7 March 2012 - Sundowner Rockbank Caravan Park, Victoria

The rain had stayed away overnight and Tuesday dawned dry but with autumn pressing in. It seems that the endless summers of Australia are a thing of the past, or at least in this part of the continent. We headed back into the city with great throngs of commuters all wrapped up against the weather as we were, and once there, headed off on foot for Olympic Park along the Yarra River.

Next weekend looks as if it will be busy with festivals and shows; there were hordes of workers on both sides of the river setting up side shows and amusement structures and much of the wide walkways were barricaded off for safety or convenience.

An outdoor court with the city in the background

We were early for the first tour of the day, which is normal for us who are always either dead on time or early. Old habits die hard. At 11.30 am about two dozen other tourists joined us and we started off on the Tennis World Guided Tour. The young woman who acted as guide was excellent, clearly spoken, inclusive and well informed. The tour took place in the Rod Laver Arena, named after Australia’s world tennis legend. We were led through the players changing rooms, the Corridor of Fame, the Media Conference Room, the lounges, the gymnasium, the corporate boxes, the stadium which was looking somewhat different from when the Open final was played, having recently hosted a concert. Much of the seating was curtained off however we were able to peek behind and see the extent of the stadium. The guide also explained in detail the attendance fees, the prizes, the services offered the players, the penalties charged for dodging interviews, the habits and quirks of the players and everything you could possibly want to know about the tennis park and the Australian Open. We were delivered back to the start point well after an hour and felt the tour had been good value.

We lunched in the Garden Square which is actually circular, and then headed back to Flinders Street station to catch an earlier train home in preparation for our big night out. Read “big night out” as “any night out”. We drove northwards across the rural landscape to Sunbury where we were the guests of our friends Bob and Janet at one of the local Thai restaurants, Sunanta’s. After an excellent meal, we adjoined to their home where we consumed coffee and biscuits before driving back to the camp. I kept a lookout for night creatures on the road; there were none.

This morning we woke late as one would expect after such excitement, then spent the rest of the morning at the Burnside Medical Centre successfully organising ‘flu vaccinations. The Centre is staffed by softly spoken Chinese doctors and nurses and the desk staff from middle European countries while the patients were a motley lot from all over the world, us included. This, just like the time spent on the trains in the western suburbs most days, was an interesting cultural experience, part of Australia that the average tourist misses out on.

Brighton's Beach Boxes

Eventually we made our way on to Sunshine, caught the train through to Flinders Street, then another to Brighton Beach on the Sandringham line, a distance of about eight kilometres. There we alighted and made our way northwards along the sea shore, passing the famous Brighton Beach Boxes, bright with their coloured stripes; deserted but for several Chinese tourists who were doing as we were. The Esplanade is frontage to many very luxurious homes, but not quite as smart as those along Beaconsfield Parade at St Kilda. We walked out the Brighton pier, much less impressive than its namesake or that at St Kilda, but providing shelter to the marina. From there we headed inland through tree lined streets littered with fallen leaves and past many beautiful old homes, until we reached Middle Brighton’s shopping centre, all rather smart and busy with the inevitable café goers. We then headed north basically following the rail line as far as North Brighton and explored the centre there, a little less classy than Middle Brighton but still impressive. We caught the train from there back into the city centre and joined the crowds of students heading westwards on the homebound train.

The wind has come up tonight and we have put the awning and all the outdoor paraphernalia away yet again. Better safe than sorry. Still this is nothing compared to the weather events that are being battled further north. Some flood waters seem to have receded and others are threatening disaster within the next twenty four hours. It seems to go on and on.