Dispatches from the sunburned wastelands

As I mentioned in a previous post, we went to Melbourne last week. It's a sparkling gem of a place, with a bustling downtown and a beautiful harbour. This city of 3,5 million people has a much more European feel to it than Canberra. The city's downtown is an exciting mix of old Victorian and new post-modern buildings, which combine with the oldest electric tram system in the world to give it that authentic old-worlde feel. The pic above was taken in the newly developed Docklands district, just to the west of the downtown. It is a really well designed new development, with impressive buildings, nice walkways, restaurants, and lots of grand vistas across the city.
Around downtown there are also lots of little hidden alleyways and old-fashioned arcades, filled with restaurants and cafes where one can imbibe in pleasurable things like hand crafted chocolates, or just an espresso.


Walking around the Melbourne harbour I also came across theFarley Mowat, the flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, from which they are waging their war against pirate whalers and other ocean destroying groups on the high seas. Painted across the side of the ship was a list of whaling ships that they had sunk over the years....

Posted by HannesB at 1:30 PM Comments