Our second full day in Melbourne was the day of the Grand Final, but we had other plans. We started with a visit to the well know Victoria Market. For us it was a stop on our tram ride to the city so an easy stop. We planned to eat breakfast there. Later we would continue our tram ride out to the beach community of St. Kilda and see the St. Kilda penguins.
To begin our day, however, we needed breakfast. We were discovering that going out for breakfast in Australia involved a meal on toast. Toast or bread of some kind seemed to be the basis for most breakfast meals. My wife would post a picture of our breakfast online, and my daughter asked if we were going to the same place every day. We weren’t. They just all seemed to have toast.
After our breakfast we began to explore the market. There are a number of areas in the market. In a fairly new enclosed section were the meat, fish and deli storefronts. In a covered but open walled area were fruits and vegetables and all kinds of other items for sale from jewelry to shoes to children’s toys. Pretty much whatever one wanted could be found here. It was an interesting place to explore. We checked out a few things and ended up back in the deli section buying a loaf of rye fruit bread to snack on throughout the day.
After our visit to the market, we traveled on to the beach community of St. Kilda. The tram ride took about a half hour. We stopped next to the well known Luna Park. This is not a big amusement park but appears to be popular. There is a big face at the entrance of the park which seems to be a signature aspect of the park. We later discovered there is another one like it in Sydney. We didn’t go into the park, but the roller coaster seemed to go all around the park so we were able to get a view of that as it went by.
Walking over to the shoreline of Port Phillip Bay we headed south on a well paved path. We were headed to Port Ormond which has a small beach area. We passed a small lighthouse which we were unable to get up close to. The pathway goes through a marina, park and green areas. There are no homes or hotels next to the water so the public can enjoy the water and the view. There are nice views of Melbourne’s city center along the walk.
There’s a beach area at Port Ormond and a trail nearby that goes to the top of a hill. One can get a great view of both the city and areas south. There’s a nice paved walk up from the south side, but from the north the path strangely stops and does not connect to the main trail. While we were there, a young boy was walking his bike up the path and then riding as fast as he could down the hill. He did this a couple of times while we watched. When we left we walked past him, and I asked him how many times he had done that. He said six times. Oh, the simple pleasures. As we headed back we walked by a large grassy field where a group of people were landing after jumping with parachutes. It was fun to watch them land.
Arriving back where we started, we had a snack break on the bread we had purchased and then continued on to the large pier area. This part of the walk had more sandy beaches and more people. We did encounter one situation where a woman’s dog was not on a leash, and it grabbed a stuffed toy from a child. The dog refused to respond to the woman for some time playing with her and running around on the beach. While the child was left in tears, the rest of us watched as the woman tried to get her dog to come to her. Entertaining for us, sad for the child who did eventually get his toy back.
The pier was of particular interest to us as there is an area there where you can see penguins. The St. Kilda penguins return to the rocks every night after the sun sets. We found the area and checked it out as we were planning to return later for the event. There is another penguin viewing area farther away that many tours go to where there are more penguins to see, but the tours can cost quite a bit. Watching here is free.
There is a restaurant on the pier which was restored after a fire burned it down in 2003. There is also a great view of the city from the pier, especially with the boats in between. It makes for great pictures.
Since we had a while until it was dark, we decided to walk into town to get something to eat. The main drag through town is not very impressive. It’s a little sketchy in places. We had a tough time finding a place to eat. They were either expensive or didn’t look like a place we would want to eat. We finally settled on a place called Banff which seemed to be named after the Canadian park. They served pasta in a paper bag. It was a unique concept to say the least, and it was good. We just wondered why?
We headed back to the pier. When we arrived a half hour or so before sunset, there were already a lot of people there waiting for the St. Kilda penguins. There is a lower walkway closer to the water and then an upper area. I got down to the lower level, but my wife stayed above. It was a long wait, but finally we saw a penguin swim in and then scurry into the rocks. It was quite a distance away so I didn’t get a picture. Then I saw one coming really close to where I was standing. I was excited thinking I would get my picture. However, just as it was getting close to the shore, a rat came out, and the two tangled. The penguin soon retreated back into the water, and I never got my picture.
In the mean time my wife was up above and saw a lone penguin come up on the other side of the pier and got a really good picture. As it got darker, my camera would not respond without a flash, and flash photos were not permitted as they scared the penguins. I took out my phone to take pictures, but they didn’t turn out very well. My wife got the best photos of the evening.
We stuck around and then a greater number of the St. Kilda penguins all came up at the same time. Volunteers would shine red lights on the penguins as apparently that didn’t bother them. Many of the people had left already so we were able to get closer. The penguins then moved into the rocky areas and began to make noises talking to each other. We could see them quite well at this point, but photos were not good due to how dark it was. We stayed for a while and really got a good experience out of it. The lesson is don’t leave too soon. Keep waiting. I only wish I had been able to get some decent pictures. The photos below were all taken by my wife.
We took the tram back into town and back to our hotel. We had one more day left in Melbourne and still so much to see.
Have you had any experiences with penguins? What is your favorite public market? I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.
Photo Credits: Besides the penguin pictures Silvette took the following pictures: “Breakfast at Victoria Market,” “Imitating a Sign,” “Pasta in a Bag,” and “Hoping for a View of the St. Kilda Penguins.”