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For US Tennis Fans,
Air Pacific is an unbeatable choice for travel to
Melbourne for the Australian Open. Not only are the prices great
but you will also have the opportunity of a bonus stopover in
the beautiful South Pacific islands of Fiji.
Flights leave from Los
Angeles four times per week.Check out
Air Pacific's
website and choose from a variety of great package deals.
See more photos from my Fiji stopover below. |
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Melbourne is a beautiful city
and has the added advantage of being full of friendly Australians!
You will be made to feel genuinely welcome wherever you roam.
There are many ways to explore the city: take a fully
commentated tour on one
of those nice red double-decker buses for around AU$30 - you can
get on or off at any of 25 stops wherever you see something you
want to check out; or you can hop on
the City Circle Tram (free) which stops at 48 points of interest
around town. |
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| You can
buy tickets for the regular trams, which seem to go everywhere
in the City for AU$3 for a two-hour ticket or AU$5.80 for an all-day ticket. Click
here for
more info. If you are in Melbourne during the Australian Open,
tram rides are free to and from the tennis
center at Melbourne Park for Aussie Open ticket holders! One AU$
is currently (January 2004) equivalent to 80 cents US). |
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| For
those that prefer to walk, Melbourne is an extremely pedestrian-friendly
City and it is really easy to find your way around downtown Melbourne
(if I can avoid getting lost, then no-one will have any
trouble!) The streets are clean and safe. Those I found most interesting are Swanston Street, which
runs North/South (you'll find cafes, little restaurants,
souvenir shops and even an internet cafe at McDonalds), Collins
Street, which runs East/West (mostly for window shopping at
Chanel and the likes) and Bourke Street, which runs East/West
(you'll find the Bourke Street Mall West of Swanston). |
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| Even
though you are so close to the center of the city, you will find
peace and tranquility if you take a leisurely stroll down to the Yarra River
where you can watch
the boats row by . To cover a little more ground, you can rent a
bicycle on the south side of the river underneath the St. Kilda
Road bridge (in Alexandra Gardens). |
You can find plenty of interesting cafes throughout the city for
tea and coffee breaks. If you are a coffee-connoisseur like
myself, Melbourne is certainly the place for you! I was told that the city
has lots of Italian influences and indeed the Cappuccino I tasted
here is the finest I have tasted anywhere in the world. My personal favorite
was a cafe called "Versano" on Collins Street, between the Hyatt
and the Westin Hotel. I had breakfast there almost every
morning! |
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| Being originally
from Germany, I thought I'd seen it all when it came to cakes.
But even I was impressed at the range of beautifully prepared
and displayed pastries throughout the city. This store near the corner of Swanston and Little Bourke
Street is a perfect example. I can assure you that they taste as
good as they look! You can't really make any wrong choices here....! |
If you are ready for some serious shopping you'll find lots of fashion and
jewelry shops and modern department stores along Collins Street
and Bourke Street (photo right). If you
prefer bargain hunting, try the Factory Outlets on Bridge Road
in Richmond (photo above), just a short
tram ride east of the city center. |
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For something completely different, venture into China Town!
You'll find it on Little Bourke Street between Swanston and
Spring Street.
Besides interesting shops selling strange and exotic
merchandise you can also find authentic cuisine and some of the
best restaurants in town (assuming you like Chinese food, of
course!). |
After exploring everything on the ground, why
not take a look at Melbourne from the Observation Deck of the
Rialto Tower on the corner of Collins and King Street!
From a
height of 253m/830ft you can enjoy a 360-degree view of your new
favorite city for an admission fee of AU$11. |
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 The building on the left is Flinders Street Station on,
well..., Flinders Street! The cross street is Swanston Street to
the North and St. Kilda Road to the South. From here you can
catch a tram to just about anywhere.
Go South along St. Kilda Road and you'll end up at the
nearby beach.
Catch an eastbound tram to Melbourne Park for the Australian
Open. It's real easy! The trams are marked with the Aussie Open
logo and there is usually an announcer at the station.
But don't be shy, the friendly Aussies are always happy to make
you welcome and point you in the right direction. |
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This is Federation Square, which is just opposite Flinders Street
Station.
In front of this building, on the corner of Flinders Street
and St. Kilda Road, you will find the Tourist Information Center
(a small glass building).
You can buy Aussie Open tickets and merchandise here (on the
street-level floor). Downstairs you will get help finding
accommodation, renting a car or arranging one of the many day
trips that are offered.
I chose a Day Tour of the "Great Ocean Road" with a visit to
the Twelve Apostles at sunset.... |
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Day Tour - The Great Ocean Road |
| After
spending two weeks in the city I was curious to see what the
Australian countryside would be like... |
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| ....after about an hours drive outside Melbourne we came across
this wild Outhouse in the "Outback" near Bells Beach.
Caution, no toilet paper in the Ladies' room!! |
(beautiful things are everywhere...even around a
rusty sign)
As promised in the brochure we got to see "Koalas in the
wild" - I got pretty close with my 500 mm zoom lens! But
even without fancy camera gear it is pretty neat to see these
little cuties in their natural habitat. |
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| And we finally arrived at the 'Twelve Apostles', the famous
limestone formations that I'd seen many times in documentaries
from around the world. These two stones behind me in
the picture are not part of the impressive ones, but the light
was better in that direction! |
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But, what we really wanted was beautiful light in the direction
of the Apostles.....which unfortunately never happened.
Just as with any place on earth, sunsets are not
always spectacular.
Oh well, at least it wasn't raining - and the rock formations
were impressive even with an overcast and gloomy sky.
My guide tells me that it is usually much better!
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My Fiji Stopover |
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| On the
way back from Melbourne to Los Angeles, Air Pacific stops in
Nadi, Fiji. The Melbourne flight arrives in Nadi around 6
o'clock in the morning and the Los Angeles flight leaves at
11 o'clock at night so you have time to both catch a nap and
some of the local flavor. I rented a room for 55 Fiji-Dollars (about US$35) at the
Beachside Resort. If you book it in advance, someone will
pick you up at the airport and take you to the resort (a
10-minute drive). |
After a quick nap you'll be ready to explore Nadi. Downtown
is just a short taxi ride from the resort.
There is not that much to see in the 'city' center though.
There is just one main street with a few souvenir shops, and
mostly local stores, like pharmacies, household appliances, etc.
But the flavor is what makes it interesting...
If you need to keep up with friends and family, there is an internet cafe with very reasonable prices. |
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This interesting "open-air" souvenir store can be
found in the middle of town. There is also
a very nice two-story shop called "Jack's
Handicrafts" which is on the right as you enter the town
from the airport.
You can get hand-painted T-shirts, jewelry, coconut soaps and
lotions, etc. and the prices are very reasonable. Just in case
you are invited to sample the local 'brew' -kava - it is very
potent stuff - and definitely an acquired taste. The only good
thing about it is that the numbness generally wears off by the
next morning (so I'm told...!) |
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| If all shopping
and wandering has made you hungry, there are several choices. For
the un-adventurous there is a McDonalds (with Candlelight
dinners!!!) , or, for the REALLY adventurous with their own pan
and portable cooking stove, there is plenty of really cheap,
really fresh seafood available...! |
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My choice - and one I
would heartily recommend - was the outdoor restaurant back at
the Beachside Resort. The chicken
sandwich with cheese and fruit was delicious. They also offer
an extensive (and sumptuous) dinner menu.
During the day, cool off with a refreshing tropical fruit
smoothie. |
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Now
there is only one thing left to do before you have to head back
to the airport - take a walk on the beach.
Nadi Bay is located
just behind the resort. Don't forget your sunscreen. The
tropical breezes are very cooling so you won't feel the burn until you get back to your
room! If you only have limited time and need to continue with
your journey the same day (as I did), you will only get a very
brief taste of what Fiji can offer. |
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If you have a couple of days or more, take a trip to one of
the 322 islands of the Fiji group where you will find tropical
sandy beaches and resorts that are the equal of any in the world
at prices to fit any budget!
I will definitely be doing so on my next trip...
And Air Pacific does not charge you extra for making a stopover
as many other airlines do.
For more information visit the
Official Fiji Island Travel
Guide and, of course,
Air Pacific. |
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