Now for something completely different

[MicCanberra]

Just allow time for traffic as well, it is at least a two and a half hour drive, traffic may add an hour when getting around the city.

[possum52]

5 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So now we have a new wrinkle, we have plans to be in Melbourne for a few days before we fly out to Auckland on the 13th of March 2025. Well here we are looking at the calendar and of course the F1 race is at that time. I love F1 but they are messing with my plan and I couldn't afford the to go to the race anyway. This will be the second time I've been so close to a race and unable to go. Getting a room anywhere near Melbourne will be impossible at that time. Perhaps we will need to reassess our Melbourne timing and maybe plan to move our Philip Island stop to that time and drive to the airport from there on the 13th.

Lyle,the GP is not until Sunday 16th March. Racing will start the day after you fly out. I just checked Booking.com for dates 9th-13th March and there are plenty of choices available at reasonable prices.at the moment. Perhaps have a look at booking sites and if you find something you like, contact the property directly and see what the offers are. But I would suggest booking soon and getting free cancellation as close to your date as possible.

[Blackduck59]

Thanks Leigh,

I booked a holiday apartment at Albert Park, we have a view of the race course, of course we will be long gone before the race but I can at least see the track and maybe get some swag. So near yet so far. I think it is good to get this booked now because I'm sure there will be zero availability very soon as race fans realize they need a place to stay.

[lyndarra]

Lyle. If you're stuck for a retirement hobby this may inspire - or not.😟

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-21/sydney-harbour-bridge-cocktail-cabinet-40-years-braidwood-artist/103137356

[Blackduck59]

Thanks Lyndon, what a fascinating piece of craftsmanship. I'll pass thanks, I don't think I have 37 years left in me. I also don't have the attention span for that. If I end up with a home shop after we move anything I do in it, will need to be small and only take a short time from start to finish. I have been doing jobs that take a long time and don't look like much for the $20,000.00 price tag. I want to make cool stuff that looks good and may be useful to someone. Maybe interesting and uncommon cutting boards, or knife blocks. I could probably use scrap wood from my former employer.

[possum52]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks Leigh,

I booked a holiday apartment at Albert Park, we have a view of the race course, of course we will be long gone before the race but I can at least see the track and maybe get some swag. So near yet so far. I think it is good to get this booked now because I'm sure there will be zero availability very soon as race fans realize they need a place to stay.

That's great Lyle. May I ask the address of the apartment? 

[MicCanberra]

5 minutes ago, possum52 said:

That's great Lyle. May I ask the address of the apartment? 

Don't post it here, send via email otherwise there may be gate crashers.

[Blackduck59]

3 minutes ago, possum52 said:

That's great Lyle. May I ask the address of the apartment? 

It is the Tyrian Albert Park Lake, 14 Queens Road, Albert Park, 3004 Melbourne. It looked a nice place and there is no deposit and we pay when we get there. Also there is free cancellation up until the week before we arrive.

[Blackduck59]

Oops too late Mic. I just wanted to get something secured and it looks pretty good for the price.

[possum52]

16 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

It is the Tyrian Albert Park Lake, 14 Queens Road, Albert Park, 3004 Melbourne. It looked a nice place and there is no deposit and we pay when we get there. Also there is free cancellation up until the week before we arrive.

Thanks Lyle, it looks very nice. It is on a very busy road but very close to the tram line, there is a tram stop just around the corner. The Royal Botanic Gardens are a ten or fifteen minutes walk away and the Shrine of Remembrance is even closer. Not sure if you will be able to access the GP track or not. It is usually fenced off and not accessible to the public some time before the event much to the annoyance of the locals. 

[Blackduck59]

Thanks Leigh, I know I won't get anywhere near the track but I will be able to see it from there. Hopefully there will be some vendors where I can buy some F1 swag. Is this close by you so we can get together for Lunch? We would love to meet up with you and Rob and anyone else in the area who would like to join us. If you would like please get in touch at lyledotduckatshawdotcom we can plan something.

[possum52]

3 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Thanks Leigh, I know I won't get anywhere near the track but I will be able to see it from there. Hopefully there will be some vendors where I can buy some F1 swag. Is this close by you so we can get together for Lunch? We would love to meet up with you and Rob and anyone else in the area who would like to join us. If you would like please get in touch at lyledotduckatshawdotcom we can plan something.

Sounds good Lyle. Unfortunately we don't live close by but we can arrange to meet up for lunch. We can plan it closer to the time. 

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Blackduck59 said:

Oops too late Mic. I just wanted to get something secured and it looks pretty good for the price.

Party at Lyle's place. 

[Blackduck59]

We cancelled that booking.

[Blackduck59]

So I went back to the beginning of this thread to look for hotel recommendations. I think that we discovered we had booked The Oaks Southbank. I'm on booking dot com and it isn't showing up. I will try some direct searches and see if I can find them that way.

[Blackduck59]

I think some of these places aren't booking more than a year out so we will have to wait until March.

[JJK2008]

12 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

We cancelled that booking.

Lyle you had them on the ropes. Could have quietly cancelled that reservation and left it posted and booked an alternative.😉

[JJK2008]

1 minute ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think some of these places aren't booking more than a year out so we will have to wait until March.

We stayed at the Atlantis. It worked for us because it had on-site parking. It's centrally located and fit our need. No complaints. 

[Mareblu]

50 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think some of these places aren't booking more than a year out so we will have to wait until March.

You’re correct in your thinking Lyle.  I use booking.com as my first go to, and I’ve never been able to book beyond a year in advance.  

[Blackduck59]

34 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

You’re correct in your thinking Lyle.  I use booking.com as my first go to, and I’ve never been able to book beyond a year in advance.  

We were able to book the suite at Tyrian Albert Park but the other paces that have been recommended not so much. I will be all over Booking as soon as we can, this will be rather critical. With the race right around that time, many race fans will be coming to Melbourne early.

[MicCanberra]

Correct, as what happened in 2020, they don't come alone either.

[Blackduck59]

That's why I booked something right away, but the other half of the party had other ideas. Hope that doesn't come back.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Mareblu said:

You’re correct in your thinking Lyle.  I use booking.com as my first go to, and I’ve never been able to book beyond a year in advance.  

It depends on the hotel. There is much less choice more than a year out, but there are a few that are available for the full 16 months of the booking.com window.

[possum52]

10 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think some of these places aren't booking more than a year out so we will have to wait until March.

Were you looking at booking.com or directly with the hotel? When I looked yesterday, there were plenty of places available in March next year on booking.com. Perhaps contact the places you are interested in and see if you can book more than a year out. 

[Blackduck59]

We were looking on booking dot com and there were places available next year but many of the ones mentioned on this thread were showing no availability, We also went to the individual websites and their calendars only go out 1 year. We will be looking at those options as soon as they open. We plan to check in on the 10th of March 2025 and will check out on the 13th. While we will look at location we are not that picky. The place we booked and cancelled actually had a view of the track and great views in general. I know we wouldn't see anything to do with the race but it was cool to be that close. I guess the new priority is someplace that is convenient to visit some Melbourne highlights and be easy to get to from the airport after we drop off the hire car and then back to the airport for our flight to Auckland. We also have a port visit in Melbourne during the cruise.