08.07 WANTED: Rough 'n' Ready Clay

Hair products have been a bit of an issue. None of the major brands here do a '2 in 1' shampoo, not even Pantene, or 'pan-teen' as its pronounced here!? This could be one of the reasons why there is such a serious water shortage problem, although the recent rainfall has eased the situation and stage four restrictions may not be implemented. There is one company that a 2 in 1 shampoo, but its called Pert or Peet, which is a little too close to Veet and we know what happens if you accidentially apply that!

07.07 Eureka Tower Sky Deck

While John was in town we decided to go to Melbourne's newest tourist attraction, Eureka Tower's 'The Edge' Sky Deck. The Sky Deck is 88 floors up, almost 300 metres. It gives amazing views across the city and beyond. Its cost $16 for an adult, but if you have YHA membership, they will slice that to $11!!

Here's John getting all excited as we head skyward!

You can see the Yarra winding towards the bay. You can just see Docklands, the Telstra Dome and Bolte Bridge.

You can clearly see the CBD and Docklands with far reaching views to the West side.

More views of the CBD. You can see Federation Square in the bottom right hand corner, with a small section of Flinders Street station to the left.

Views looking over the MCG, with the Yarra winding through the picture. This is looking east. In the distance you can see the Dandenong Ranges.

This picture shows the Botanical Gardens with Government House in the middle of it.

The taller buildings line St. Kilda Road, with Albert Park just off centre. In the distance is St. Kilda and the coastline of the Bay heading towards Brighton & Frankston.

South Melbourne and Port Melbourne are the areas heading directly down to the coast, with Williamstown just across the water.

'The Edge' is a glass box that comes out of the side of the building, even the floor is made of glass! When the electronically-tinted glass is cleared they also play the sound of breaking glass - nice!! Its cost an extra $11 for the experience, which lasts for about two minutes. You must get some excellent views though.

There are a number of viewing points around the Sky Deck, this was the one pointing to the Docklands & Telstra Dome. Its CRAZY!!

This is just a short video showing the 'The Edge' coming out from the side of the building.

The views are amazing across the city and beyond. However, there is also the Observation Deck in the Rialto Towers. YHA Discounts also apply here too!

07.07 John's Holiday '07: Melbourne

After much anticipation John arrived in Melbourne for 'John's Holiday '07'!

The first evening was spent visiting a number of bars, the first being Lot 50 at Yarra's Edge, followed by to trip into the city to find some of Melbourne's hidden treasures. Two bars later, which included the Trader Bar, some people were feeling a little worse for wear. Excuses such as jetlag were used!?

John finds on the way home that being behind the ticket machine is actually the worst seat on the tram!

The excitement builds as we head to the Eureka Tower!

Almost there! This is the fastest lift in the southern hemisphere, it takes just 30 seconds to reach the 88th floor!

Joanna & John on the Sky Deck with views towards Docklands.

Nathan & John on the outside terrace of the Sky Deck.

Its the little things that remind you of home. John used to work for a company, amusingly called, Down to Earth!

Nice photos of public art being ruined by passers by! Funnily enough the figure John is having an intimate moment with was sculpted by another John Robinson!!

The Botanical Gardens, with Joanna & John by a big tree. Keep an eye on the comments, as I'm sure that someone may identify it!

Views over the lake & John by a very big asparagus/aloe vera plant. Again, watch the comments for the correct name!!

'Its only a short walk down here' says Joanna! Hmm, that's fine if it wasn't pissing down with rain! Here we are standing outside Melbourne Grammar School for Girls, Wadhurst Branch absolutely drenched! Hence why John isn't so happy!!

Delicious tea and cake on Acland Street in St. Kilda, note the shop name to the right of my head - they were that good!

John & Nathan trying not be sucked into Luna Park!

Just the three of us on St. Kilda pier just before we went looking for penguins. No we didn't find any this time!

Views back to the City with some helicopters looking for an escaped person from Western Australia. Joanna & I were waving but they didn't see us!

John surveys Docklands at twilight.

The moon rising over Docklands.

The flames on Southbank after a bit of a flutter on the Roulette Wheel. Joanna lost $10 & I broke even after placing all my winnings on red, as it hadn't come up for sometime, then the ball landed on 0/green!! I forgot about that one!?!?!

One of us was a little bit luckier than the rest on the 'wheel the night before and managed to come out with a bit more than was spent, so we had breakfast out in Brunswick Street. Cheers John! The only issue was who farted? I think that a certain person looks quite guilty!

John taking a keen interest in the City Circle Loop, although he is sat the wrong way round and there is a voice-over man telling him about the key landmarks as we ride past!

Then all of a sudden the weekend draws to a sudden close and John's escorted back to Perth by Jetstar!

22 - 25.06 Sara & Mat Visit!

Sara and Mat ventured over from New Zealand to check out the sights and sounds of Australia's second largest city! We had a fantastic weekend of eating, drinking, sightseeing and as the shopping leaves a bit to be desired in Christchurch - shopping!

The weekend started on Friday with checking out the shops in the city a few bargains were had as it's stock take time in Melbourne so all the shops clear out their stock so they don't have to count as much!

Saturday we visited Northcote for an artisan's art market it's a shabby chic area of the city Nathan and I hadn't visited before but had lots of quirky shops and of course some great coffee shops!

Sunday was a boat trip to Williamstown and of course more coffee shops hurrah! It was pretty cold out on the water but we warmed up with walking along Melbourne's 'famous' Bridge Road. We checked out the hot chocolate place near us which sells hot chocolate and puddings, dreamy!

Monday was sadly their last day with us and we checked out Nathan's favourite place - DFO!

We had a great time with our fab kiwi friends, we walked a lot, trammed a lot, talked a lot and ate a lot all in a fantastic weekend! We can't wait to visit NZ very soon!