Amusement Park at St Kilda's Beach.

We left Canberra and travelled inland down the Hume Highway. Saw the Snowy Mountains, and even a snowmobile dealership. This gave way to rolling hills, fatter cattle, and lusher vegetation. Eventually, we left New South Wales altogether, and entered the state of Victoria. The Victorian landscape reminded me a lot of Ontario's farmland, at times I forgot that I was half a world away from home, save for the occasional palm tree. Instead of the cane fields which served as the backdrop to my adventures in Queensland were replaced by produce and wineries.

We eventually reached Melbourne after dark, in the middle of a rainstorm, and after some deft navigation, arrived at the apartment of Annie (Karen's sister) and her boyfriend Lee. After introductions, we wandered down St. Kilda Rd to South Bank on the Yarra River, an open-air mall on the riverside with restos, cafes, shopping and clubs. Along the opposite bank was a thicket of purple-lit skyscrapers, but as we were a bit tired from the day's drive, South Bank was as far as we got.

The next morning, we had some brunch on Chapel St where I (re)met Alison and Luke, friends of Norm and Karen. Luke had a great analogy to describe the differences between Sydney and Melbourne: two sisters, one (Sydney) is gorgeous, sunny, beautiful, lots of beaches, but a bit vacuous; the other sister (Melbourne) has a tougher time, colder, nastier weather, but has really worked on the personality. Mmm, sisters.... Uh, anyway, after brunch I wandered around Chapel St., then hopped one of the old fashioned trams to St. Kilda's Beach. It was really windy, and a tad cool, but a bit of sun took some of the chill off. People were walking around in toques... again impressed. However, I'm feeling less pity for Jesse and his whinging about our Canadian autumn. I gave him some credit given his Aussie upbringing, but after experiencing this climate, sympathy is revoked (looking forward to meeting up, man!) I checked out a little amusement park, then wandered along the beach. Eventually it started to rain, so I returned to basecamp, the apartment of our gracious hosts, Annie and Lee.