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Melbourne: Heading South of the Border

ByAndiamo Harrigan

We love a good (and a not-so-good) road trip! We tend to hire a car when we travel as it affords us the opportunity to get off the beaten path and see things at our own pace. Domestically, we prefer to drive – there is nothing wrong with flying – We just often find the time spent getting to the airport, flying and getting out of the airport, as well as restrictions on luggage, etc., all see us opting to drive instead. 

The exception I have made to this is when I took the overnight train from Sydney to Melbourne back in 2019 – which I absolutely loved – but I will save that story for another time. But it is safe to say you will NEVER catch Mr Harrigan on this kind of transportation!

2024 has been the year of ANDIAMO! We have said yes to many adventures – which has seen us experience some amazing things. Our Melbourne adventure was no exception! 

It is no secret that Mr Harrigan is a huge fan of Tom Brady. So, when tickets were released for a meet-and-greet with that GOAT in Melbourne, plans for a Melbourne road trip were put in motion. 

We booked our accommodation at the Mercure Melbourne Southbank through Expedia (for convenience and rewards) and we would stay there again every single time we visit Melbourne. It was a great price, parking was good value and conveniently located right next door to the Mercure, and it was metres from Melbourne Southbank cafes, restaurants and attractions! Check-in was pretty straight forward, and the staff were super helpful when we needed to extend our stay.    

After our 10 hour drive down, we checked in, then headed out into Melbourne for some dinner and to stretch of the legs. We really were spoilt for choices, with all of the laneway bars, cafes, and restaurants across the CBD and Southbank. But in the end, we stumbled upon the Burger Boys at the bar Saving Grace, where we enjoyed burgers that looked so good that we inhaled them before we even thought about taking photographs of them!   

We continued to meander around the city on our first afternoon and into our second day, taking in the colourful laneways and scoping out places we might like to eat during our time here. 

Fortunately, we were a very short walk to Degraves Street, so we took full advantage of this with Brekky and getting our quality gelato fix!   

 
With bellies full of gelato, pizza and doughnuts, Mr Harrigan got down to the business of meeting and greeting the GOAT, so I spent the afternoon at the NGV and explored the Triennia exhibition. The gallery is absolutely jam packed full of amazing art, from gigantic classical paintings to mountainous abstract art installations and everything in between. Highly recommend the Triannia exhibition but regardless of when you are in Melbourne, I would say to make the NGV part of your plans.
 
A happy coincidence on our road trip was that the Australian Open also happened to be on. We figured we would best embrace this opportunity, so we paid $29 each for entry into the general admission area. This was during the men’s semi-final between Djokovic and Sinner, and there was an electric feel to the space, with hundreds of people watching on big screens from various viewpoints. 
 
Our first visit to the Australian Open will be very difficult to top, as upon entry, we were rushed by cameras and two huge tennis balls and a guy who looked quite familiar. The reason for that was it was none other than Craig Tiley – the CEO of Tennis Australia! Turns out we were the millionth visitors to the Australian Open – a feat which had never been achieved! We were presented with two giant tickets to the men’s final on Sunday night (which did mean a scramble to extend our stay and rejig plans back home) but was so amazing! 
 
We were also gifted with a merchandise bag with a Ralph Loren AO towel, cap, drink bottle, sweatbands, plush toy, and tickets to Pink in Melbourne and AA Reserve tickets for an event at Melbourne & Olympic Parks. It was not bad for what was meant to be a relatively quiet day, checking out what tennis is all about and just getting among it all!   
We really enjoyed the atmosphere and spectacle of the Australian Open men’s final and will definitely return if we find ourselves in Melbourne in late January. 
Our tips for travelling to Melbourne in January:
  • Look at the weather forecast, but pack for temperatures of anywhere from teens to thirties (celsius)
  • Don’t be afraid to drive! It is a great option if you are a bit of an overpacker! 
  • Get your walking shoes on and get out among it! 
  • Use the free green tram in the CBD 
  • Eat doughnuts and gelato, and burgers and pizza – eat it all

 

  

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