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As we arrived at Melbourne airport and waited to go through passport control, we chatted to a NZ chap, very friendly and smiley. He naturally asked us about what we had liked and where we would like to go back to. My immediate response was,' Balclutha is a strange place - a moment silence, a rather uncomfortable silence.'
'I'm from Balclutha.'
Another pause and while I'm trying to think of what to say, he smiled and continued. '..but I escaped years ago.' Phew! (Refer to previous blog, if not sure.) We obviously then went on to explain about all the wonderful places we had been to.
I have to say we love it here. I feel slightly disloyal to NZ, as we had such a wonderful experience, but Melbourne is different again to anything we have experienced so far. There is a real vibe, a contagious buzz of energy, and there is something for absolutley everyone art, theatre, live music, street entertainment, victorian buildings, beautiful parks, sporting events for every type of sport - the list goes on and on and on. The wonderful thing is that it all at your fingertips. They seem to be specialists in everything food, wine, coffee and beer. As you know from Jeff's blog he truly loves wine, beer and now coffee. Top presents for the next few years - courses on any of these!! There are also beautiful shops, unfortunately due to weight allowance on luggage, I can only go and 'stroke' the clothes and the boots and leave them.
We have found ourselves here, during the Melbourne Comedy Festival, which is celebrating 30 years. There are organised performances everywhere, inside and out. So many hopefuls comedians of all ages who descend on Melbourne, they seem to sleep anywhere they can and perform in small rooms to whoever wants to pay. Always believing that they will get their break, like so many before them. There are so many stories of how many were down to their last penny and then they were spotted. It seems to be a loyal club where some who have made it return year on year, it seems to be their way of saying thank you. We have laughed so much, its just been brilliant- Ivan Aristeguieta ( Chorizo Sizzle) and Rich Hall, who is an absolute genius, were our favourites.
Our apartment is in St Kilda, it's twenty minutes on the tram to the city and two minutes from the beach. The majority of people who live here, seem to be involved in some form of physical activity - from the moment you leave the apartment you enter a 'gym' where you see cycling, running, power walking, kite surfing, swimming - there is no obesity here!!!
In our lovely apartment, there is an the information pack, it mentioned that there were 'Fairy' penguins at the end of the pier, which could be occasionally seen at dawn or at dusk. There was very much an emphasis on, if you were lucky. I have to say that I was far more excited about the penguins than Jeff. So I walked to the end of the pier, so many people looking in the rocks, but nothing - to be honest if I was a penguin I wouldn't show either! I was informed that the best time was early. The following morning we woke at 6am and went looking for penguins. Clearly it was not early enough, a fisherman informed that we needed to be much earlier.
So with a little persuasion we woke, at 4 am on Easter Monday morning and instead of looking for eggs, we went looking for penguins. We arrived to the most unusual sound - penguins communicating to one another, very loudly and there in front of us were penguins - so many. They were ' waddling ' around( unsure of correct terminology for penguin movement), on the paths, on the slate grey rocks, on the walkway. They obediently stayed in their designated, protected zone, they didn't stray.
Under the heavily clouded sky, we watched as their white breasts were reflected by the watery moonlight and their silvery grey coats were easily camouflaged in the rocks, so it was hard to tell how many were there. They seemed surprisingly happy with our visit although some chose to move quickly and disappear.
To our surprise, after talking to various folk, we discovered that we were wrong and the penguins were not as shy as we first thought and the hundreds of people who congregated at the end of the day, as the light faded and turned to darkness, were not disappointed. Apparently, penguins didn't mind performing!!
Curious, we went again and just as darkness fell and the light of the city illuminated the bay - there at the end of the pier were the penguins, admittedly not as many as our previous visit, but like 'celebrities' some were happy to be photographed ( no flashes), some were happy to be part of a 'selfie' and some happy to pose and make their make their noise to their adoring audience, who stood like stunned fans at the sight before them -spell bound.
Occasionally, there was a 'coo' from the crowds as a penguin swam in and 'waddled' swiftly up the beach to find their 'real estate' rock. As the penguin colony developed, rock space was at a premium, as we soon discovered that approximately 1,500 penguins live at the end of the pier. It was quite amazing.
Finally before I finish I just wanted to talk about the weather. I believe that you have had some beautiful weather of late, which is excellent news.
We were told in NZ that we needed to be aware of the Australian sun - 'it's dangerous and there's no protection.' Well, that is if it comes out - for the first few days in Melbourne, it was quite chilly and the very cloudy. One evening it was so cold, Jeff even put trousers on. Don't worry though, after a few days the temperature has improved and we have seen the glorious blue sky again and Jeff's legs.
Take care everyone.
- comments
Krys Meakin I'm glad you like Melbourne, I love it. Have you been to Melbourne Old Goal where Ned Kelly ended his days? xxx
Heidi Huggins Just had a look at those 2 comedians at the melbourne comedy fest on youtube, see what you mean, very funny!!!! Glad your having an amazing time and we're really enjoying your blog updates, lots of love Heidi xxxx