Melbourne, Australia

Thursday, February 16, 2023

We were greeted with another spectacular sunrise and the sound of crows cavorting as we docked in Melbourne, Australia, in glistening Port Phillip Bay. Although it was an unplanned stop, we were very grateful to experience this very special city.

Shuttle buses took Island Princess Passengers downtown to the Skydeck, where we walked the Yarra River Promenade to the Queen Victoria Gardens. Melbourne is ultramodern, yet old shotgun style homes are squeezed between high rises, some with the intricately designed yellow wrought iron bannisters and burgundy painted trim that, because of the movies, we associate with traditional Australian Outback homes. Old, stately, well preserved buildings and churches shoulder their way up through the gleaming glass buildings.

The city is sprawling and vibrant, filled with trees and parks. The multitude of trees reminded us of Atlanta; the wrought iron and old historic buildings reminded us of New Orleans; the well planned parks everywhere reminded us of Central Park in New York. The vibrancy, the modern buildings, and the great food reminded us of Auckland. The bay is lined in beautiful, pale beaches.

Meandering gently through the city is the Yarro River, and not far from the river is the Queen Victoria Gardens.

The Queen’s statue crowns a hill that overlooks lovely rose gardens, filled with honey bees, butterflies, and the sweet songs of birds.

Beautiful specimens of towering trees, sprawling green lawns, and an enormous variety of gorgeous flowers greeted us.

We saw species of birds we had never seen before. I thought that the Australian magpie is very striking.

After searching the Internet, we still could not identify the black bird with seemingly out of proportion large claws.

By the time we walked through the gardens and headed back to the Promenade, temperatures were in the mid-90s. We stopped at a food court for lunch. Very upscale, it was nothing like the shopping mall food courts in Florida. I had a scrumptious Korean rice bowl, BBQ chicken bulgogi, which was outstanding. Had I not been so full, I would have tried the prawn fried dumplings as well. Cliff and Joan had sandwiches that were similar to a panini, but stuffed with ingredients such as spinach, avocado, cheese, boiled egg, ham, shrimp, and chicken.

When we walked to the free tram that circles a major portion of the city, we saw huge, beautiful gold sculptures of honey bees on the sides of two buildings.

By noon, the temperature was soaring. We knew that it would be in the 90’s, but it actually reached 99 degrees. There were many places we wanted to see, but the heat made it very challenging to walk around.

We waited over 30 minutes for the number 35 tram, which circles a portion of the city. The tram was not air conditioned, so it was stifling. When the tram drove past the Marvel Stadium, it started back in the direction where we came, but then came to a complete stop. We were told that there were ambulances, firetrucks and other emergency vehicles blocking the road, and that we would need to get off and walk to another bus stop further down to take us back to where we started.

Walking quite a way, we felt truly wilted, and were not very willing to get back on a stuffy tram. However, the walk allowed us to stop and take photos of three buildings that looked like one. Two of the buildings looked slanted.

We stopped and entered an office building to ask if the desk clerk would please call a taxi for us, which he kindly did. It took about another half hour for it to arrive. The clerk, Oscar, also generously allowed us to purchase soda and juice from the employee snack area in the foyer. I don’t know what we would have done without his help, because there was nothing close by where we could get beverages and get out of the heat.

From what I have read, the temperatures were unusually high. Ordinarily, February averages about 80 degrees. However, as our ship prepared to depart, the breezes became stronger. Melbourne is known for its lovely breezes, as well as high winds.

We did get to see glimpses of DeGraves Street and the Ferris Wheel in the Docklands. We would have loved to have seen the following:

• Melbourne Museum

• Melbourne Aquarium

• The National Gallery of Victoria

• The Conservatory

• Captain Cook’s Cottage in Fitzroy Gardens

• The Immigration Museum in the Old Custom House

• Parliament House, Old Treasury Building, and Princess Theater

• Shrine of Remembrance (World War I) and the King’s Domain Gardens

• Old Melbourne Gaol and Carlton Gardens

• Eureka Tower and the Skyjack

• Queen Victoria Market

• St. Paul’s Cathedral

• Federation Square

• Chinatown

Had it not been an hour’s drive away , we would also love to have seen Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary (200 species of native wildlife, including koalas, emus, Tasmanian devils, wombats, and platypus).

Whether you take a bus, tram or taxi, traffic in Melbourne is slow going. Because there are so many stop lights and cross walks, we would progress only about a hundred feet before stopping again. However, because the taxi was air conditioned and the driver knew a few shortcuts, we would recommend taking a taxi in hotter weather.

What we did get to see was incredibly beautiful. What an amazing city! It is classy and classic, yet modern and eclectic. The people are friendly and kind. We absolutely