I barely managed three hours of sleep.
Light fever and throat pain kept me tossing and turning the whole night.
Finally I went down to the kitchen and made myself a hot cup of coffee and
continued charging the devices I needed for the days’ tour. I made a couple of
sandwiches from the stuff I had in the car, which was safely parked in the paid
car park beside the hostel. I swallowed a couple of tablets hoping that the
fever and throat pain would go away. My voice had become so feeble that I could
barely make myself audible.
Even though the situation did not
improve much by 8 am I started on the walking tour of the city. The arresting
sight of the spire of the Arts centre on St Kilda Road had caught my fancy last
night. The centre has an array of venues and is the focal point of cultural
performances in the city. The National Gallery of Victoria is the oldest and
largest art museum in Australia. The waterfall facade and the fountains use
rainwater collected in the gutters as run off from the roof through a system of
underground tanks and moats. The next destination was the Shrine of Remembrance.
The war memorial was built to honour those who served in WWI, but later became
one that honoured all Australians who served in war all over the world. The
largest war memorial in Australia, it was designed by two world war veterans.
Mac Ford, an elderly volunteer explained the features of the memorial and the
friezes within. The central portion of the enclosure contains the marble Stone of
Remembrance on which is inscribed “Greater Love Hath No Man”, When the clock
was to strike the 11th hour he told all of us to stand to attention
for the bugle, during when a ray of light passed across the inscription and
lingered awhile over the word Love. It was a very poignant moment and a
reminder to those who had laid down their lives for the country that they will
never be forgotten. The views from the balcony of the building gives stunning
views of the city.
As I was exiting the shrine I asked
one of the volunteers, a tall handsome man, for directions to walk to the Rod
Laver Arena. He asked me to follow a gravel path – wondering why Australians
refer to gravel paths as Tan path and refuse to acknowledge the gravel! -
around the park within the premises. It was a rather long walk, but when I
reached it the gentleman at the gate told me that the Arena is closed for the
past five days to get it ready for a concert. This is something amazing in this
country. Most venues are multi-functional. That gets the management revenue
through the year. However, just standing below the bronze figure of arguably
the greatest tennis player ever, The Rockhampton Rocket, was itself a
goosebumps raising moment. Next to that is the Margaret Court Arena, another
set of courts in honour of one of the greatest woman tennis players of all
time.
Linking the Arenas to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is an
aesthetically roofed walkway, to the left of which are the outer courts. Some
of them were in use. The MCG is awe inspiring in size and facilities. The
ground hosted the first ever test match in 1877 between Australia and England
and also the first ever ODI, between the same two countries, in 1971. The venue
itself was built in 1853 and has been in a constant state of renewal. It was
the centrepiece stadium during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and the Commonwealth
Games in 2006, as well as Cricket World Cups of 1992 and 2015. The stadium has
strong bonds with Australian Rules Football, International football matches and
rugby. The stadium is busy right round the year, thus. The conducted tour of
the MCG, which happens every 15 minutes, costs AUD 24 but is worth every cent. The
tour of players facilities, commentary and members’ boxes, library, blazer
room, long room, and of course, the ground itself was an unforgettable
experience.
From the MCG I walked along the
Northbank of the Yarra River to reach the St Paul’s Cathedral. The Anglican
church is the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne. The Cathedral spires are a
major architectural landmark of the city. The gothic structure was completed in
1891. I requested for a worship visit and spent many minutes in prayer despite
the church brimming with tourists and photographers. Inside the church I met
Rajan, a Sri Lankan of Indian parentage, who described the tales of his visits
to India and what I should look out for in Tasmania, my next destination. In
immediate proximity to the Cathedral is the Federation Square, a venue built
for events, art and culture in the centre of the CBD. Ruchit had told me last
evening that Bollywood stars are a major attraction in the city and they
perform in the Federation Square. The Flinders Street railway station is a
cultural icon of Melbourne and is the busiest railway station in Australia with
over a 100,000 passengers daily. A row of clocks at the main entrance of the
station gave rise to the popular Melburnian saying, “I’ll meet you under the
clocks”.
When I was done with the
walk George called to say that he would be at the hostel in a half hour. He had
planned a drive to Queenscliff, a ferry crossing to Sorento and the drive to
Arthurs seat. The suburbs of Australia are amazing, so calm and quiet. Natural
beauty abounds in this and and the air adds substance to one’s life.
Queenscliff almost at the entrance to Port Phillip. The town was a popular
seaside resort in the early part of the last century. In times past, the area
was an aboriginal settlement. Tourism and fishing are the mainstays now. Unfortunate
for us, the last ferry for the day had departed at 6 pm. Though immensely
disappointed we spent some lovely time in the lookout point soaking in the
setting sun.
By the time we were ready to leave
from Queenscliff I was running temperature and the throat had become very sore.
I needed medication. George took me to a Coles outlet from where I got
lozenges, Panadol and Cough & Cold tablets. I planned to leave the next
morning at 4.30 am to park the car at the airport and fly to Launceston. Most
importantly, I needed rest, a lot of rest.
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