Thursday, December 27 - Melbourne

     We had thought about staying at the campground we'd found in Melbourne for a couple nights, but after sampling the noisy late arrivers, the stinking amenities, and the crazy lady next to us sharpening her machete in her tent at night,  we decided to check out and hope for better arrangements further down the road after our day in Melbourne.  (The part about the machete sharpening might have been a bit of storytelling ornamentation, but she definitely seemed off kilter).

Camping on the outskirts of Melbourne.  At least we had a table.

     We'd seen a little of the city the evening before, so Thursday would be our finishing up day, probably not long enough to do Melbourne justice, but it would have to do.

View along the river

Melbourne has some interesting public art

     We decided to divide up and visit the two main museums at Federation Square, a new public space opened in 2002 to much controversy and considered by many (including myself) to be one of the ugliest pieces of modern architecture in the world.  Of course, the Eiffel Tower was also hated by the locals when it first opened.

Federation Square.  Ugly, but the center of public life in Melbourne.
The city hoped to claim some of the glory showered on Sydney with
its Opera House... not likely, in my opinion.  Perhaps it grows on you.

Deciding which way to go

Viewing contemporary Aboriginal art

     Diana and I rode on the free tram circling the city.  We didn't get too far because the driver went on break soon after we boarded and it sat there immobile for nearly 15 minutes.  We hopped off and walked to the park where Kelly and Dan were fixing grilled Tasty sandwiches on the same barbie we'd cooked on the night before.

Aboard the tram

Dan cleaning up after dinner

     We left Melbourne an hour before sunset and drove east, finding a free place to camp at cricket grounds near a small town, a huge improvement over the evening before.