February 16, 2023 – Melbourne, Australia

Good morning.  We opened our curtains and we had already docked in Melbourne (or as Australian’s pronounce it, Mel-bin).  The early sunlight was hitting the skyline and the tall buildings were sparkling.  

This is a city they added to our itinerary since we missed the last 3 ports in New Zealand.  Melbourne is situated within the state of Victoria in the southeastern part of Australia’s mainland.  The skyline has changed significantly since our first visit in 1999 when Bob worked here on the Australia Post system.  I flew over, rented a car and took him on a 2-week adventure.  We recall driving the Great Ocean Road and seeing the 12 Apostles (dramatic rock formations rising from the ocean).  We saw the fairy penguins come from the ocean in Phillips Island.  We rode ‘Puffing Billy’ steam train through the scenic Dandenong range.  We visited the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens and saw the fruit bats.  We hiked national parks and saw koala’s and kangaroos in the wild.  We went to a wild life sanctuary where I held a baby wombat.  We explored the beautiful downtown and went shopping for opals.  So many good memories of the people we met and the places we explored.  It was also fun driving on the left.

This visit would be different.  Four of us took a shuttle bus into downtown and did a walking tour.  We’re only here for the day and it happens to be 99F.  We took a walk along the Yarra River.  Walked across a beautiful pedestrian bridge to a shaded path along the river.  We went into St Paul’s Cathedral and took a walk inside.  What a beautiful cathedral!

We then walked up Collins Street, looking for the apartment that Bob stayed in when he was working there.  We hopped on a free tram and rode the perimeter of the city.  We saw the Marvel Stadium (Groot was happy to see that) and many new areas along the marina with high rise apartments and shopping areas.  The architecture was fascinating and fun.  

Melbourne hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics and continues to host many world sports events, such as the Australian Open, the Melbourne Cup and the Australian Grand Prix.  It’s sports infrastructure has earned it the title of ‘World’s Ultimate Sports City’.  I’d love to see the F1 Race here in March, but we’re a few weeks early.

We left the tram and walked back to the shaded path by the Yarra River.  We found a cool restaurant called Arbory Afloat (barge floating in the river) and found a nice shady seat for lunch.  We quickly ordered something cool to drink and glad they had some ginger beer.  Refreshing!  We had some delicious tapas with our friends, Carmen and Pedro, relaxed and talked about our day.  Decided to stroll back to the shuttle and head back to the ship.

Melbourne is a beautiful, friendly city.  Another one that I’d love to come back and explore.  There are so many day trips that are easily accessible and unique to Australia.