Once again, by 6.30 am (4.30 am in SIN) we were awake to have our little breakfast in our room (we got our own, as the tour package breakfast was over … thankfully!!!) and then headed over to Holiday Inn on Flinder’s Street again to wait for our early morning pick up coach.
We headed out of Melbourne city and drove towards the Dandenong Mountains (or called the Blue mountains because of the special eucalyptus trees that grew on the ranges producing a light blue tinge on the mountains. This was the 2nd time I was there, the first being the day we were enroute to the Cattle Farm.
Our first stop was a morning tea of Aussie Billy Tea and some lamingtons (sponge cake with jam in between, coated in chocolate and coconut … very sweet, but quite nice) at a nice little picnic ground.
After the morning tea, we went to Belgrave, which was where we hopped onto the Puffing Billy, the oldest steam train in Australia (or was it the world), for a scenic ride round the Dandenong Ranges. It was the day after Easter and it was still a public holiday and there were so many people there. Fortunately, we were with a tour (APT) and we had carriages reserved for us.
On the train, I met this couple who were from Canada (Vancouver). They were retired and were travelling through Australia, with a grand finale of a 6 weeks cruise back to Honolulu. It was like a perfect retirement plan – travelling the world.
After the Puffing Billy Ride, we went into the Yarra Valley. Our first stop there was at Fergusson Winery, where we had our lunch. Bumped into a whole group of Singaporeans at the dining table, some were working in Australia, some were studying in Melbourne, one was even from NUS, SDE. Small world.
Fergusson winery was a small winery and the scale of its grape vines were small in comparison to the later ones I would see. The wine tasting was great. I concluded that my favourite Red wine would be a Shiraz, which I find a little more spicy and to my taste. For white, I like Chardonnays, but I love Rieslings even more.
Grape Tree Leaf
Fergusson Winery
The 2nd winery that we went to was the Rochford Winery. This winery was a little up market as can be seen from their more elaborate tasting room. The lady who guided us, gave us a quick lesson on wine checking. How to see the colour? The way to properly taste the wine and the way to fully let the aroma come out of the wine.
Rochford wine tasting
Helicopters in the backyard of Rochford Winery
The final winery was the Domaine Chandon, the winery which produced sparkling champagne Moet and Chandon owned by the LVMH group. This winery was elaborate, big and beautiful.
We were given a tour of the place and explained the wine making process. Stable wine takes about 3 to 6 months to produce a bottle, but for sparkling champagne, it usually takes between 3 1/2 years to 8 years to produce a bottle. The process involves many procedures and involves a huge amount of labour. Fortunately, technology has been able to help in the procedure, drastically reducing the labour intensity, and ultimately the cost of the sparkling wine.
Greenpoint, Domaine Chandon’s Tasting Room
A glass of Moet Chandon Dry Champagne
I loved the place. It was so pretty!
We left the Yarra Valley, after that and headed back into Melbourne City. We reached our hotel around 6 pm. Rest for a bit and then headed out to the Crown Entertainment Centre for dinner. We had the Continental Buffet at Saunte Restaurant. It was packed with people. It cost $21.90 pax.
It was the 1st time I saw people queuing at a buffet. People queued at the line, from the salad to the mains. It was insane. I grabbed my plate and just hopped to which ever counter I wanted to get food from. It was too much food! The people there eat so much, and without wonder, become so insanely HUGE!
After dinner, we slowly made our way back to our hotel for a rest. It had been a long day and my mum was still not feeling well, so needed rest.