A Pocket Friendly Side of Melbourne {Guest Post}

Today I’m excited to have a guest post by Mackenzie Fox. Mackenzie Fox is a wannabe full-time world traveler who’s still afraid of quitting her 9-5 job. She is a nature and animal lover who takes climate change seriously. Loves the late harvest wines and chocolate. Foreign languages are among top five of her New Year’s resolutions, but she only knows a handful of useful expressions in a few languages.

I spent the last year studying in Australia and the best time I have had so far was in Melbourne.
My wish was to backpack through Melbourne as I wanted to spare some money. Finding cheap accommodation was not a problem and my first stop was a laneway. I was staying in a youth hostel and I took the organized tour through the lanes and alleys, which are full of life and nothing less than fascinating.

Brunswick Street and its street art are something that shows an awesome sense of freedom, and a specific sense of culture you can see nowhere else in the world. My favorite places to visit here were music bars, however. The one that inspired me, Howler, is actually a warehouse that was converted into a bar with an indoor-outdoor garden. Besides Howler, if you are into listening to records, then make sure to check out The Black Cat.

Taking a tram is the best option for getting around the city. A daily ticket for unlimited travel costs $8, but the one I used was the free tourist tram that circles around the city and directs visitors on where to make stops in order to see the attractions. A part of tram route 112 goes through Brunswick Street, so this is quite convenient for tourists.

I was lucky to meet two girls from the Netherlands who also wanted to visit Mornington Peninsula, and we rented a car together. Even though it is not the most cost effective, it was the best and the easiest way to do this. If you share even the slightest passion for wine, as I do, then you will be enchanted by this place.

A place I would definitely recommend for any visit to the Mornington Peninsula is Blue Range Estate Wines. In addition to exquisite wines, here you will enjoy a memorable view of the Bay. If you are by any chance into a more casual atmosphere, then visit the Brass Razu where you will find any wine that comes to mind since their specialty is serving those that are not so common in the shops.

Unfortunately, this time I didn’t get the chance to travel The Great Ocean Road. What I really wanted to do was to take this road and make a detour at Anglesea, to a golf course with kangaroos. If I had the chance to do this, I would definitely go on driving for another twenty minutes to the Kennett River to see koalas. In addition, I missed the breath-taking views of the beaches, the Twelve Apostles and Gibsons steps.

The Twelve Apostles
Photo Credit: www.visitvictoria.com

Actually, I could go on listing amazing things to see forever, so I will just mention one more thing that I didn’t get to see and that’s Phillip Island. What I really wanted was to see the whales, as I was visiting in June. I also missed out on a few vineyards I had hope to see. My friends had recommended Purple Hen Wines and Bass Valley wines, which, hopefully, I’ll leave for some other time – there are always post-graduate studies, right?