Melbourn Australia 1998
Wonderful Vacation; Like Visiting Old Friends
Melbourne Australia
It was windy in Melbourne but we went to the top of the Rialto Towers anyway.... 65 floors above the city! After stepping out onto the OUTSIDE observation deck, we understood what 105 km/hour airspeed was.... the wind was 60 miles per hour! The building was making sounds but was built for twice that wind force. Wonderful view!!!
Melbourne is the capital of Victoria, the Garden State of Australia. Melbourne itself covers 6,202 sq km (2,396 sq miles) ... which is about the size of Metro Paris ... of Victoria's total area of 227,600 sq km (87,800 sq miles) ... about the size of Great Britain. And 25 per cent of Central Melbourne is devoted to parkland.
Melbourne Tower
Offering spectacular 360 degree views from the top of the renowned Rialto building, right in the very heart of the city, this Melbourne institution is a must-see experience for every Melbournian and visitor.
With over 3 million people ... you'll find Melbourne's population to be about the same as Toronto. And of these ... one quarter were born overseas; where we now have people from some 140 nations living here.
Getting around Melbourne is easy - be it on our world-famous tram system ... or by bus, train, taxi, boat (along the Yarra River), and even horse-drawn carriage.
In fact ... there are very few cities in the world, where you can board your morning commuter train 50 km
The Music
Wild Rover No More - another Australian folk song of Irish flavor but without any hint of sadness as in The Black Velvet Band. This song is about gold and love, but not the romantic kind of love.
Yarra River
The Yarra River flows right by the city. It is sometimes called "the river that flows upside down" because of its muddy color. The reason for this color is because mud particles stay suspended in the water and don't settle to the bottom like in most rivers. It is a very clean river (now).
During the warmer months people like to walk along the river, visit the parks and sunbathe (ouch) along the banks.
The Music
Wild Rover No More - another Australian folk song of Irish flavor but without any hint of sadness as in The Black Velvet Band. This song is about gold and love, but not the romantic kind of love. You will see the lyrics tell a story as old as time itself stretching right back to the start of the biblical era. This tune and lyrics express a great cheeky confidence and expectation that everything will be alright, and if it isn't - well that's okay too (typical Australian traits) on behalf of Wild Rover and we all know what the end result will be. Forgiveness - do you agree? But maybe Wild Rover has gone too far this time - it can happen.
Electric Trams All Over The City
Melbourne loves its electric trams. It is the only city in Australia which still has them as part of its public transport system. We paint some of them with interesting designs and motifs. There is even a tram restaurant where you can dine while trundling past interesting city sites. Trams have right of way on our roads and also make us do unusual right hand turns at city intersections.
Next Destination, Sydney
Sydney is the last stop of the voyage
. From Sydney we join a six day land tour of the great outback and Cairns before flying home.