Melbourne, Australia Day# 34-My 90th Nation Visited
Cruise World-Day #34-Australia marks my 90th nation
visited!! I was surprised to learn that
it is such a large country that is comparable to the size of the United States
and has 3 separate time zones. It is the world six largest country and the
world's largest island.
Today: Melbourne, Australia--a young, modern, energetic,
diverse, port city and home of Vegemite! Its diversity includes having more
residents of Greek decent than any other city outside Athens, also a large
concentration of Italians, Lebanese, Vietnamese and more. In fact, a third of
Melbournians were born overseas and more than half their parents were. The city blossomed in the 1850s when gold was
discovered. It is almost entirely surrounded by lush gardens and parks.
This is the second to last port on this first segment
(36-days) of a world cruise.
The sail-in was cloudy but nonetheless, magnificent.
Immigration and customs is so strict here that everyone
must leave the ship to present passport and meet face-to-face with immigration
officials. There must be a zero passenger count before any anyone is allowed
back on the ship.
I can’t believe some folks will go into town, watch the
super bowl, and drink beer. Just shaking my head!
As we disembarked the ship we were greeted by the
"waterfront welcomers", a group of passionate, friendly locals on
hand to answer a variety of questions about what the city has to offer
especially around Melbourne's waterfront. Importantly, the cruise ship terminal
is located about an hour walk to the popular St Kilda beach, a seaside
playground known for its expansive view of the bay, sandy beaches, amusement park,
palm-lined boardwalks, parks, gardens and a host of cafés and shops.
I had planned to take the free 2 1/2 hour walking tour
leaving from in front of the state library at 10:30 AM. Imfree.com.au. Alas,
the group talked me out of it and I joined them taking the 9AM Hop On Hop Off
sightseeing bus (on the red line) into town. Actually, I found out the brown
line bus for St. Kilda came to the cruise ship terminal to pick us up and drop
us off and connect us with the redline route. It took us past Port Melbourne,
across the Yarra River into the docklands, passed Harbor town and that soccer
stadium through to Queen Victoria market area (which was unfortunately closed
the day I was there, Monday). I got off the bus there and walked around the
area winding my way back to Harbor town where I decided to soar up 40 stories
high on the “Melbourne Star”, giant ferris/observation wheel that gave me a
360° view of the city. I relished having a private compartment because I could
stroll from one end to the next soaking in and photographing the exquisite city,
without bumping into other passengers. The commentary throughout the 30 minute
ride was enlightening.
Next, I walked around the city center in the uniquely
(and controversially) designed Federation Square, the city's cultural and civic
hub that host thousands of annual events. It is surrounded by multiple museums,
arts venues, and St. Paul's Cathedral a stunning Gothic church. I toured Hosier Lane, allegedly Melbourne's
most photographed street art lane that was simply fantastic-a feast for the
eyes. For lunch, I tried a famous steak
and mushroom meat pie from the popular Pie Face fast food chain. For 4.95AUS, I had a delectable snack/meal.
I migrated back to the Federation Square area and hopped
on the Saint Kilda/brown line of the Hop on Hop Off bus. The view from the
upper deck was magnificent-I saw a city teeming with opulence and elegance. Riding
through the flourishing Fitzroy Gardens was a real treat and the vast, lush and
blooming royal botanic Gardens was a pleasant teaser for my next visit here. I
am so impressed with this beautiful city that shows they take great pride in
beautification and they value juxtaposing the old with the new.
Melbourne is one of the most architecturally interesting
cities I have visited. The diversity is spectacular.
Bicycle lanes are located on most streets. There are many
picturesque parks, white sand beaches, and even botanical gardens galore.
Another interesting feature of the city are the “beware
of rhinos” signs. This is a quirky safety campaign created by the tram company
to bring awareness to passenger and pedestrian safety that cleverly compares
the weight of a tram, to that of a more than 30 rhinos.
On my next visit, I will tour the old Melbourne jail one
of the districts oldest surviving buildings that has dozens of interactive
displays telling the story of the early criminal population. I will also take the free 2 1/2 hour walking
tour that I had originally planned to take and I will take a more in-depth
visit of the Royal Botanic Gardens with its more than 12,000 plant species from
all over the world, it's Ferngully, it's rain forest packed with fruit bats,
and ponds full of ducks and black swans. Finally, I will go up to the Eureka
Sky Deck 88 and take the extra excursion on "The Edge" which is a
6-ton horizontal opaque glass cube elevator which emerges from inside the walls
of the tower. It gives a three-sided uninterrupted view of the city below, from
935 feet above ground.
Of course, if I had more time, I would have toured the
famous Melbourne zoo, the world’s oldest zoo built in 1862. I will save my visit of kangaroos and Koala
bears for Sydney.
Of note, I took a
wonderful walking tour of Sydney two days later from the Justine, the founder
of that walking tour company I had originally planned to take.
Our last sail-away party was both exhilarating and sad
for me. I even felt moved to tears. As Melbourne’s skyline faded into the
distance, I felt immense gratitude for having experienced such a wonderful
journey.
The sunset tonight was dazzling!!
For the record, I am annoyed there is no show tonight in
the theater. Instead, they will replay the Super Bowl to a few passengers after
having already played it live earlier today. What are the other 60-70% of us to
do? Also, a chunk of our day in
Melbourne was spent with time-consuming immigration AND we had to return 30
minutes early for a required lifeboat drill. (Once every 30 days or so).
All's well that ends well it was another splendid day on
my wonderful 36 day journey from Florida to Australia.
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