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Published: June 23rd 2009
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“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings”(Moslih Eddin Saadi).With those wise words in mind the first view of Melbourne over the wings of a Virgin Blue flight confirmed that this was a city worthy of it’s ranking in the “Big 3”.Sprawling in all directions and looking like a large jig saw puzzle,it was a rather dramatic change from our small town meander across WA.Also noticeable was the parched landscape which is directly linked to the fact that large parts of Victoria have been in drought mode for the last seven years.Water reserves are down to less than 30% and strict water rationing is in place.Picking up a hired car in a never before visited large city can be daunting especially at about prime rush hour when it appeared most of the city’s 4 million citizens were charging home.Navman,however,rose to the occasion and this marvelous technology delivered us to our digs…the Apollo Gardens caravan park.No Washongi but this magnetic attachment to caravan parks??The thing is…..we discovered on our travels and park stays that they all have really good log cabins for hire and we will use these for the rest of our journey.Very reasonably priced at AU$90.00 per night(R600.00),they are
absolutely ideal and leave a cold,cheerless hotel/motel room a distant back up choice.Our time in Melbourne was short and our location ideal.A left turn onto the Hume Highway delivered one to the city whilst an incorrect right turn was not a good idea as it could end the journey in Sydney,about 900 kms away.When time to explore a city is short,the best option is to hop onto the city tram and take in the key sights.Melbourne is a bristling,bustling city with it’s fair share of glistening,modern high rise buildings.So,on a very basic level it has the essential credentials which probably characterize most cities but there are two signature features worthy of mention.Firstly,most of the multi lane roads in the CBD are lined with trees which somehow softens the concrete jungle and must look even better when covered with their summer greenery.And then,right on the city’s doorstep,are the sports stadia which dispel any doubt that Melbourne IS the sporting capital of Australia.The Yarra River and a walking/cycling path both meander towards the very impressive stadiums which include the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG)and Rod Laver tennis stadium.The MCG was open for viewing but at about R108 each we will default to waiting for
the next game of cricket to view it again.Impressively Melbourne has wonderful wide open spaces in the form of gardens and parks similar to both Perth and Adelaide.To get a historical view of this city a visit to the City Museum provided a handy insight into it’s origins.No real surprise for it was the glitter of gold which got the show on the road in the 1850’s when gold was discovered inland of the city.Hordes of immigrants arrived chasing fame and fortune and Melbourne grew rapidly so much so that by the late 1800’s it was,not so affectionately,known as “Smellbourne”.The sewage systems and disposal of quaintly termed “nightsoil” gave up the ghost and lots of the stuff flowed into the Yarra River.This precipitated the outbreak of some nasty diseases and then,understandably,the good engineers of the time fixed the problem.The real trigger for Melbourne’s explosive growth into a World class city was a decision in the early 1950’s to open the door for immigrants who rushed in.The awarding of the 1956 Olympic Games to this city was the real seal which placed it firmly on the World stage.After a long day of doing the “Tommy touring” stuff we then drove 30kms
out to the south eastern suburbs to meet Terry and Di Rondi,friends from our Ballito days,who emigrated about 10 years ago.Great to be with friends whom we left at about 9.30pm for what should have been an hour’s drive back to the park.Navman got confused,we got confused and close to midnight we finally limped,exhausted into the park.Without being unduly unfair on Melbourne,our state of exhaustion and big city “burn out” had one outcome…..how soon could we get to Tasmania and back on the road touring little,uncomplicated towns?Fortunately that solution was already in place with an early flight scheduled the next morning to Hobart.Having visited three of the major cities in Australia,our choice of “best city” still sits squarely with Adelaide.WE WERE THRILLED TO WATCH THE SPRINGBOKS BEAT THE POMS ALTHOUGH OUR COACH NEEDS A “MOTHERHOOD AND APPLE PIE” LESSON ON “HOW AND WHEN” TO SUBSTITUTE PLAYERS.AT LEAST HE WILL NEVER MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN!
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