When I was in Melbourne in 2004 I was living out of town or in one of the suburbs north of the river and working at a university campus in the west of the city. On this visit, I decided to stay in the centre. We spent our first day just wandering around. Very close to our hotel was a Pop-Up Bookshop selling off their stock. The Department stores are all full of dresses and hats for the Melbourne Cup and racing season. Christmas puddings, mince pies and Christmas cards are appearing, and a fake reindeer was being carried over to Federation Square. Up the hill, Flagstaff Gardens is one of the oldest gardens in the city. I had noticed there and at other places, trees are wrapped in metal around the trunk. This may be to prevent non-native creatures climbing up and attacking native wildlife. Some people there were having a morning Tai Chi session. Down the hill a little, near the courthouse we saw a long queue of lawyers in their robes and others waiting to get in. We have always thought our courts have short hours (10-4 usually) but this was 10.25 and the queue was not moving quickly. Back on Flinders Street, Hosier Street is well-known for street art.
but there are numerous other examples around the city. At the Birrarung Marr by the river there are a number of sculptures including this one entitled ‘Angel’ by Deborah Halpern in 1988.
There were a few birds on the river, mainly ducks and gulls but this Little Pied Cormorant, one of Australia’s most common water birds, was sitting on the bank.
The National Gallery of Victoria has a good selection of work by local artists up to the present day. There was a large exhibition entitle ‘Polyverse’ by LA-based and Melbourne-born artist Polly Borland who works in Cibachrome photography and tapestry.
In the 19th and 20th century gallery I particularly liked this almost impressionistic landscape by Sidney Long in 1905
and this painting Echuca Landscape by Fred Williams in 1962.
We had dinner with some friends in the evening. The following morning, we walked up Elizabeth Street to the Queen Victoria Market. It is the largest in the southern hemisphere and you can certainly get most of the food you would need here as well as many other things. Near our hotel on Flinders Street is the remains of an old bookshop which has certainly been liberated.
Fortunately, on the opposite side of the street is City Basement Books which is a great place for good quality secondhand books. The afternoon was spent on a two-hour cruise along the Yarra River. The first hour’s journey was under some of the low bridges in the city centre that can only be sailed under at low tide and out to the port.
After a lot of driving it was very relaxing to have someone else doing the driving and navigation while we just relaxed and watched the city float by. A lot of new buildings have been constructed along the harbourside since I was last here and Federation Square looks quite different.
The second hour is spent going in the opposite direction upstream, past the stadia, botanic gardens and up as far as Herring Island.
On our return to the berth near Federation Square, dozens of rowers and canoeists were on the river making it very tricky for our skipper to turn around and get into position at the berth.
After sunset the city centre looks good at night.
This is Flinders Station:
I particularly liked the poster on the front of St Patrick’s Cathedral ‘Let us Fully Welcome Refugees’.
Tomorrow we must leave and complete the last few days of our journey.
Tag: Victoria
Around Australia: Apollo Bay to Melbourne
Last evening some bikers arrived at the motel with very noisy bikes. I had hoped that they would not be leaving too early in the morning and was relieved that it was 8am before they zoomed off. We returned to the Great Ocean Road, our first stop being at Cape Patton lookout. It is one of the highest on the road. The road was completed by soldiers who had returned from the First World War. It hugs the rock face very closely in places and must have been very challenging work given the lack of machinery at that time.
Further on is a memorial and grave. The ship WB Godfrey was built in Greenock and was wrecked along the coast here on a voyage from San Francisco to Melbourne in 1891. This is all that can be seen of the wreck which now supports molluscs and other marine life.
Those on board survived but several people trying to salvage the cargo afterwards did not. At Artillery Rocks which is between Jamieson and Wye rivers, a guy was fishing with six rods. I have not been able to find out why they are called Artillery Rocks. The many holes in the rocks could resemble bullet holes. At Lorne we found the perfect combination: Moons Espresso & Juice Bar next door to Lorne Beach Books which has a very comprehensive and well organised selection of new books. I could have come out with a pile but have to think of my baggage allowance on the way home. The one we had finished reading in Apollo Bay was donated to the local Men’s Shed: an organisation which addresses mental health and well-being in men.
There were a couple of interesting signs here:
And a variant on ‘don’t’ feed the sea gulls’
This part of the coast has good waves and is known as the Surf Coast. At Lorne beach surf school was underway and others were attempting to get going.
The road was fairly quiet and at numerous points work is going on to stabilise the cliffs and prevent landslides and rockfall. A particularly winding section is known as Devil’s Elbow. It winds down to a beach at Spout Creek. Our next stop was Aireys Inlet where a small sanctuary around a pool has a number of birds. I spotted a number of Pacific Black Ducks and this male Superb Fairy Wren. His more dapper lady friend was hiding in the undergrowth.
We then drove out to Split Point Lighthouse
and Eagle Rock Marine Sanctuary.
We had lunch near Point Roadknight Beach and I had a wander along it afterwards.
I am not sure what the significance of this metal hoop with yellow ribbons hanging from it, dangling one the bushes behind the beach.
At Torquay, the decision was made to head to Queenscliff, take the ferry to Sorrento and the slow road round Port Philip Bay to the city rather than the freeway from Geelong into Melbourne. The crossing only takes 40 minutes.
14 years ago, I had decided to go across to Sorrento one weekend and do some walking in the National Park on the headland. Unfortunately, a storm followed me across the bay and by the time I got off the ferry in Sorrento it was raining so I abandoned my plans. We got into the city eventually (my navigation app did not know that you cannot come over the bridge and turn right onto Flinders Street between 3pm and 7pm Monday to Friday) and parked the car up for a couple of days.
Around Australia: Warrnambool to Apollo Bay
It is 14 years since I was last in Victoria and James has never been here. During my Churchill Fellowship in Melbourne I had driven some of the Great Ocean Road one weekend but had not had time to go beyond Port Campbell so we decided it was worth diverting from the Highway and spending some time on the coast. As the road leaves Highway One it passes a huge cheese and butter plant and a Cheeseworld shop. The B100 zig zags through dairy farmland down to join the coast at the Bay of Islands.
Further along is the Bay of Martyrs
The Grotto
and London Bridge. One span collapsed in 1990 leaving two people stranded who had to be air-lifted by a helicopter.
We also stopped at the Arch where there is some limestone graffiti.
and the Port campbell outlook.
It was definitely coffee time by then and there are several cafes in the town. I spotted the motel I had stayed in 14 years ago which has had a revamp since. Beyond Port Campbell is Loch Ard Gorge.
The busiest spot on the coast is at the 12 apostles. This group of rocks only acquired this name in the 1960s when it was thought it would attract more visitors. The last time I was here there was not visitors’ centre, subway to lookouts and a large car park, just a few pull-offs at the roadside. We saw a fox hanging around as we turned into the car park. James spotted a chauffeur-driven car with an Australian flag on the bonnet and a police car. We wondered who was visiting. Having managed to avoid being in the same city as Donald Trump and Harry and Meghan, we now found ourselves at the same attraction as Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime MInister. There was only one policeman and some guys in suits we assumed were security as well as the press. We were amazed at the little security: tourists were wandering all around and some one could easily have taken a shot from the back.
We occupied ourselves looking at the views and avoiding selfie sticks. Fortunately drones are banned. There was a snake crossing the path to the lookouts but he was sliding into the undergrowth by the time we got there.
By the time we were ready to go, Mr Morrison had departed. Our next stop was at Castle Cove outlook.
There is also a Great Ocean Walk which is 100km, shorter than the West Highland Way. As it runs through a national park you have to book your campsites in advance. It runs from Apollo Bay to the 12 Apostles.
At Princetown the road goes over inland through the Great Otway National Park. I enjoyed being among trees again. We drove to the Cape Otway Lighthouse but you have to pay to go around the whole station or go on a guided tour. I just wanted a peek at Australia’s oldest mainland light, built in 1848. I had to be content with a peek from the walking trail. On the way back to the Ocean Road I saw one koala snoozing in the top of a tree and another kangaroo hopped across the road in front of us. Soon we had reached Apollo Bay and relaxation time. 120 miles today and the total is now 10,277.
Around Australia: Robe to Warrnambool
Robe sits on the Limestone Coast before it ends at the state border – the coast decays into interesting shapes and structures. The obelisk was built in 1855 by a local man.
Initially painted white it proved difficult to distinguish from the white sands and the limestone cliffs so red stripes were added in 1862 to improve its visibility. The current lighthouse was built in 1973 and is similar to the one at Cape Jervis. Some Galahs were sitting on the rocks alongside the car park when we returned to the car.
We took City Wells Road back to Highway One; the Princes Highway. The surrounding land was mostly farmland with oilseed rape and pasture. After Millicent there are large pine forests and we could have been in Northern Europe or North America. We passed a paper mill and a sign to Glencoe Woolshed which was built as a shearing shed in 1863. There are still a lot of merino sheep around this area.
On Saturday we had cyclists on the road and today it was motorcyclists – three groups of 20, 12 and 8 passed us, going in the opposite direction. Mount Gambier was our first stop. It sits on an extinct volcano with most of the town on the southern slope. It is the largest town in the area and in one street we had the choice of three cafes for coffee but as it was Sunday, the Book Place was closed. The crater lake is 4km south of the town centre and turns cobalt blue in summer. Today in late spring there was a hint of it but I am sure it must get more vivid.
The padlock craze continues here at one of the lookouts.
There is a cactus garden at the lake edge established in memory of Mrs A. Dodd, a former cacti grower.
On the way out of town is the Umpherston Sinkhole. The sinkholes here are limestone. This one was turned into a garden by James Umpherston in the late 19th century and his home used to stand alongside it until it was demolished in 1964. The cavities in the rock provide shelter for insects and birds.
After crossing into Victoria, we ate lunch at a rest area by the Glenelg River which had water in but was brown. On the Highway near Tyrendarra is a property with 100m of fence with shoes hanging on it. The owners saw a similar fence near Marlborough in New Zealand and decided to replicate it with some worn-out family shoes a few years ago and have encouraged others to copy them.
We passed through Port Fairy which in 2012 was voted ‘the most liveable town’. It has more 19th century buildings down near the port than most others. Soon we had reached Warrnambool. Like many of the towns on the south coast, it started life as a whaling and sealing town. At the right time of year, whale watching is possible from here. We are staying for the night. As it is the off-season, we got yet another upgrade. Today’s mileage was 206 taking the total to 10,157.