The first full day in Australia brought sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 90s… perfect weather for a boat ride. We took the train to the Flinders Street Station in downtown Melbourne, and caught the Yarra Empress at the Federation Square Riverfront.
The Yarra River runs through the middle of Melbourne, and a boat cruise is a good way to get your bearings in the city. The first half of the cruise took us west through downtown, under some very low bridges (everybody down!) where Queensbridge Street and Kings Way cross the river, past the Victoria Harbour to the Westgate Bridge at the mouth of the Port Phillip Bay. We turned around and came back to the Riverfront for lunch. Then we went upriver past the Royal Botanical Gardens, Rod Laver Arena where the National Day of Mourning obervances were held yesterday for those who died in the bush fires, around Herring Island and back to the Riverfront. We then took the Lilydale line back to Park Orchards and headed home for a cold beer. Here's a great set of postede instructions we saw on the train; I especially like the one about indecent language!
Today’s high temperature was 35 Celsius, or about 95 degrees, which is quite warm even for late summer in Australia. Another serious bush fire has broken out, but not near where Barbara and Andrew live. Because of the weakened ozone layer in the southern hemisphere, the UV levels are quite high and we are living in thick layer of sunblock. Tomorrow promises to be quite a bit cooler, and I’m hoping to take in a market or two.
