Day 44 -thurs 21st We sadly had to check out of our lovely apartment today and got the tram into central Melbourne. We were staying at Hotel Formule 1 which was a nice budget hotel on Elizabeth Street. We went to the Australian Museum for Moving Images which had a cool exhibition on computer games...some were a little odd but it was different. In the evening we went for wander around Melbourne's theatre land and chinatown. Day 45- Fri 22ndWe took advantage of Melbourne's free tram that takes you around the city in a big circle, and got off at the stop near Parliment House. we walked to the Fitzroy Gardens and found Cook's Cottage which was the house of Captain Cook's parents. There was also a little model tudor village and a tree that had fairy carvings on it. We went back to Parliament House for a tour. It was exactly like the Houses of Parliament back home with a House of Commons and a House of Lords.We went for dinner in Chinatown and had to run back to our hotel as it was tipping it down. So much for hours of sunshine! Day 46- Sat 23rd Nicole, who we met on our Contiki tour of New Zealand, had offered to meet us and take us to a local animal sanctuary. We got the train to Blackburn station, we noted that most of the stations had names that were places in Britain. From here Nicole drove us to Healesville Animal Sanctuary where we met up with a friend of hers and their family. Our first stop was the kangaroo enclosure and we were jsut in time to meet their keeper and watch them being fed. We were allowed to feed them and both the grey and red kangaroos came quite near and close enough to touch them. Their fur was surprisingly soft. We walked around the rest of the sanctuary, there was an animal hospital, tasmanian devils, wallabies, reptiles and wombats. We went to see the koalas as their keeper was coming out to talk about them, there were five in total and they were all asleep!! They were so cute though and the keeper did stir one up a bit so we could see her waking around. Just before we left we caught the birds of prey show and the highlight was a huge eagle flying right over our heads. There was also a crazy australian man playing the digaree doo and throwing boomarangs. After the sanctuary Nicole took us to a few beautiful wineries where we tried to pretend we knew what we were talking about as we tasted reds, whites and a little bit of sparkling!By the end of it we were a little light headed and were merry as we got the train back into central Melbourne. For some strange reason we were all craving some home cooked food so we found an irish pub on the Southbank and we had the best sausages and mash. Day 47- Sun 24th We didnt do a lot today, went to the exhibition centre as there was an expo on travelling particularly backpacking. We picked up loads of leaflets and got some information on things we want to do as we go up the east coast. We had a picnic in our room for dinner which was very civilised. Day 48- Mon 25th Angie came to meet us at our hotel today, she is coming along with us up the coast. Today we desperately needed to sort our our transport for going up the coast so we went on a wild goose chase to get some greyhound tickets. We ended up in South Yarra and had to go to STA to buy the tickets but were told we had to go back into central to actaully pick them up. It was very unorganised and just our luck that nothing is straightforward. Whilst we were in South Yarra we went for a walk along Chapel Street, we were almost back where we had started in St Kilda. We were in a bit of a rush to pick up the greyhound tickets and make it back in time for the 'Neighbours' night which was at the 'Night Owl' bar near our hotel. It was free entry and at first it wasn't very busy. You could tell most people were english and a bit unsure what exactly was going on. We had a few drinks, here were shots named after the characters that were coming so i had a few 'Lynn Scullys'. After a while the actors showed up, Lynn Scully, Toadie and Ringo had come to see us. They sat on the stage and took a few questions from the audience and then they walked around the room to speak to each table. We spoke to Lynn Scully first who was really nice and is apparently coming back! I wont spoil the storyline though. Toadie came over to us next but wasnt too friendly, think he was getting a little bored of these nights or he might just thought we were weird. Both Angie and Vicky didnt really know Neighbours very well but Lisa and I were a bit obsessed especially when Ringo came over, he looked scared as we pounced on him with questions! The bar had a disco after the actors had left and for some reason we decided to get up on the stage and perform Spice Girls 'Stop!' It was quite funny/embarrassing. Day 49- Tues 26th We checked out of the hotel today but had all day to kill as our greyhound bus wasn't leaving until late tonight. We got the train to South Yarra and walked to the Botanical Gardens. It was a nice day for a change so we just sunbathed and chilled out in the gardens. We went back for dinner near our hotel on Degraves Street which had lots of lovely little cafes and restaurants spilling out onto its cobbled streets. We had a really nice italian that filled us up for our fourteen hour coach journey to Sydney. We were doing it overnight so would get to Sydney at around midday. It was hard getting any sleep but we saved money on not paying for accomodation that night.