I have to have a moan first. Think of a human-sized hairdryer, on the hottest setting, being blown on you all day - and then you may have an idea of what the weather has been like in Melbourne since we arrived. It's 45 degrees today, and has been for the past three days (oh, and 35 degrees at night). We've had to do a lot of bookings for flights, accommodation, car rental etc and walking around the city to do it all is exhausting in the heat! It's apparently the hottest Melbourne has been in 106 years - eek.

Anyway, face-melting aside, Melbourne is.. different. It's not like Sydney, or London. It's more like small towns all pulled together, rather than the 'city' feel. On our first night here we walked to Southbank, the nice side of town, to the Skydeck 88 Tower. The views were *incredible*. We went from 8pm - 9pm to really soak in Melbourne by night. (See the Melbourne set on Flickr).

After an uncomfortably hot sleep at the Melbourne Metro YHA, we headed for town for yet more exploring and walking the next day. The Melbourne craze at the moment is the Australian Open, so, to keep in fashion we went to Federation Square to watch the Federer vs. Roddick semi-final game. What an awesome atmosphere! Slowly people were arriving by the tens and the whole Square was full with avid tennis fans. No suprises who won.. I think we'll be heading back there tonight for the Nadal vs. Verdasco game.

From tomorrow onwards we have rented a car, as we head out of Melbourne for Great Ocean Road, where we will be staying for 3 nights. I'm looking forward to a bit high-class scenery and driving on long, windy roads :)