How a bicycle tour is the best way to handle Melbourne
IN 2009 I did what many a disillusioned 20-something Celtic Tiger cub who had finished college at around the time the country went into financial meltdown: I made the decision to go travelling and booked a round-theworld ticket, starting the trip of a lifetime that also took in New Zealand, South America and Down Under.
I departed the first week of February, leaving snow and scary stories about unemployment, bailouts and negative equity behind, and arrived in sunny Sydney where the cheap wine, colloquially referred to as goon, flowed liberally from two-litre plastic bags like water, and the word recession wasn’t part of everyone’s daily vocabulary. People were positive, able to get a job, had a tan and it didn’t rain. Utopia, basically.
Having spent several weeks touring the country and taking in the major sights, I always thought I’d ticked Australia off the list. It wasn’t the most sophisticated of trips – the general itinerary, regardless of location, revolved around sleeping, eating, drinking and more drinking on repeat. But thankfully when an invitation to attend a friend’s wedding just outside Melbourne pinged into my inbox late last year, the temptation to sidestep the January blues and have the opportunity to go back to Australia, this time without the backpack and the bags of wine proved too tempting.
A holiday to Australia isn’t something you decide on, on a whim. For starters, it’s hugely expensive to travel there. Flights can set you back the guts of €1,000 if you don’t book them several months in advance. Plus, there’s the physical distance to take into consideration.
THE most direct way to get to Australia is through the Middle East and even at that, with minimal transfer time in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai, you’re looking at 23 hours at least.
But don’t let that deter you. While most of my friends who moved to Australia in the Noughties have returned to Ireland, there are a few who’ve decided to put down roots and make Australia their home for now. And as anyone who has a loved one living there knows, the lifestyle is incredible and getting the chance to experience Australia like a local is priceless.
So, with that in mind we departed dreary Dublin for Melbourne, staying with friends at their house in Albert Park, a seaside suburb mid-way between the city and St Kilda, a beach town beloved by backpackers and frequented by the Irish in their droves.
The focus in Melbourne firmly seems to be on enjoying life to the fullest and its inhabitants do this via a thriving coffee, culinary and club scene.
Caffeine fans should know that one of Melbourne’s biggest allures is its thriving cafe culture. Melbournites take their coffee very seriously and speak of flat whites with the same kind of reverence Irish people reserve for the perfect pint of Guinness.
And with two wine regions just over an hour outside of the city, a day tour to a vineyard is a must, especially if you want to rectify a perception that all Australian wine coming from a plastic bag.
We took a day trip to the Yarra Valley, and started our day at the Four Pillars gin distillery before sampling wines at the Dominique Portet Winery and Domaine Chandon. Lunch (and much needed soakage) came courtesy of Meletos, a century-old farmhouse that has been beautifully restored to take in the stunning views of the region.
From experience, I’ve found that a bike tour is one of the best ways to see a city and find your bearings, and what better way to attempt to burn off a few of the several thousand extra calories we were consuming, than by hitting the streets on two wheels. Freddy’s Bike Tours offers a 4.5 hour City Tour that covers most of Melbourne’s main monuments, parks and cultural hot spots and small group numbers ensures that everyone is well looked after by the tour guide.
Our guide Matt Moloney (yes, with Irish heritage) took us on a voyage that spanned the Southbank, Anzac Memorial, Botanic Gardens, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne Park where the Australian Open is held every year and AAMI Park, home to the city’s soccer and rugby games, before heading north to hipster haven Fitzroy.
IF water-based sports are more your thing, St Kilda has several Stand Up Paddle Boarding providers. But the area is more like Bray than Bondi so if a beach holiday is what you’re after, it’s best to take a trip further south to Mornington Peninsula. That said, St Kilda’s Acland Street is filled with cute cake shops and cafes that are a must-see.
Melbourne is described as the most European city in Australia and this comparison seems to have been designed to give it some kind of extra kudos that in reality, it doesn’t need.
Yes, it can seem European at times – Flinders Lane, once a grungy garment district and now famous for its graffiti, bars, boutiques and restaurants has the same kind of feel as parts of Berlin or Copenhagen, and the quaint Victorian-style houses have a distinctly colonial British feel. But in reality, the city, which straddles the Yarra River and its surrounding areas, has an identity that is truly unique and to compare it to a city in Europe only serves to sell it short.
For want of a better phrase, Melbourne is more like Europe’s very cool cousin but in no way its poor relation.