Traveling to Melbourne, advice on a few things pleaseeee

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Traveling to Melbourne, advice on a few things pleaseeee

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#1341463 12-Jul-2015 00:16

Few things we did last year (went for the Australian Open):

MCG tour plus sports museum is well worth it if you're into cricket/sport.
Melbourne Zoo is good and there is also Werribee Safari park a bit further out - took about an hour and a half or so by public transport form Melbourne (train and then a bus) but with a car it should be less.
Crown Casino plus many eating options there.
Eureka Skydeck - like the Sky Tower and has a full glass cube you can go in out the side of the building
Melbourne Star - Melbourne version of London Eye
St Kilda/Luna Park (went there on Australia Day so was pretty busy with long queues for rides but assume on a regular weekday there would be less queuing).
Melbourne Aquarium is pretty good.

larknz

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#1341473 12-Jul-2015 06:47

Get the bus from the airport. This will take you to the central bus exchange and then a shuttle will take you to your hotel. The shuttle is free.

mrphil

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#1341497 12-Jul-2015 09:10

johnr:
tardtasticx:@John if we use the Data $30 prepaid addon, that's eligible for the $5/day thing? Or is it Post-pay only?

Edit: Also, can we buy that add on while we're roaming if we run out of data? we have some left over on the SIM the hotspot linked in the OP came with. Would love to just use that it seems way easier than buying a new SIM over there.

All INFO is here but $5 covers all calls / txt back to NZ around OZ all incoming calls and use any amount of data included in your Vodafone NZ plan

http://www.vodafone.co.nz/daily-roaming/

does that work with the prepay $19 plan?

andrewNZ

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#1341498 12-Jul-2015 09:14

If you or your travel companion/s are looking to do some clothes shopping, Myer is worth a look.
Our first trip we went to the city to look around without our hosts and found Myer at about 11am. We got out at about 7pm.

In really busy places, watch others and follow their lead.
On busy escalators (especially at underground train stations) stand to one side only, left from memory, people walk up the other side and you might get a not so polite request to move.

josephhinvest

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#1341510 12-Jul-2015 10:31

tardtasticx: Wow thank you josephhinvest, such a kind offer. We've got a hotspot very similar otherwise I'd deffo take you up on that!
So it seems now the choice is between Voda NZ roaming, easy. Or Optus, cheap. I probably see ourselves going the Voda route tbh, never really considered roaming as its always looked ridiculously expensive when I've looked at it for family.

Thanks everyone for advice! Deffo a lot less to think about now haha. Cheers!

No problem. We went with my parents to Melbourne and this seemed a good solution as there were 4 phones and an iPad that could all share the hotspot. It's just sitting in a drawer until next time we go.
Have a good trip!

johnr

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#1341514 12-Jul-2015 10:49

Bit out of Melbourne but I went and watched Penguin Parade near Phillip island with a mate and his wife and 3 year old son, When the penguins came marching out of the ocean I was more excited than the 3 year old, Amazing to see

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#1341526 12-Jul-2015 11:15

John is posting all this info about Vodafone Roaming when the OP mentioned he's on Spark.

Here's the relevant information on Spark's $10/day roaming - the fair usage is about 200MB/day.

I have used the Vodafone $5/day and it's good as well, but OP may not be in a condition to change providers. A local SIM is good, but then OP needs to let people know about the temporary number and some services that use the mobile number as ID will need to be updated (Whatsapp and others for example).

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Batman

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#1341541 12-Jul-2015 12:31

I spend all my money at the Victoria food market :(

nakedmolerat

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#1341631 12-Jul-2015 16:13

johnr: Bit out of Melbourne but I went and watched Penguin Parade near Phillip island with a mate and his wife and 3 year old son, When the penguins came marching out of the ocean I was more excited than the 3 year old, Amazing to see

3 and 30 year old is no different really.

Incindre

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#1341839 12-Jul-2015 22:38

johnr: VodafoneNZ $5 daily roaming would be cheaper and easier than getting a local SIM for a few days and its 4G roaming but yes ID required for local SIM

Woah, hold up.

Are you saying that to buy any SIM card in Australia, you have to present photo-ID? Do they keep a record of your name and link it to the number you've just purchased?

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#1341845 12-Jul-2015 22:50

correct

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#1341867 13-Jul-2015 01:22

Incindre:

Woah, hold up.

Are you saying that to buy any SIM card in Australia, you have to present photo-ID?

Yes.

Incindre:

Do they keep a record of your name and link it to the number you've just purchased?

Well, in theory. Many Woolies just note it down on a scrap of paper which I really have no idea what they do with it. Some carriers also have an online activation you have to do (which you need to present some sort of verifiable ID e.g Australian state-issued drivers license), aaaaand some don't.

WolfmanNZ

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#1342030 13-Jul-2015 11:08

andrewNZ: If you or your travel companion/s are looking to do some clothes shopping, Myer is worth a look.
Our first trip we went to the city to look around without our hosts and found Myer at about 11am. We got out at about 7pm.

In really busy places, watch others and follow their lead.
On busy escalators (especially at underground train stations) stand to one side only, left from memory, people walk up the other side and you might get a not so polite request to move.

Yeah the Myer store is HUGE. I also recommend signing up for their store card (its free) if you shop there as you get extra discounts on top of any other discounts.

There is also the Factory Outlet mall 'DFO ' which is down by the docks, its mostly underground and absolutely massive, and some decent bargains to be had.

+1 for the Aquarium, Eureka Tower (especially going out on The Edge!). We did a river cruise that was quite interesting, and were able to see an amazing Monet Exhibition at the Gallery but you will have to google whats on there at the moment. +1 Vic markets - OMG the food - we stocked up our hotel fridge with cheeses and meats and what not from the deli part of the markets. There is also a bus tour that takes you round the interesting landmarks, from St Kilda (the pastry shops!!!) to the sports stadiums.

Smith St is also a long street of outlet stores, picked up a Macpac jacket that retails for nearly $400NZD for about $159 AUD, and boy has that been a useful purchase thru these recent cold snaps!

If you like a bit of fine wining and dining I heartily recommend Il Solito Posto amazing food great atmosphere and our waiter, who looked like Hurley from 'Lost', had us in stitches all night. But you cant really go wrong for food there are so many restaurants of so many types/nationality's.

If you are into pop culture stuff (movies/comics/miniatures etc) have a look at Minotaur I only got to spend 30 mins in there could have been much more!

Keep an eye out at the tram stops, they usually say if they are part of the free CBD area or not on the signage at the stop - where we stayed recently at the Ibis just down the road from Vic markets, we had 2 options for tram stops, and wasnt till the 3rd or 4th day we realised one was a free ride all the way to Flinders Station whereas if we went the other way it wasn't (by one stop, it was just outside the zone, so you had to pay) On the subject of trams - look twice before crossing any tram lines on foot - in fact dont jay walk wait for the crossing signals - they are something we are not used to in NZ, and sometimes you dont hear them over other noise and if you step out in front of one - they cant turn obviously or stop very fast.

Enjoy your trip!

We went like this. he went like that. I say "Where'd he go?" Hollywood says "Where'd WHO go?!"

wasabi2k

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#1342033 13-Jul-2015 11:11

Incindre:
johnr: VodafoneNZ $5 daily roaming would be cheaper and easier than getting a local SIM for a few days and its 4G roaming but yes ID required for local SIM

Woah, hold up.

Are you saying that to buy any SIM card in Australia, you have to present photo-ID? Do they keep a record of your name and link it to the number you've just purchased?

Yes.

It isn't a big deal.

I assume it is to stop Super Secret Spys from using them as burners while stealing national secrets.

Or drug dealers and other crims.

trig42

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#1342045 13-Jul-2015 11:19

It will be cold there too at this time of year. Take warm clothes.
St Kilda is worth the ride from the CBD.

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