Melbourne, Australia Day 6: Fitzroy Gardens, Cooks' Cottage & DFO South Wharf

Date of Visit: 5th October 2012

A visit to Melbourne Aquarium was kinda rush cause I promised to meet my friend in front of Flinders Street Station. It was due to my poor time management for spending too much time in Queen Victoria Market. After met my friend, we went to Fitzroy Gardens again by hopping into the free city circle tram. In one day itself, I lost count how many times I hopped in and off the circle tram.

 Conservatory of Fitzroy Gardens

Fore over 80 years, Conservatory has providing spectacular and magnificent floral displays. The Building imitated the Spanish mission architectural style. 

It's really hard to imagine that such a beautiful and enchanted garden that give a very peaceful and serene feelings do actually exist right in the middle of the bustling city. I believe this place is an ideal place for those who are looking for wedding photoshoots in Melbourne.

Conservatory is open daily from 9am until 5pm (5:30pm daylight saving) and it only closed during Christmas Day. It's free of entry. 

Situated right in the middle of Fitzroy Garden is the Cook's Cottage, another attraction not to be missed.

Double storey of Cook's Cottage is Australia's oldest building and has undergone two restorations

The cottage commemorates Captain James Cook, a British explorer who in 1770 mapped the east coast of Australia, from Pt Hicks in Victoria, to Possession Islands north of Quuensland.

 This bronze statue is believed to be close to actual life size of Captain James Cook. The statue shows the captain in his naval uniform, holding tools of his trade.

Combining modern audio-visual interpretations of Captain Cook’s life and amazing voyages with centuries-old relics and a vibrant, colourful English cottage garden, Cooks’ Cottage provides a unique insight into English family life in the 18th century.

 Inside the Cottage - The kitchen and main bedroom

Similar to Conservatory, Cook's Cottage is open daily from 9am until 5pm except during Christmas Day. However, it's not free to enter Cook's Cottage. General entry for adult cost AUD$5, for children AUD$2.50.

From Fitzroy Gardens, we hopped again into the free city circle tram for shopping time. My friend brought me to DFO which stands for Direct Factory Outlets. There are four DFO stores in Melbourne; Moorabbin Airport, Essendon Airport, Spencer Street (above Southern Cross station) and South Wharf (nearby the Casino). We went to the one in South Wharf cause according to my friend, it has more brands and labels and big sales especially on their clothings. 

DFO South Wharf is located in the Melbourne CBD and next to the Docklands

DFO South Wharf consists more than 180 stores with big brand and big savings up to 70% off including Fossil, Country Road, Nike, Adidas, Levi's and more. This is an ideal place for those who is looking for shoes, clothes, luggage, sunglasses, handbags and so on. 

Unfortunately, I didn't find anything fancy here cause I'm more towards street style fashion, instead of chasing branded name and designers articles.

But then, I love these two shops - Smiggle and Kikki.k which mainly sell fancy and colourful stationery, arts and handicraft items. At the end, I bought another luggage tag and added more of my travel collection.

Chinese foods for dinner before heading back to my friend's hostel. It cost AUD9.90 for both meal and drink! It was indeed pricey but since I didn't have any proper meal throughout the day, I may just close my eyes when paying the bill.

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