Day 1 in Melbourne

It wasn't unbearably hot today, and not humid either. Het viel best mee, as the Dutch say. Tomorrow should be 21° and rain...

Let's dive straight into the public transport system, as it caused my blood pressure to rise today. Arriving in the city centre this morning, I wanted to take the vintage tram that loops around the city. I just missed it as I arrived, and waited 25 minutes for the next one (there was no timetable at the stop, but I later learned it should run every 12 minutes). But after only a few stops, there was some incident on a tram ahead of us. The police came, but after 20 minutes, my patience ran out. I caught another tram to Southern Cross station, to get my plastic card topped up.

The man in the information centre was a complete dimwit. He couldn't figure out how much I needed to top up for what I told him (twice) I wanted, so I had to work it out for him! On his calculator! The good thing is that you can top up exactly the amount you need, not just multiples of 10's as in NZ. And the plastic card is only $6 here. The daily fare cap is $7.80 ($6 on weekends and public holidays), which is the equivalent of two single trips, and you can travel really far on trams, buses, and trains. I bought a Visitor Value Pack for $14 at the information counter at the airport last night, containing a Myki plastic card and $8.00 to travel for, plus some discount coupons to various establishments. You can't use the card on the direct Skybus to town, but since my accommodation was halfway between the airport and the city, it was fine for me to take a local bus and change to tram to reach my destination. Smooth as.

Anyway, I decided to save the circle tram for later and I headed out to St. Kilda Beach instead, which was quite nice. I decided to take the long way back to town, to see as much as possible. Well before I reached my destination, we were informed that a broken down truck was blocking the track and the tram could not continue! It's just been one of those days... Hopefully things will run more smoothly the coming two days I'm in town.

The trams are a nice but very slow way to see the city. Minute for minute, you're better off walking around the CBD, even if the trams are free.

I feel that I need a day off soon. I am quite tired. I'm catching the train to Sydney on Saturday, and I will be there for a whole week, so I think Sunday could be a good day to do as little as I possibly can. Monday is ANZAC Day, so I will certainly go and check out the activities.

I am very happy that NSW TrainLink are having a sale in April, so I only paid AU$45 for each leg Melbourne-Sydney (11.5 hours) and Sydney-Brisbane (15 hours!). I also got away with AU$45 for a day return from Sydney to Canberra. Excellent deals!