Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the mrlukeniktravels blog coming this week from Melbourne, Australia. I have passed over the Tasman Sea and into a new country. This is the fifth country I have been in since leaving the UK over nine months ago. I have moved west once again and slightly closer to the equator. I write this post as the quite hot Australian sunshine covers the city. Hopefully it will not get too hot here as we head into autumn. When the sun is veiled by the clouds the humidity here rises rapidly, easily reaching 75%. When that happens it can get quite sticky…nice!
Heading over from New Zealand via an 8am fight required an early start to depart Christchurch. The airport experience was almost as mundane as usual, except for other passengers. Despite the long-standing and well signposted rules at airport security, some people don’t seem to understand. Only 100ml bottles are permitted, yet one passenger was carrying the largest jars of Manuka honey I have ever seen! That must have been an expensive mistake. Secondly, Americans are often noticeable at airport security because they take their shoes off without being prompted! The flight to Melbourne took just under four hours, long enough for me. It was a little strange for me to get back on an aeroplane after five months. I’d arrived by 10am Melbourne time in the pouring rain. No trademark clear Australian skies on arrival for me! It was time to get stuck into a new city.
I have spent the past couple of days exploring the city and getting my bearings. Getting around requires using the city’s ubiquitous trams. Within the city centre the trams are free, so there is no excuse! I also took a trip out to St Kilda (not the island of the coast of Scotland). From there it was possible to see the smoke from bush fires further north in the state. The largest of these in Victoria occurred in 2009, causing considerable economic damage, loss of life and environmental destruction. After last summer in Western Canada, I am particularly aware of the damage caused by fire. Bush fires are, of course, part of the ecosystem here to regenerate the environment. Controlled burning has been used by Aboriginal peoples for thousands of years to manage the land, having the effect of ploughing. It is still very sad to see the destruction it can cause.
The other major task for me whilst in Melbourne is buying a car to provide both transport and accommodation. I shall be opting out of the hostel system for a few months before returning when I leave Australia. After Melbourne I am heading down to Tasmania where there aren’t really any public transport options. Private transport also gives me more freedom to go and explore as well as not having to pay for accommodation on top. I am hopefully in the process of buying a car and hope to head to Tasmania this Saturday. The vehicle registration, change of ownership and inspection rules here seem to be so complicated! This is because each state makes their own rules, like the provinces and territories of Canada, and they’re all slightly different. Unlike the UK the requirements are not unified across the country so it is giving me a bit of a headache at the moment. With luck I shall be with a vehicle next week!
That is about it for this week, as I have only just begun to dip my toe in this enormous country. As mentioned above, I shall hopefully be in Tasmania next week, across the Bass Straight. Until then, as usual, there is my Twitter feed @mrlukeniktravel. Secondly, there is my Instagram feed @mrlukeniktravels. For instant notification that I have posted a blog you can subscribe by email using the button below. For now that is it from the city of Melbourne, stay safe and travel on!