Melbourne

Had a good dry ride today from Frankston into Melbourne, following the Nepean Highway along the Ocean. 

It was only about 50 kms and the  port was easy to find, not least because we could see our ship approaching, a big bright orange thing, Spirit of Tasmania,  sliding coastwards.

I’ve seen more ships today than in the whole time we have been in Australia, which is nearly a month now. And that includes the ships lining up to get into Newcastle, just north of Sydney. It was weird at first, looking out to sea yet seeing nothing but I suppose in Europe ships are common palace because the distance across the water is so much less than it is down here.

A couple of marinas on the way in looked interesting, so we stopped briefly to look at the multi storey boat parking!

So today, once we got our bearings, we went into the city centre to have a look round.The traffic here (Australia) is quite refreshing to ride in because it really is nothing compared to some places in Europe and Asia, and the driving is pretty slow and safe, not aggy like it it elsewhere. 

Parking is odd though, a few bike bays dotted about but more bikes were parked on the pavements. That seemed to be what people do here, so we followed suite, parked up             (making sure we weren’t obstructing anything or anybody) and went for a walk. And the bikes were still there when we returned several hours later, ticketless, and with what we'd left on them, untouched. Magic.

The Yarra River down by the basin has been gentrified in common with many port cities the world over, and again, like many cities with a maritime history, many of the original features have been retained or at least acknowledged, keeping much of the character of the place. Thus old warehouses remain, albeit that they are now cafes, offices, art galleries or whatever, loading bays have various bits of installation art dotted along them, and there are various references and symbols of immigration, Melbourne being one of the main ports where people arrived in Australia in the days when travelling by ship was what you did.

And that habit of love padlocks has caught on here too, with locks snapped onto the bridge cables, and making a tidy living for Mr Yale who seems to have made many of them. It seems to be a habit that started in the early 2000's in Italy, following a story in a book, then it took off in Eastern Europe, particularly in Serbia on the Most Ljubavi  (the Bridge of Love) and that dates back to the 1940s following a local love story where the bloke went off to war, hooked up with somebody else, and the original woman (Nadia) died of a broken heart. Local girls took to locking padlocks onto the bridge where Nadia and the man used to meet, and writing their names on them to protect their love. A nice little story, probably made up, but now its made it all the way to the other side of the world, testament to the power of global communication and travel.

There is also quite a bit of public street art throughout the city, which is always good for livening a place up. Giant golden bees, to totem poles, plus some ship head things on the decking.

And this odd thing, which somebody reckoned was Tony Abbott. Maybe.

Years ago, my Nan used to take me to Gravesend on the River Thames, to watch the big ships departing for Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. One of the things that I remember clearly about those jaunts with her was seeing the different piers, leading to the dock where ships bound for a particular port ,docked. Melbourne Pier is still there, and it was odd to be standing at the other end of the journey, at the receiving end as it were.

I also had a book about Australia, called I think ‘The Australians’. I can't remember much about it except the wide openness of the Outback and that the title photo was Flinders Street Station at rush hour with people streaming down the steps. And there were clocks above the entrance - and they’re still there.

A statue of Matthew Flinders is just across the street. He had quite a big impact down this way, what with the Flinders Range and the station. And he was a Pom of course, in the Royal Navy.

Adam Gordon (poet, not General Gordon, who was no relation) as well as Burke and Wills (two more Victorian explorers) have their own statue too. Burke and Wills died on the way back to Melbourne at Coopers Creek in central Australia, the result of bad leadership, poor decision making and some bad luck. We will definitely be going to Coopers Creek on  the bikes, and I have every intention of surviving the visit.

Melbourne has a very European feel about it, and is a mixture of neat little cottages, mixed in with modern glass high rises, and spectacular Victoriana. 

Flinders Street Station, the Old Treasury building, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parliament House and Princess Theatre are such examples.

So now we're on the ship to Tasmania, a night's crossing from Melbourne, due south over the Bass Straight (named after George Bass, explorer dude of Sleaford, Lincs) The Bass Straight is known for its choppy water, it being a very shallow channel. However, so far, so good.