Hi Guys,

I arrived in Melbourne as planned last Wednesday morning, where I was greeted by a very smiley Manny, who then drove me back to his place. After a quick bite to eat, Manny, Angie and I all got in the car and drove to Cardinia Reservoir, for a spot of kangaroo spotting! After this we then drove to a nice little country town for a roast dinner (my first in many months), laughed our heads off at the cheeky kookaburra’s, who kept trying to steal everyone’s food. We then went to this massive lake/damn whereby myself and Ang did a bit of sunbathing, whilst Manny (the freak) went for a 7km run in about 20 minutes!

The next day whilst Angie went dancing, myself and Manny drove to s***sville (his words), where we went to look at a car! I believe he went fully with the intention of buying a second hand car, but ended up with a brand new one from his local dealership. That evening, we picked up the minibus and made our way to the airport to pick up the others; Ben, Emma and Jimbo! As there were 6 of us for the weekend, Manny and Ang decided it would be better and arguably more fun to drive a minibus for the weekend, as apposed to two cars! They were right!!!!!

On Good Friday, we were all up reasonably early and made our way into the city centre. We had a lovely stroll along the river, admiring the architecture before settling down for a nice pizza and a few beers. After this we made our way to the Telstra stadium which was hosting a big charity fund-raiser for the local Children’s hospital. We then drove to St. Kilda, a rather funky area and our base for the night. We enjoyed several beers before we were reunited with Beckie (another friend from Cambodia) and went for a delicious vegetarian.

The next day we made our way down to Phillip Island, which was just an hours drive along an hour-long bridge (hehehe sorry Jim, couldn’t resist)! We made our way to Manny’s Aunt and Uncles for a fantastic Barbie. Later on that evening we made our way down to the very touristy penguin parade, whereby we quite literally freezed our balls off for 2 hours whilst about 100 penguins toyed with the idea of settling for the night in their burrows. Manny had warned us all that it might be cold and had the sense to bring about 5 spare coats, I however was reluctant, after all I am a pommie and therefore used to a bit of cold weather. Well after about 2 minutes I was wrapped in my fleece, Manny’s ski jacket and even a blanket. I felt like an 80 year old, winging pom which of course before long became my new nickname. After this, we went back to Manny’s Aunt and uncle’s house for a bit of homemade soup! Just what the doctor ordered.

The next day (Easter Sunday), was arguably my favorite of the weekend. We all went along with 4 of Manny and Angie’s friends to do a wine tour. So we pull up to the first vineyard overlooking the bay, and proceeded to try every single wine on the menu. I was trying my utmost to be all sophisticated and try and do all the usual ‘sniffing’ and swirling that is common with most wineries, before enjoying a glass of my favorite Sauvignon Blanc over lunch. We the made out way to our second winery for probably another 10 different wines, until Aaron (Manny’s friend) suggested we check out the brewery. So off we go 10 minutes down the road to the brewery for yet more sampling. By this stage it was fair to say we were getting quite tipsy, some I daresay more than others. After the brewery we then went on to another 3 wineries, by the end I was well and truly pissed and it was only 4pm. Manny who was unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you see it was the designated driver, decided this was the ideal time to stop in to see his Nana and Pop. You can picture it I am sure, 10 rather rowdy people pulling up this tiny and quiet cul-de-sac in a minibus, piling into Manny’s grandparents. It was just hilarious! Later on that evening once we arrived back into Melbourne we then preceded to the pub for a much-needed dinner and even a few more beers!

The next day we had a really early start as we were due to drop Ben and Emma off at the airport, before making our way along the ‘Great Ocean Road’. Myself, Manny, Angie and Jimbo had a great days sightseeing before we dropped off Jim later that evening.

Ok for the 19th time I must apologize for my rambles. As regards my future plans, I have decided to stay on here until Sunday. I hope everyone reading this is well.

Take Care,

Jon