1995/11 Australia trip - Melbourne and the Dandenongs |
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While in the Melbourne area, we went with family to the nearby Dandenong mountains to visit Sherbrooke Forest and the William Rickett's Sanctuary. In the evening we traveled into downtown Melbourne for the Botanical Gardens and to eat dinner on the banks of the Yarra River.
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In the afternoon, we continued shopping at Chadstone, a much larger mall, all decorated for Xmas of course, with an even bigger parking problem. Then we were all off to the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne. Lots of weird trees and shrubs, with a lake full of black swans and large eels, and one area where the trees were full of fruit bats. Birds of all colours and sizes. I still can’t get used to cockatoos, big white birds with yellow crests, flying around in flocks like pigeons.
We had dinner on the banks of the Yarra, in a sprawling area with many food kiosks sharing hundreds of tables. This being Saturday night, it was crowded, and finding room for all of us took some patience, but we finally grabbed some tables. Melbourne looks a nice city, not as frantic as Sydney, and with plenty of good walks. We finished up the day at the seaside, walking on the pier and watching the sunset. A really good day with weather to match.
We managed to get rid of all the Minnesota hats and tee-shirts we had been carrying around. Hopefully everyone got something which fitted.