The Great Photo Walk of Melbourne - Part 1

The next day, I left the YHA hostel armed with a digital camera, my Melbourne tourist book, and my backpack in case I bought anything. I was rested and ready to explore and photograph the city and the sites . . . under grey overcast clouds. Previously, I had only seen the Melbourne airport. With no destination in mind, I picked a random direction and began walking. What I immediately noticed were the electric trams that travelled along the main streets, ferrying passengers from Point A to Point B. The trams reminded me of the TTC trams I rode in Toronto, Canada.

I headed east along Flinders Street until I reached the central railway station named Flinders Street Station. Recently refurbished, the station is always bustling with activity with waves of people coming & going, filling and emptying the 1500 metro trains that arrive & depart every day. The current Victorian style structure was built in 1882 and is a cultural icon to the city.

Sitting next to Flinders Street Station is Federation Square, a large modern looking civic centre that opened in 2002. Spread across several structures, one can find a visitor centre, amphitheatre, cafes, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. At the centre of the structure is a large open air square where public events can be staged.

Crossing the Yarra River via the Princes Bridge, I photographed the Melbourne skyline and the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the distance. To me, it appeared that the many towers that make the downtown core do not adhere to one but many types of architecture. I passed between the State Theatre and the National Gallery of Victoria, proceeding west towards the Southbank neighbourhood. The State Theatre, with a tall white metallic antenna on the outside, is able to seat a crowd of almost 2,100, and boasts “an amazing ceiling, which is decorated with 75,000 tiny brass domes.” If had bought tickets to one of the productions, I would have snuck a photograph.

The centerpiece of Southbank (and pretty much all of Melbourne) is the 984 foot tall Eureka Tower, a residential tower that opened in 2006. It was named after the Eureka Stockade Rebellion. A large crowd of high school students had prevented me from visiting the SkyDeck on the 88th floor but I would come back the next day. I decided to stop for lunch at the Southgate Shopping Complex, just north of the Eureka Tower. The complex is the main attraction along the Southbank Promenade that’s located between Princes & Queens Bridges. It is here where many Melbournians & tourists flock to grab a bite to eat, shop for the latest fashions, and gaze at the downtown skyline.

My $10AUD lunch consisted of a delicious chicken wrap and a coke. I was able to get it with ease because the food court was nearly empty. Upon leaving the mall, I was greeted by drizzling rain, prompting me to go back inside to buy a small umbrella.

Ignoring the gloomy looking clouds and falling droplets of water, I left Southgate and proceeded south towards the M1 highway. By the time I reached the highway, the tops of the Eureka tower and other buildings were hidden by low hovering clouds. Passing the highway, I came across the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, a low level burgundy red building with an architectural design similar to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Having no desire to look at overpriced ‘art’ works, I continued south for several more blocks before turning east again, walking through a quiet residential neighbourhood. By this time, the rain had stopped falling.

I emerged onto St Kilda Road, being greeted by rushing cars and a line of trees from across the street. Not bothering to look at my tourist book, I assumed I had arrived at the edge of the Botanic Gardens. In actuality, I had arrived at the edge of the Shrine of Remembrance but I couldn’t see it because of the trees. Walking up north to find an intersection to cross, I came across the Victoria Barracks. Originally constructed to house British Imperial troops, the Barracks was the main headquarters of the Department of Defence from 1901 to 1958. During the Second World War, the Barracks was used by the War Cabinet to manage Australia’s wartime operations.

Across the street from the Barracks, occupying the space between Government House Drive and Anzac Ave is The Marquis of Linlithgow Statue, dedicated to the first Governor General of Australia, John Hope (1901-1903). With a break in vehicle traffic, I crossed the street and photographed it before turning my attention to the Shrine of Remembrance.

To Be Continued . . .

Introduction & Flight

In the southern hemisphere there sits an enormous island continent (7,617,930 square kilometers/2,941,300 sq mi) surrounded by the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the flattest continent in the world, with six different climates, and with a population density of about 2.8 people per square kilometer. It is home to many different plants, animals, and about 22 million humans. I am of course talking about the country of Australia.

I had been there once back in January 2009, visiting my older brother who was studying law in Canberra. We had visited the cities of Sydney, Brisbane, Surfer’s Paradise, and Canberra. You can read all about it in my New Zealand Blog, starting with the post ‘Packing’.

Almost 2 years would pass before I would get another chance to visit the island continent in the south. It was late November 2010 when I made my way to the airport, packed to the brim with summer clothing, shoes, washing kit, digital camera, and winter clothing for the return trip to Canada. With my airplane ticket & passport in hand, I proceeded to the Air Canada check in desk to drop off my luggage. The process took a little longer because I didn’t have an Australian visitor’s visa so I had to purchase one for $25. Hiccup aside, I made through security with ease, quietly grinning as I watched an attractive woman in a dress go through the digital image scanner. I don’t care what excuse they came up with (ie random search), those male security guards purposefully made her go through the machine.

The evening flight to Vancouver took about five hours and from what I remember, it was mostly uneventful. The plane touched down in Vancouver and I made my way to the next gate. The departure area was surprisingly empty and quiet. I wanted to buy some Tim Horton’s donuts before I departed for Australia but the nearest Timmy’s was closed. In fact, most of the stores were closed.

The Vancouver-Sydney flight departed at 11:45pm and would stay in flight for 14 hours. I was flying Economy but I was glad that I had an aisle seat and the middle seat in my row was vacant. Also there were no crying babies and snoring seniors around my seat. Over the course of the flight, I kept myself preoccupied watching movies (Winnebago Man, Inception, Knight & Day, Salt, & Grown Ups), listening to my MP3 player, and eating the food. Most of what I ate was edible and the drinks were good but I bet it was way better in Business Class. At some point the plane crossed the International Dateline, leaping into the future, thereby erasing everyone’s existence on November 23rd. As I have mentioned before I can’t sleep on a plane; I just lapse in & out of consciousness. Hopefully, no one filmed it cause it probably was amusing to watch.

Eventually, the plan landed at the Sydney International Airport, the hot temperature a far cry from the cold in Canada. I changed into a t-shirt because I had been wearing a turtleneck and a light sweater. After getting through customs and picking up my luggage, I walked over to the Qantas domestic connection terminal and checked in my luggage. From there, I took a bus ride to the Domestic Terminal which sat across the International Terminal separated by the runways.

After a short wait, I boarded a Qantas plane that was bound for the city of Melbourne. The flight lasted about 80 minutes and landed at about 2:30pm. I picked up my suitcase and walked out of the secure area bringing my 20 hour flying journey to an end.

Despite being a relatively safe city, there exists a problem with unlicensed taxi cabs at the airport. Unlicensed drivers have been known to approach travelers and offer them a ride into town. The ride lasts longer than it should, forcing passengers to pay more. So if you still wish to take a taxi to the city, proceed to the taxi stand outside and don’t accept any offers from inside the terminal. Of course, the other option is to take the SkyBus which arrives every ten minutes.

I got on the bus after paying $16 and sat in silence, watching the countryside pass me by. After several minutes, the surrounding landscape appeared more developed and I could see the downtown skyline in the distance. After 20 minutes, the bus dropped everyone off at Southern Cross Station, located in the heart of the city. Armed with my tourist book Melbourne: Day by Day, I walked down several streets and arrived at my final destination, the Melbourne Central YHA hostel.