The last few weeks have seen some big changes around Murray Street, once Robert and I have left there will only be three people from the twelve that sat around the table on Christmas day still in the house. We are now in our last days in the house, and have finished working. The last two weeks have been spent catching up with the tourist attractions that we hadn’t got round to. These included Phillip Island, the Melbourne Gaol, the zoo and the Eureka Tower. There was also a mini flood.
The first notable event was the Australian Open. We went to the Open on middle Saturday of the two week event, having booked tickets for the Rod Laver arena a few weeks earlier. Having both worked at Wimbledon, and not seen any other grand slams it was always going to be interesting to see if the Aussies could do it as well as us Pommies(a colloquial phrase for the British, in reference to our ancestors skin looking the colour of Pomegranates when arriving in Australian ports- bring that to the pub quiz).
The day was excellent, with fortunately good weather. We arrived just past 11 and the first match had begun, between Vera Zvonereva and Lucie Safarova. However, not being the biggest fans of woman’s tennis and with Andy Murray due to pay in the next match we left after just a few games to see the surrounds. The open had a good feel to the place, not too dissimilar to that of a festival. People sat around and sunbathed in the large Heineken enclosure where there was live music(no one of note played), ate food outside on Garden Square or browsed in the marquees in which the tournament sponsors had been provided with pricey retail space. After a few beers and having taken a some photos we headed to the Rod Laver and saw Murray demolish no 32 Garcia Lopez in straight sets. Lopez was so poor, that the game became a formality for Murray. The next match involved eventual champion Kim Clijsters and was another straight sets victory. After we went and watch some doubles on the outside courts where there were groups of blaring blonde haired Aussies chanting. They just have no idea how to chant, and come across as a bunch of clowns at sporting events- “Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi” is all they say over and over again, and seem to find it hilarious each time- would love to ship them off to a lower league football club deep in Winter. Nonetheless it provided some cringeworthy entertainment.
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| Festival Feel |
Compared to Wimbledon the event defiantly didn't feel as formal, with none of the pomp on display at SW19. Also the event feels like it is constructed overnight, the drinking areas, shops, even the cooperate hospitality are all based in marquees. There’s nothing like the chic players area with attached restaurant at Wimbledon, or glass walled restaurants based in centre court. Tickets are checked by teenagers rather than the uniformed serviceman at home (admittedly its an unnecessary waste of taxpayers money but that’s for another day) and everywhere in Melbourne Park there are sponsors. Understandably, some would prefer the Australian open, with spectators turning up for the sport rather than for the Pimms. However for me the feeling of tournament prestige, and completely unique atmosphere of Wimbledon just puts it above the Aussie open. I think it’s why the greats of the game prefer Wimbledon as well.
On the day itself I felt pretty rough having contracted Viral meningitis in the days previously- this isn’t the fatal type which is bacterial, but it meant I was essentially knocked out for a few days with fever, had to take time away from work and feared I couldn’t go. A few litres of lucozade, a pack of paracetamol and hydration packs sorted that out.
The next trip out occurred the weekend after, when we visited the Old Melbourne Gaol. This has been voted as one of the best tourist experiences in Australia. The Jail was built in the mid 1800's to house prisoners from the overflowing jail on Collins Street. The surviving wing we visited was built towards the end of the century, and based on British Prisons of the time which put an emphasis on prisoner isolation- the idea being that silence and confinement would allow prisoners to reflect on their actions and their lives and reform themselves. The isolation even extended to putting them in face bags for eating and exercising. The policy simply drove them insane. 135 people were hung at the Gaol, including Victoria's most famous criminal, an Irish Outlaw called Ned Kelly(I will leave you to Wikipedia him). At the jail there were actors who re-created the story of his life which enhanced the experience.
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| Robert a Melbourne Gaol with our Houemate Alex |
The second part of the tour was excellent. A part of the prison was actually used up until 1994(in a completely separate building next door), and so we had the experience of being prisoners. A butch policewoman ordered our large group to line up single file, men in one line and woman in another, and empty our pockets. I was too scared to take any photos at this point. We and what looked like blood smeared on the walls. These were overnight cells for were then locked in pitch black cells in groups of 15. The cells were dirty, with water dripping from the ceiling the rowdy drunks, hobos and ladies of the night. We were then escorted into the prison yard for some daily exercise. The policewoman’s act then stopped and she showed us some of the padded cells(literally cushions floor to ceiling where they kept prisoners that posed a danger to themselves). In the yard there was graffiti etched into the walls, with messages from prisoners embedded in the stone, mainly from the 80’s and 90’s.
The 2nd Friday before we left (4th February) was the day after the cyclone had hit Queensland 1500kms to the north. The spin off created floods even in Melbourne. It rained heavily throughout the day. After work I went out with friends from work though had to get a tram home in as the metro had been knocked out due to flooding in the tunnels. Meanwhile back at 50 Murray, Robert went out to the nearby Chapel Street with people from the house. They ended up swimming in the street. The flooding had receded by the time I returned later on. Fortunately our house wasn’t flooded at all, though people had to put towels by the doors to stop water coming in.
This week a day was taken out to visit Phillip Island, a tour we booked last week. There were three parts to the day. The first was a stop before Phillip island to visit Moonlit Animal Sanctuary. Here we saw all the Aussie favourites- kangaroos, walalaies which look very similar to kangerros but have no tailbones and koalas. It was nice that you could interact with the animals, excluding the koalas. For a donation you could feed them- ever the keen tourists we took the opportunity.
The next stop was the beach at cape Woolami on Phillip Island itself. The beach was simply stunning, the water the bluest I’ve ever seen. The current was extremely strong, so much so that life guards set out red and yellow flags to indicate areas in which you could swim and would be saved (outside that area was too dangerous for them).
Following this the coach took us to several viewing points on the Island to view some geographical features before taking us to Cowes(named after the town on the Isle of White) where the group was provided with pizza for dinner. In the evening, around 7 the coach dropped us off to see the penguin parade. Every evening penguins emerge from the sea to rest in burrows formed in the ground just beyond the dunes. We sat at stands built for tourists, and saw penguins emerge from the water in small groups of 3 and 4, though they were far away and difficult to see. Once a fair number had come, we, along with what seemed like the rest of New Malden, moved off the stands, and wandered around wooden walkways behind the beach. From these you could follow the penguins retreat inland and see them up close. Unfortunately you couldn’t take pictures as the flash can blind them. This would normally be the point where your average gap year student would make a failed attempt to describe how seeing this spectacle deeply impacted their life, before making some promise of how they will never look at things in the same way again. I won’t as that would be a lie.
The next ten days will be spent on the road, we moved out of Melbourne on Saturday. I think we both left with mixed feelings, the stability, consistency and routine of a house, plus the individuals we lived with will be things I am sure a few months travelling will make us miss. However there is defiantly excitment about not haveing to work and beginning travelling proper. I feel pleased about the success of the first part of the trip-coming to a new city and a new country and managing to find a job,a house, meeting people both through the house and at work, and getting to add another place alongside Bristol as a city which feels like a home in itself.
There are phrases which I will not forgot from Murray Street- Paul's lucid language- 'carnage, huuuuge fact,whopper, would ya?', Dimitri's english accent and Get in, Nico's inability to pronounce H properly- many times playing cards he would use the word (h)earts and of courst Putain and Mannon
There are phrases which I will not forgot from Murray Street- Paul's lucid language- 'carnage, huuuuge fact,whopper, would ya?', Dimitri's english accent and Get in, Nico's inability to pronounce H properly- many times playing cards he would use the word (h)earts and of courst Putain and Mannon
The trip is now at the end of the beginning.
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| At the top of the Eureka Tower-Melbournes Tallest Building (297m) |
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| Haircut-Big Responsibility |
