We finally arrived in Melbourne. Diane has a cousin that lives here. Michael. And his wife Debbie. They have not met Diane for thirty years or so. I think she was a little bit nervous. Will we all like each other? Can we even get on for a few days? There was no need to worry. Michael has just retired. He is laid back in a very Australian fashion. Friendly and easy going. Debbie flits around more nervously but is very cheerful and chatty. The rest of the afternoon was mostly about catching up on family affairs. Diane has a lot of relatives and carefully keeps tabs on them all. There was a lot to be discussed. I kept up as best I could.
Next day, we all went to Phillip Island. This is a popular tourist area to the south of Melbourne, known for its beautiful beaches, wildlife experiences, relaxed seaside atmosphere and the penguin parade. It is also where Michael and Debbie have a holiday home. We took in a few sights on the way and stopped to eat chips by the bridge onto the island. The holiday home was lovely. A spacious and comfortable three-bedroom bungalow. We stopped there briefly and then set off to look around the island.
First stop was The Nobbies. This is the extreme south-west of the island where there are some lookout points and boardwalks. Here we got some excellent views of the rugged coastline, crashing waves and sea birds. We also spotted a tiny Blue Penguin in its burrow. Also known as fairy Penguins or Little Penguins. Most of the Fairy Penguins are out at sea during the day. They come back in the evening and walk up the beach to their burrows. The penguin parade. Visitors come to sit in a specially built viewing area to watch the birds coming home. We worked our way around the coast and along a dirt road. A wallaby was spotted along with several Cape Barren geese.
Then we arrived at the Penguin Parade. Diane and I had been considering buying tickets for a seat. That was until we saw the horrific magnitude of the commercialisation. Several thousand people come here every evening. They are bussed in from the mainland. A process which regularly causes traffic jams. A variety of options are available. None of them cheap. For $34 you get a basic seat where you will be looking past many people to see a small penguin. For $130 you get to visit a smaller, less crowded beach. All 2,000+tickets are regularly sold out and if we had really wanted to be there on a Saturday night we should have bought tickets days ago. I found the whole thing rather disturbing. A few people on the beach watching the penguins arrive is one thing. This mass tourist event was something else altogether. The colony supports about 32,000 little penguins so, rough calculation, each penguin earns $1,350 per year. I would cheer the penguins if they decided to go ashore elsewhere.
Next day we continued our exploration of Phillip Island. We saw Black Swans, Purple Swamphens and more Cape Barren Geese with chicks. We visited the $50m Penguin Parade visitor centre. You are allowed in for free during the day. Here there are souvenir shops, a café and some displays. Everything was very modern, well presented and paid for by the little blue penguins. Finally, we popped in at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. This dates back to 1928 and has a venerable history of motorcycle and car races. Currently, it gets used for the MotoGP race series. Back at the house, we admired their three boats and Michael showed us his collection of fishing rods. He has at least 20 rods with reels. Possibly twice as many. I know nothing of fishing and have no idea why he would need so many – but we were impressed.
On Monday, Debbie had to go to work. Michael, clearly enjoying his retirement, took us on a tour of Melbourne city centre. It was a warm, sunny day with a clear blue sky to highlight the towering, glass clad buildings. These appear to compete to be the tallest or to have the weirdest design.
Nestled in between these modern architectural constructs are a few much older buildings. The Flinders Street Railway Station dates back to 1854. The current building, completed in 1909, is a cultural icon of Melbourne. The distinctive and eclectic Edwardian architecture, prominent dome, arched entrance, tower and clocks is one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks. Its grand, somewhat exotic character led to the popular idea that the design was actually intended for Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus and vice versa. Myth has it that the designs got accidentally swapped in the post. Right next to the station is a very nice old pub where we stopped for a drink. We looked at the river, looked at an old shopping mall with extremely expensive shops and we stopped for another drink at the casino. In the evening, Michael, who use to be a professional chef, knocked up a terrific meal with egg-fried rice and baked sweet potatoes.
Next morning, we thanked Michael and Debbie for their wonderful hospitality and pointed our little motorhome towards Sydney.