It was Thursday the 18th of August and I had taken 5 days off work for a very special RWB build.

After a good nights sleep, I grabbed my luggage full of Stay Driven gear and Duck and Whale Magazines and headed for Sydney Airport. As I arrived at Terminal 2 and placed my rather heavy suitcase onto the scales, I prayed that I wasn't over the limit...

"Sorry, but you are 5kg's over - that will be $75 please."

W@2?342E%RFUUUYSER#GHJSB! This was just what I needed at 5AM. Usually something like this would tick me off but I tried remaining calm as I smiled and placed my card on the counter. To my surprise the lady behind the counter was incredibly nice and ended up reducing the cost down to $60, which I later used the 'savings' to buy some water and gum that put me into a draw to win 1 million dollars - I better win!

As I boarded my flight, I discovered that I scored the exit-row window seat, which meant extra leg room and incredible views. I find aerial photography really inspiring so as I was high above the clouds, I began taking photos on my iPhone as my DSLR was in my bag. I even got a glimpse of the Sea Cliff Bridge which I drove across just days prior.

The beautiful vistas from above made me excited about my journey ahead. I had been waiting for this day ever since the RWB New Zealand build earlier this year and now the time had finally come to fly down to Melbourne all on my own, and be re-united with the RWB Family for the 2nd RWB build in Australia.

After landing and meeting James, Aaron, Lawrence, Lance and Christian who all flew in from New Zealand, we were picked up by Ray who kindly dropped us off at the Automobilia workshop in Clayton, just 30 minutes south of Melbourne. This would be our home for the next 5 days...

As we arrived at the workshop to drop off our gear, we were instantly greeted with the pre-widebody Porsche 993 which belonged to Charles. After admiring the car briefly (BTW how nice is the paint?!) I finally got my hands on a copy of the RWB Life After Birth Volume 1 book...

And to my surprise I discovered that it features my photography work.

The 300 page book by Chern Wong is printed on premium-archive quality paper and takes you up-close-and personal to the build process of the pink RWB and beyond; from Nakai-san's arrival in Australia to the World Time Attack Challenge in 2015. Only 930 copies were printed and I got number 754 which is a number that has a strange but special meaning to me.

It is an incredible feeling to see your work and name printed in such a beautifully composed book. It even mentions Stay Driven in the gratitude section which I am beyond humbled about :O :) :D

With the rest of the day to kill before the build was scheduled to begin, we left the workshop and ventured off into the CBD to get some food into our bellies. The boys wanted to eat at Mr Ramen but since I have an incredibly sensitive stomach, I wasn't sure how well ramen would go with my stomach so I played it safe and got a boring ham and cheese croissant instead.

We then headed into the Metro Hobby shop in the CBD where the boys purchased some cool car model kits. Quite a few people were replying to my Snapchat story asking where this place was, and it is right next to Sushi Hub near the train station, so definitely check it out if you're ever in Melbourne. They even have some nice AutoART models available and I kind of regret not buying any of them.

We then went exploring through the city and decided to have some choir practice (don't ask) at the St. Pauls Cathedral. The iconic cathedral boasts exquisite gothic style architectural features and beautifully patterned floor tiles and mosaics. With my background in interior design, I was in absolute awe as I stood at the alter and admired each feature.

After a brief rehearsal we then headed towards Hosier Lane which happens to be my favourite laneway in Melbourne. Every time I visit Melbourne, I make sure that I go and check out the new street art as I often draw a lot of inspiration from the colourful artworks and messages behind them.

A few months earlier, Kevin and Tyler both sent me some photos of my brand that a graffiti artist had tagged in Hosier Lane! Unfortunately with the amount of art being created daily the pieces were no longer there - but still rad nonetheless!

Another food place we ventured out to was Golden Child Cafe located in Glen Iris. I follow @breakfastinmelbourne on Instagram and had screenshotted a few places that I wanted to try and since this cafe was somewhat nearby I convinced the troop that we had to go suss it out, and when a cafe has all day breakfast available, you know it's going to be a good time!

We ordered the 'steak cut bacon' (highly recommend), and the 'beetroot cured salmon' (also highly recommend).

With sustenance in our bellies and the day coming to an end, we checked into our hotels and called it a night...

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon!

RWB Australia Build #2 Part 1