Yesterday we got up earlyish and headed straight down to the kitchen, in our pj's, for our complimentary breakfast and caught the tram to St Kilda, to meet Kel and Stace for a few hours on the beach. We arrived by 10.15am, met the girls and headed straight for the beach, a short walk away. The weather was gorgeous, just the right temperature - late twenties and the sea was ice cold - ideal for a cool off. We enjoyed our beach chillax and before we knew it, it was time to head back to our hostel to shower and get ready for our afternoon of Neighbours fun! We left the beach around 1.15pm and grabbed a Gileto Calypso, very refreshing!

We were showered and ready to meet Kelly and Stacey by 3.00pm, but they got delayed because Stacey miss-laid their room key (which was found the next day under a bag, or something! Muppet!). We met the terrible two off the tram and headed up the Rialto Tower which provided fab bird's-eye-views of the City. We also got our tickets stamped to allow re-entry that evening. After a complimentary beverage (a refreshing lime Bacardi Breezer!) it was time for our Neighbours tour to begin!

We met the rest of our tour group at the Neighbours office and waited a short time for the bus, tour guide and 'surprise guest star' (!), which was none other than Janelle! ...Whhhoooo!?! - That's exactly what we both thought, suppose that's what you get when you haven't seen the show for over 6 years! We were expecting Karl Kennedy, or Harold Bishop the two legends everyone dreams of meeting! Nevermind, it didn't bother us, we still got our photo taken with the 'guest' and got her autograph, out of politeness, of course! Then we set off on the bus to 'Erinsborough', a suburb just over half an hour outside of Melbourne, enjoying a classic episode of Neighbours past enroute. Our guide took us to the exterior of the TV studios, que photo opportunities and posing outside of Carpenter's Mechanics, Grease Monkeys Hamburger Restaurant and the infamous bus stop! Then it was onto THE street, which is a real street actually called Pinoak Court in real life (where real people live!), our guide pointing out various spots and areas that had been used in filming, including the local mall. The street itself is used for exterior shots only and this is where we took various pics and posed with the Ramsey Street sign, having to prop it us ourselves, obviously! Then it was onto 'Erinsborough High', yet again another real life school that is used for the exterior shots of the school. Again, queue poses with the school sign (propping it up and holding the sign onto the board in the process - the glue had become unstuck and the sign was falling off! Ain't TV glamourous!?!), we took some shots of the school that we recognised and by this time we were due back to the city, enjoying another vintage episode, having us gripped to the edge of our seats, on the way back, can't beat Scot and Charlene days, love it!

When we got back, we decided to pop for a cocktail before heading up the tower for some dusktime viewing of the city. We all enjoyed a 'Humming Bird', consisting of tequila, passion fruit pulp, apple juice and honey, gorgeous and freshingly fruity!! And made even better by being on a two for one offer, now that's our kind of cocktail! We then enjoyed witnessing the change of day to night spread over the city, from the top of the Rialto Tower, before heading back down to the same bar/restaurant for a lovely meal (Laura - Gnochi with pumpkin puree and blue cheese, Sarah - Terryaki Chicken Risotto, both followed by a butterscotch creme brulee) accompanied by a bottle of rose. Completely stuffed we said goodnight to the terrible two and rolled back to our hostel and collapsed into bed.

This morning we had a lazy morning, going down for breakie in our pj's again and were picked up, just around the corner from our hostel, at 12.30pm, for our Phillip Island tour day. Our first stop was a winery were we sampled Shiraz (which Laura surprised herself by really enjoying), Merlot, Chardonnay, Reisling (sweet as a nut being Sarah's fave), Port and Sherry. We think the woman thought Sarah was underage, because her each time her glass seemed to be poured with less in comparison to everyone elses! From here it was onto the Maru Wildlife Park to get up close and personal to a wallaby, koala, a lone crock in quite a small glass box, a tazmanian devil and loads of hungry kangaroos, which we had the unique and enjoyable experience of feeding. Being hand-reared they were gentle and soft to feed. There was one lone albino kangaroo, which obviously had to shade itself by the bushes and trees, who seemed rather sad and lonely, so we gave her/him a bit more attention and food. Next was it was time for an early dinner (at 5.00pm) of pizza and garlic bread, before heading to Woolamai Beach, famous for its surf, by this time, the sun was hiding behind some clouds and the sea breeze made it too cold even for us Brits to sunbathe, so we enjoyed a short stroll and people watch on the beach. Then it was onto the Nobbies (a group of rocks) and the Blow Hole, were we caught a glimpse of some penguins hiding in holes and under the boardwalk, where Sarah managed to get a fab upclose and personal pic of one of the world's smallest penguins (no flash, of course, so as not to scare the little fellow). After warming up with a cup of coffee and biscuits it was time for the Penguin Parade, a highly commercialised, but totally awesome attraction. Hoardes of people flock to Phillip Island every night to witness the smallest penguins in the world waddle out of the sea and onto dry land to feed and 'court'. The shy but loud mass of little penguins brave it out of the sea around 9.15pm, depending on the time of year and are such a joy to witness. You even get to see them waddle close past you, as you walk back to the carpark, along the boardwalk. Once back at the bus, we had to check under the vehicle to make sure no penguins had taken refuge there, they hadn't and we set off, about 10.15pm, back to Melbourne, slowing down for some of the little guys, so as not to knock or scare them, on our way out of the carpark.

We got back to our hostel about half past midnight and was ready to crash out when the group of Estonians fall through the door with a box of wine. When we got back from the bathroom, they had 'set up camp' in between our bunks with the lone Auzzie, who had begun to teach them poker! We think they gave up around 3.30am, but it was a highly amusing way to fall asleep!