My first night in Melbourne was really just a stopover. The next morning I would start my Melbourne to Sydney Tour. As I stepped out of the terminal building at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport I looked for the bright red Skybus that would take me to the city centre. The Skybus is a very convenient way to get to and from the airport albeit a bit expensive. A single adult ticket will cost you AUS $16. The dropoff point in the city centre is Southern Cross station and other transport is easily accesible from there. From Southern Cross I took the tram to St Kilda, where I would be staying the night.

St Kilda is an absolutely great place to stay in Melbourne. Fitzroy Street, led to St Kilda beach and it was lined with numerous open-air cafes and restaurants. The place had a bohemian atmosphere and was overflowing with tourists. Walking down to the beach in the gathering dust, I witnessed the suburb coming to life. People were greeting each other warmly in their Aussie accents and I caught many a "How ya goin?" and "How ya, mate?" and it hit me then that I was truly in Australia and far away from the "Known World".

St Kilda boardwalk is a famous landmark for the area and I ventured along it appreciating the panoramic view of Downtown Melbourne on the one side and the calmness of the Southern ocean on the other. At the end of the boardwalk I found the St Kilda breakwater conservation area and spent the next hour looking for penguins between the rocks, before returning to the Coffee Palace Hostel, also a singular experience.

The next morning I was supposed to be at the Melbourne Arts Centre at 06:00 to start my tour to Sydney. At 06:40 I was still waiting for the bus and decided to phone the tour operator. It turned out that my travel agent had forgotten to book my departure point and that the bus was waiting for me elsewhere in St Kilda. So after shelling out $20 for a taxi ride I arrived breathless at base backpackers and the bus, a severely beaten Toyota Hiace, containing a leather phedora wearing Aussie tour guide, three germans and a scotsman. This was going to be an adventure.