Wanderings in Australia - 4 - Melbourne

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Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria, was our next destination. A pleasant walkable city with many trams rattling down the centre of the larger streets. Developed originally as a planned city, resulted in a grid layout and wide streets with plane and eucalyptus trees. Many of the streets are lined by older buildings from the 19th century with wrought iron balustrades and a modern high rise central business district. The Yarra River runs through the centre of the city and there is re-development of the south bank with high rise towers, restaurants and cafes to while away a few minutes with a splendid coffee - Melbourne is apparently the coffee capital of Australia!! The "Laneways" are an area of closely packed narrow streets thronged with people shopping at the many small boutiques or enjoying coffee or meals in the numerous cafes and restaurants.

We enjoyed a splendid view over the city from the Eureka tower. The city beach, in the district of St Kilda, was a great place frequented by tourists and locals alike, and was not too far away on the tram. There was a long hot beach and paddle boarding was popular, with the city skyline as the backdrop.

On an evening trip to Phillip Island we saw our first wild Wallabies as well as the cute Little Penguins. The Penguin Parade, at dusk, involves small groups of these tiny penguins leaving the safety of the surf to scurry across the beach to their burrows in the dunes. Unfortunately photography was not allowed, but it was pretty dark anyway! We all enjoyed the spectacle, especially the close-up views of the penguins from the boardwalks running through the dunes.

We enjoyed Melbourne and will be looking forward to returning later during our road trip - there is still plenty to see and do.



Accommodation - Radisson on Flagstaff

Weather - Warm ( 26c ) & sunny with occasional clouds and the odd shower

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Photos

Across to the Sport area of Melbourne
MCG - far left