

First off, because I actually intend this to be a guide in some form, let’s start with some boring bits. Banking and IRD. IRD was fairly straightforward for me. It’s different now (I advise you to sort it out before you get here because it takes awhile), but when I did it, I basically walked into the post office, presented my documents, paid an admin fee, and got my IRD number a week later.

Banking was slightly stranger. For some unknown reason, even being in a small, laid back town, the local bank, BNZ, requires you to make an appointment to open a simple savings account. I walked in there, nary a soul in sight, but was asked to come back the following Tuesday at 10. So I came back at 9.50 the following Tuesday. The same teller that set up my appointment told me I was a little early and offered me a seat to wait. Again, I was the only person in sight so I naturally thought the accounts opening executive or something was scheduled to come in at 10.

Nope. I shit you not, after 10 minutes of sitting and waiting, nobody else came in during this time, she got up, walked over to me and we started to open my savings account. Suppressing my urge to scream “Are you serious right now?!”, we got it done. So I now had my IRD number and a BNZ savings account. It was a slight worry for me so I’ll include this. Yes, you can do international cash withdrawals at most ATMs in New Zealand. As long as your bank/card has been approved to do so back home.

Here, have a pic of a campfire.

So, the job. Remember how I said in Chapter 1, none of my plans worked and everything happened by chance? This was the first big one. I applied to the biggest bar and hotel in town, the Powderkeg. An interview later and I did my trial on a not so busy Friday. Things went well and I was told I would be called in for my shifts soon. 2 weeks went by, my questions about work deflected, and I still had not started proper work. Then the owner called me in to apologise about the situation but started interviewing me again! What a complete shitshow. I noped out of there as soon as she started blaming her managers for not keeping each other up to date.

This whole time, I had moved out of Seans’ into a charming A-Frame home in Ohakune with 2 other really nice Brits (can’t seem to escape them). Tip: wherever you’re going, try and join the local FB group. That’s how I found my room and eventually, a job. So anyway, the whole time this farce was taking place, I was bleeding cash for rent. My monetary situation was getting even worse. Eventually though, when all looked lost and gloomy, I found a job at the Cypress Tree as a bartender and things got a lot better from there. Good crew, best food in town (seriously if you're passing through, have the steak and kumara mash here, thank me later), and bartending there was fun. Also, I skated to work daily. Not sure when I’ll ever be able to do that again.

The Cypress Tree

The view from work. Not too shabby.

That was the gist of my winter in Ohakune. I picked up a season pass for cheap and rode whenever Sean went up. You need a car here if you want to ride cause of how there is a 15 minute drive up the mountain to get to the lifts. I will just say this. The terrain in Turoa is great. Steep and challenging enough but it’s definitely a skiers’ mountain. To get to the good stuff, as a snowboarder, you’ll do a heap of traversing and then skating to get back into the lifts. But shredding is shredding and it’s all good fun in the end.

For the down days, and there were a few due to the volatile weather on the mountain, I picked up indoor rock climbing. It would become a weekly affair for us that honestly, I looked forward to as much as riding. There is also a plethora of running and hiking trails in Ohakune and Turoa and I sampled quite a few of them. Again, with New Zealand, the beauty and sparseness of the land makes your routine evening jog an event. Just 2 minutes from where I lived, a trail I regularly ran started in light bush along a stream, before crossing it on a suspension bridge then running on a dirt track through farmland into the sunset. And that’s the charm of New Zealand. The simple beauty and pleasures of the everyday.

Jogging views

Hiking Waitonga Falls

Hanging in a cave on Turoa

In the next chapter, I'll go slightly more in-depth about the attractions within reasonable driving distance of Ohakune, my departure, and the resulting road trip.

As always, I look forward to any feedback and you can follow me on:
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The New Zealand Chapters. I: Kia Ora Aotearoa

"The universe has a way of taking you where your feet need to go."

That's what I wake up to every morning now, scrawled in black sharpie on the back of my door. As much as it's probably the ramblings of the hippie who stayed in this room before me, it's scary how much it rings true for much of my journey here in New Zealand so far.

I'll be splitting this into several chapters, so let's start with Chapter I: the beginning. Saying Kia Ora Aotearoa, Hello New Zealand in Maori, was never something that was really on the cards for me. But like almost everything after, it happened by chance. I had never planned to come here after my last winter in Niseko but by chance, I had the day off to spend 3 hours from 5am to furiously click away at the Working Holiday Application web page. I only decided to throw my hat in the ring after chatting with a friend just to see what happened. Chance dictated that I got it and she unfortunately did not.

One big carrot.

So, phase 1, planning. Hah! Planning. All along the way, any plans I've had were blurry visions and outlines at best, which you will see as the blog continues. Anyways, the original plan for a long time was to head to Wanaka for the winter and work my way up from there. I ended up doing almost the complete opposite and started up in the North Island after those plans fell through. Sean, who I worked with in Japan, lives in the shadow of the volcano, Mt. Ruapehu, the highest peak in the North Island, and that's where I decided I would go after he graciously offered to host me whilst I found my feet.

So I booked my flight for August, smack in the middle of winter, and off I went. My arrival in New Zealand was pretty uneventful. After being mistaken for being Japanese on the bus from the airport (I knew just enough to answer in Japanese for some reason), I stayed at The Attic, in Auckland's CBD for a night. It's a cool little backpackers which I would recommend to anyone needing a place in Auckland. From there, I bought a ticket for the Intercity Bus to Raetihi. Tip 1: Buy a travel sim at the airport when you arrive. They're pretty cheap and travelling with data is fantastic for booking a bed or using Google Maps on the fly.

The Attic

Raetihi. With a population of just under 1000, it is definitely the smallest town I've ever stayed in. Made up of mostly farms and abandoned stores, Raetihi has 1 main street and that's it. On that main street you could almost imagine a tumbleweed rolling through, passing the half open shop fronts. The great thing about New Zealand though, is that it is so vast and green that it doesn't matter. Everywhere and everything is in some form beautiful, or charming, or rustic. And if you look hard enough, Raetihi definitely has shades of all 3.

After a bus ride of close to 7 hours, I arrived in Raetihi at the gas station which also doubles as the town's bus stop. A beaming Sean picked me up and we headed to his house, The Olde Courthouse. No, that's not just some gimmicky name. It is actually a B&B run by his mom and the building used to be the courthouse in Raetihi with the courtroom now serving as their kitchen, dining and living area. It is really quite surreal and very cool. If you are ever passing through, spend the night there and say hello for me. They were the most gracious hosts when I was there and Sean's mom is a brilliant chef. Not to mention, the house is also the base of C6 skis, which Sean and his dad craft in their backyard.

Ohakune. Another sleepy little town about 10 minutes from Raetihi. This one has 3 main streets though and a junction area at the other end of town with all the bars. Like Raetihi, it has a population of under 1000. The difference is this number balloons in the winter when all the seasonal staff pile in. The other big difference, is that Ohakune is the entrance to Turoa. That's the ski field on the south western side of Ruapehu and was to become my local mountain for the next 3 months.

Things started off with a bang and a cracker of a first weekend. We rode ATVs, visited the hot pools in Taupo, and then rode some of the best snow Turoa has seen in 4 years or so. Great introduction to riding in New Zealand as the ice caught me off guard and I went off a cliff face-first on my very first run. As you can see in the accompanying video, the rest of the day was great blower snow and fortunately, or unfortunately, that first day was my best one on the mountain.

Turoa looking mean.

You know it's been a good day when you look back
and know which line is yours.

To close off the first chapter, I had come to realise a few things. After the excellent weekend, I needed money. That was going to be in Ohakune and having no car meant that Ohakune was where I needed to move to. The house and job hunt began.

Videos of the first weekend:

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Video: Snowboarding in Turoa, New Zealand

Hey ladies and gents,

You may or may not know that I have recently moved to New Zealand for a 6 month working holiday stint. I start my adventure in Ohakune, which is in the Ruapehu district on the North Island. Definitely more to come in terms of blogging about my experience here but to start things off, enjoy 2 videos that captured my first weekend here.

Open Thermal Spas, Huka Falls, ATV quad biking, Hot Spa Water Park, Falling face first off a cliff, and shredding some insane pow pow at Turoa. The second video is by good friend and kind host Sean, who's taken care of me in my first week here.

As always, stay tuned. I'll be blogging quite a bit more about my experience here as I go through it.

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Travel: Singapore

Singapore, the Lion City, jewel of Southeast Asia. Some of you might know that I lived in Singapore for a couple of years. It takes a certain kind of person to be able to move to Singapore for work and enjoy it. Career and money-wise it is great but not so much anything else. I have since then moved to Japan and am currently back in Kuala Lumpur for a short period.

This June, a buddy of mine, Will, decided to visit KL for slightly less than a week. Him having not been to Singapore before, we decided to spend 3 days there and I could both show him around, and take the opportunity to catch up with old friends there.

We stayed at Fisher B&B, a great little place in Lavender right opposite Jalan Besar Stadium. In our short time there, we managed to visit Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay, Tekka Food Court in Little India, Mustafa, Old Airport Road Market, the Singapore Flyer, the Singapore F1 Circuit (where the pit lanes are left open to the public when the race is not on), and a couple of nights in Raffles and Robertson Quay. We probably could have sneaked in a visit to Orchard Road as well but as neither of us wanted to shop, I didn't think it was worth rushing there. That was a good little itinerary to hit all the big tourist spots in the time we had and if you're visiting Singapore anytime soon, I doubt you could go wrong with that list.

Armed with my little Gopro, this is my little movie/vlog about our 3 days in Singapore. Please enjoy in HD:

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Melbourne 2014: Melbourne City

Melbourne, capital city of Victoria. Multicultural melting pot and home of Australian Sports. I love this city. I've been lucky to visit and live in a fair share of cities around the world. I have to say though, Melbourne City quickly became one of my favourites in the few days that I was there. Let me tell you why.

After a few days of hibernation at the Great Ocean Road, my journey back to the city began with a 4 hour drive. As expected, the GPS took me down some interesting suburbs and b-roads even when highways continually said drive straight to get to the city. No worries though, always good to have some detours and see more of the country than expected.

Driving into Melbourne city, I crossed a rather long bridge which I unfortunately did not get the name of. The city slowly looms into view and it was tempting to stop on the side of the bridge and take pictures or timelapses of the city skyline. For the safety of all, I did not and continued on into the city to return my car and check into the Travelodge on Southbank, where I finally got a toothbrush! Walking from Redspot back to my hotel was a great chance to immediately experience Melbourne City from the ground and even though it was damp, it was really pretty. Did not do too much on my first evening. Walked around the Southbank Promenade and visited the Crown Casino like a good tourist should then retired to the room to rest up for a big day of plans the next day.

My itinerary for my first full day in the city included going to Federation Square, checking out the National Gallery of Victoria, some interesting stadiums and finally the Eureka Skydeck 88. Federation Square is pretty awesome. There are a few museums around it and even just sitting there and watching people walk around was good. Bear in mind, I had not worked out how the tram system worked at this time and I was going round the city on foot which speaks volumes about how well the city is designed that I did all the above just walking.

After a quick breakfast at Ponyfish Island, a quirky little bar under the bridge on the river, I headed to the NGV. Loving Museums, I knew I would enjoy the NGV and it did not let me down. Spent a good couple of hours in there checking out both the Australian Furniture Design and Sue Ford galleries.

I then checked out a couple of stadiums and the olympic village but to be honest they were nothing much to shout about. The one thing I stumbled upon though, was Birrarung Marr. A little park in between Southbank and the Stadium areas. Really green, quiet and with great views of the city, it was perfect for a lunch break by the river. That's one other thing I really liked about Melbourne City. Whilst the weather is always a risk, they have spent millions of dollars making sure all their roads are pedestrian and bicycle safe. So many well planned out cycle routes means getting around on a bike in the city would have easily been my preferred method were I to live there.

One thing I had planned to do was to go on a sports tour of the city with the various tour guides available, unfortunately time and the cost did not permit me to do so. I relied on Kent, a good buddy of mine to take me around and he definitely played his part while also giving us time to catch up on things. If I did go back though, I'd seriously consider doing the tour as it would've given me some access to the many AFL and "soccer" stadiums littered through out the city.

Speaking of stadiums, I ended my trip with a visit to one of the most impressive stadiums I've ever been to. Yes, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, more affectionally known as the MCG to most. This thing is huge and astounding to look at once you get closer. I believe it holds up to a hundred thousand fans and I can only imagine the atmosphere during one of the bigger AFL matches. There is also the National Museum of Sports inside with a very interesting olympics section.

All stadiums in view. MCG on the left. Rod Laver (where the Australian Open is played) on the right.

I was going to segway into food but I suppose crickets and food is not quite internationally accepted cuisine. With the, forgive me for this, hipstery scene of Melbourne City, what we get is loads of little cafes and restaurants littered all around the backstreets of the city and I sampled some of the best food I have had anywhere in the world. Aimlessly walking around and checking these out was one of the highlights of my time in Melbourne which is saying something considering how much they have put into their tourism industry and the plethora of sights around.

The one standout highlight was San Telmo, an Argentian Tapas Bar. Tucked away just off Bourke Street, you walk into a dim but deceivingly big bar bustling with activity. I had hands down, the best steak I've ever had in there and on some late nights I still think of it. If you're there, check this place out and thank me later. It was not cheap but you get what you pay for and that is quality.

All in all, I really enjoyed my trip to Victoria, Australia. From the quiet countryside to the metropolitan city, there was beauty, culture and all around good times which is all you can ask for really when on holiday. The main appeal for me of Melbourne City, is the fact that you have so many options for activities that's reasonably accessible. In the age where most live for the weekend, this is perfect. Whether if it's to go hiking, camping, the beach, skiing, biking, or just a quiet weekend drive away, it's all within reach from the city itself. And there, that alone is enough to make Melbourne City one of my favourites.

For more pictures, feel free to visit my Facebook album here. Alternatively, Google+ has a great “story” feature which looks great, here. And finally, I will be making a short compilation video of the pictures which will hopefully be coming soon.

As always, if you have any feedback, or just want to say hi, drop me a comment. Thank you for all the encouraging feedback I have received so far, it is all truly appreciated. Stay tuned, keep calm, and I will see you in the next one.

Services used:
Travelodge Southbank