Probus Mystery Tour

Back on the 18th of November 2015, my parents invited me to join them and their Probus group on a "Mystery Tour".  We departed Bendigo early morning and headed off on our adventure.  After a brief comfort stop at the Organ Pipes National Park the coach continued down the Calder Highway towards Melbourne.  

Our first major stop was a visit to the Melbourne Star - a giant Ferris wheel in the Waterfront City precinct in the Docklands area of Melbourne.  Melbourne Star is one of only four giant observation wheels in the world and the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. Each of the Melbourne Star's 21 spacious, air-conditioned cabins gives you an unparallelled, 360-degree view of the city.  Once on board you can walk around and take in the views from all angles, while audio commentary gives you a brief introduction to the history and significance of the sights below.

Welcome to Melbourne Star Observation Wheel

Our "flight" commences

My Mum looks like she's praying! =0)

My Dad is behind the camera lens

West Gate Bridge in the background and the shipping container yards of Port Melbourne.

Bolte Bridge

A view of Melbourne's CBD

A view of the Yarra River

A view of one of the other cabins going over the top.

Another river view

Bolte Bridge

Coming in to land

A close up view of the mechanics

Disembarking

Another view of the observation wheel

I don't have many family photos so it was nice to have this photo of my parents & I which was taken by one of Melbourne Star's photographers.

After our 30-minute "flight" we were driven to Port Melbourne where we enjoyed a relaxing lunch at Pier 35 Bar & Grill.  

Pier 35 Bar & Grill is located on the waterfront in Port Melbourne, and features modern Australian cuisine with a variety of fresh seafood and steaks as well as an extensive wine list. The restaurant has cosy and warm surrounds in one of Melbourne's best water front locations. The floor to ceiling windows show off their waterfront location so that every table has a view of Port Melbourne's unique waterways. 

My lunch - a calamari salad - YUM!!!

Mum had a Chicken Parmigiana for lunch.

A rare photo of me outside the restaurant.

On the way back to Bendigo we stopped off at Donnybrook Cheese at Monteleone Restaurant in Donnybrook where we enjoyed a coffee and watched a cheese making demonstration.  

Donnybrook Cheese and Monteleone Restaurant are owned and operated by the Monteleone family who for 5 generations have been making Artisan gourmet cheese. Located at Donnybrook, the restaurant was founded from a simple philosophy that cheese enhances every delicious meal.  The restaurant contains delectable Italian cuisine, specialising in wood fired pizza and fresh rustic dishes found in Southern Italy. The restaurant is attached to the well known Donnybrook Farmhouse Cheese shop. While dining, patrons are free to pop in to the shop and sample their freshly made dairy produce made traditionally with milk from their own heard of cows.  Outside of the restaurant’s trading hours, the cheese shop is open to the public from 9am - 5pm Wednesday to Sunday.

Inside the restaurant

View of the wood fired oven

My coffee made with milk that was fresh from the cow.

Looking inside the cheese fridge in the shop

40+ Probus members fighting to get to the front of the queue to buy cheese

My cheese haul.

We arrived back into Bendigo early evening after a fun filled day with our bellies full of yummy food & a bag full of cheese.