Short trip to Melbourne

Melbourne, the city where one can experience Four Seasons in one day. Recently got an opportunity to visit & experience the same. Though it was a short trip for us, since we had gone for our son who is doing his further education in Melbourne, it was a wonderful experience which we feel like sharing.

City of Melbourne is the Cultural capital of Australia & home to many different & diverse communities. Also, the city is called as hub for food or Food Capital and is known for its inclusiveness.

As most of the countries abroad, its clean & tidy. But it has a good mixture of old & new. Apart from that one of the most important things, we realised about the City of Melbourne is its well-connected transport network. It was fun to sit into those trams & trains & move all around the city via its network. One needs to grab a Myki card & you are off to explore. There is free tram zone in the city too. You can top up your myki card easily at train stations or even online and keep on going all around through all the various modes of transport.

The next thing we visited was Flinders Street Station in the city. This was built in 1854, still standing strong, catering to so many commuters, and has been one of the city's most identifiable landmarks, where the tourists go to witness its impressive architecture.

Just besides the station is the Yarrra River which flows on the banks of South Bank which is full of all wonderful places to eat. We did a small tour on Yarra River Cruise. It was quite a pleasant one.

Just next to the Yarra River on the South Bank you can visit the Sky Deck, the tallest building with an Edge from where one can see the whole Melbourne. It’s just beautiful to see from 88th floor the whole of the city. There is a part extended out on the 88th floor which is called the Edge on which its all-glass floor & with the heavy winds flowing one can see the whole city from that glass cage. It’s an amazing experience. Whew!!! It was scary yet it was like adrenaline gushing through when you stand on that Edge.

Over the weekend, we decided to go on the tour of Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles. What a day! Just wonderful! We went with Go West Tours, our driver cum guide Lucy, she was just fantastic. It was a long drive for one day but with the kind of roads & infrastructure, it was good but by the end of the day a little exhausting.

The first stop we took was at Rainforest where we not only saw old Ash Trees which are still standing very tall and firm but also the dense rain forest & how all these variety of species of trees are there and how they are all taken care of. We could see few Koalas sitting on the top branch of the tree. And also, some unique birds in the same area. Walking through that rainforest was too good with all ups and downs which got naturally created.

As we moved ahead from there, we were greeted by the log arch announcing its start of the Great Ocean Road. Sandwiched between dense coastal eucalypt forests and the ocean, the road is one of the most spectacular drives in Australia. Its just breathtaking when one can see all the wonderful shades of blue and white water. Not only that but on the way if you are lucky one can spot koalas and echidnas. Actually, the road starts just outside of Torquay which is known for its Surfing activities, but the best ocean eating joints are at Apollo Bay. We had fantastic fish & chips & scallop pie here. It was very tasty and the whole place was full of cafes with tourists in it. We ended our meal with an ice cream which was a must & highly recommended.

Witness the rugged splendour of the famous 12 Apostles, magnificent rock stacks that rise up majestically from the Southern Ocean on Victoria's dramatic coastline. Due to erosion of the mainland coast's limestone cliffs began 10 to 20 million years ago, with the stormy Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually wearing away the softer limestone to form caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches, and when these collapsed, rock stacks of up to 45-metres high were left isolated from the shore, resulting in the iconic 12 Apostles. It is said that you can view the 12 Apostles at sunrise and sunset as they change from a brilliant sandy yellow colour under a full sun to appearing dark and foreboding in shadow. There are 2 ways to experience this one is you walk down all the way to the edge and see it and be amazed by the nature all around or you can watch it from the helicopter ride which is also available. We preferred walking and gathering our magical moments. The pictures here hopefully would give you an idea of what it is but still its an experience to have. Unfortunately, due to erosion only 6-7 of those Apostles are left but its still an effort one should do to visit them.

Since our time was limited, we decided to visit a small zoo which is called as Healesville Sanctuary. Its not as big as Melbourne Zoo they say but yes you can see quite a collection here too. From Koalas to Kangaroos, Emu to Echidna, Reptiles to Platypus it was totally a treat to watch. For the first time we saw what is called as Tree Kangaroo, that was an addition to my knowledge about animal kingdom. Just close by to the Sanctuary is Buddha Café where we had yummy snacks & it was worth after such a long walk around watching all the animals.

We moved around city and some inner parts with help of trams. But CBD ( Central Business District) area which is full of people from all different countries and different backgrounds we decided to walk down as far as possible. There is a China Town in CBD itself and yes we had our take on soft and tasty dumplings. Also, many shops, cafes & eateries are available for one to try out all types of cuisines. Coffee is the most loved drink & the Aussies are very proud and happy about the coffee they serve.

There is a huge library & botanical garden in CBD area which unfortunately we could not visit but just got a glance from outside. We were planning to go to MCG grounds but the tours for that period were not operational so we could not go there. But one more thing which we experienced was sports craze for Footy. Footy is the topmost favourite game of Australians. They all are mad crazy about it. Its like combination of all- basketball, football, rugby all in one. But more that the vibe and the excitement that game created among the people was worth watching. They all were so much into it as if we Indians feel about cricket.

Not only in the morning but Melbourne looks beautiful at night too. It’s all lighted up & there is a totally fun & frolic environment. People really enjoy their moments in whatever they do in Melbourne.

Last stop was obviously at the Souvenirs shop where we got the things/items so that we could relive those good times which spent in Australia back home.

Waiting to visit Australia soon again but this time with a longer spell to enjoy whole of it.

-Vaibhavi A Oak