Hey, everyone! This past week has been all about exploring Melbourne and getting used to being in a big city again after being away from one for eight months. While it was initially an adjustment to be away from wildlife and nature, Melbourne has managed to surprise me.

Melbourne CBD

After my last blog post, I went out to officially explore Melbourne on my first day in the city. It was a Sunday and the city was teeming with people. It was actually very jarring for me, having gone from Perth (Population: 2 million, but VERY spread out) to Coral Bay (200) to Tasmania (0.5 million). Little did I know, Melbourne is a city of about 5 million people, nearly double Chicago. I was not prepared at all.

During my first afternoon, I wandered to Batman Park, then near the Alexandra Gardens following the Yarra River. From there, I ventured into the city again, where I decided to check out Fitzroy and Collingwood – two cute areas in the north of the city. Fitzroy was neat. It’s hard to describe that part of town. Lots of cafes, bars, restaurants, tattoo shops, op shops, etc. It is noted as being “hipstery” and for good reason. Along my walk, I listened to Amanda Palmer’s song “From St. Kilda to Fitzroy”.

After asking my friend Michael for some Melbourne recommendations, he had sent me a cool spot to check out and since he was already reminiscing, he also sent along the apartment he used to rent during his time in Melbourne. I decided to make the pilgrimage to Michael’s old apartment. Entering his neighborhood was the first time in the entire day where I was away from swarms of people. It was nice haha. I recorded a little video message for Michael in front of his old apartment.

From there, I walked to the Abbotsford Convent, which is an old nun convent that was converted into a co-op. It was getting dark out at this point, so it was my last main activity for the day. Along the way home, I heard some kookaburras. I felt reassured that even near a big city… there were still kookaburras.

I wasn’t immediately in love with Melbourne. It’s not that I thought it sucked or anything – there are plenty of things to do. I think I have just been so spoiled with nature, wildlife, etc. that this was clearly a very hard adjustment for me. As I mentioned in my last post, I was feeling like I had somehow made a mistake by leaving Hobart. At the same time, I was getting frustrated with myself for being “close-minded” about it, not quite giving the city an opportunity to reveal itself for what it was. I was carrying my preconceptions of what Australia had shown me so far and I was fully aware heading to Melbourne that it was a city, not a wildlife sanctuary.

St. Kilda

The next day, I decided it would be a good idea to check out the skyline of the city. Perhaps seeing it from the outskirts would allow me to understand it more, to see it with a fresh perspective and absorb it better. I walked to Albert Park, which had a really excellent view of the city. Along the lake were plenty of birds, including black swans. Unfortunately, here, unlike anywhere in Perth or Tasmania that I’d seen, a lot of the swans had number tags along their necks.

Still, the view was quite nice. I meditated on a bench for a little while and then did an exercise on the grass. From there, I continued along to St. Kilda to check out the pier and get closer to the ocean. Once at the pier, I called my old housemate Kory to catch up on the phone. While on the phone with him, I spotted heaps of starfish hanging out along the pier, which was really fun to see. Black swans? Starfish? Melbourne had some wildlife for me, after all!

St. Kilda was a neat area. Lots of cool shops and storefronts, and less congested than the CBD.

Grey-headed Flying Fox

My Hobart friend Brenda was in Melbourne, so I met her for tea one morning. She showed me around the space that she was staying in – which was incredible – and we caught up for a little bit. It was really nice to see a familiar face, as I had been feeling a little lost at sea in a new city.

The main event of the day, however, was to see the grey-headed flying foxes (bats) that had a colony along the Yarra River. A friend from Hobart had told me about them and I was very eager to see them. I walked there and it was a near two hour trek one way – but it was my “hike” for the day. When I first got to the trailhead, I started worrying that maybe they wouldn’t be around and I’d miss my opportunity.

After a few minutes, I turned a corner on the trail and there they were. Hundreds. Thousands? As it was still daytime, they were mostly resting. The bats hang by their feet during the day to conserve energy. They snuggle themselves up in a wing-made blanket, tucking their face in to block the sun out.

It was so adorable to see them up close. I’ve only ever really observed bats at a zoo before, so this was a very fresh experience for me. Flying foxes are the largest bat species.

I made it my mission to hang out until dark, so I could hopefully see the bats take off for the night. Boy, am I glad I did. As the sun sank below the horizon, I started getting impatient. The air was getting colder and I was feeling drops of rain.

One at a time, the bats started to get restless, stretching out their wings and scratching themselves. Some of them started flying off. I wondered if they would all leave as a group or not, if the sky would be colored with the shadows of bats as they left home for the night.

More and more were taking off, and then suddenly… Bats, all across the sky, flying this way and that. It was phenomenal. (I’ve uploaded a video here for you to check out!) As I walked the two hour journey back to my hostel, I would still see the occasional bat across the sky, until I entered the CBD.

That day was the first time I felt like I was able to open myself up to Melbourne.

Bonus: Along the way to the bats, I saw a possum IN THE DAYLIGHT! Its eyes looked kind of strange – I was wondering if maybe it got hurt somehow? I also saw what I believe is an “antechinus” – a small little rat looking thing.

Art of the Week

A work in progress, which I don’t often show! This is the sketch phase of a tattoo concept for my Perth friend Candice. She wants the boobs a little bigger LOL but otherwise, I’ll be finessing and moving onto the ink stage soon.

Reflections

One day, I checked out this little “tudor village” at Fitzroy Gardens which was cute. A “fairy tree” as well was over there. Lots of random, interesting, and oftentimes bizarre things here in Melbourne.

Melbourne is popular for its graffiti… it is pretty much everywhere. There are a few spots that are especially famous for it, but I think the best I’d seen is along Hosier Lane. So much graffiti!

I also was able to see my friend Ellie that I met in Coral Bay a while back. We went to the National Gallery of Victoria which was sweet. They had a Picasso painting as well as a Dali. Lots of cool stuff there. Afterwards, we went for burgers. It was lovely to connect with her again!

I also met up with my friend Mason who was in town for work from Hobart. He invited me to see the Yirramboi exhibit, which is an art exhibit in its early stages – it will later be shown at Dark Mofo (which is a project Mason is a part of), a huge event that will be happening in Hobart come June. I wish I was in Hobart for that! We’ll see. I am also meeting up with Mason tonight for dinner. I would say this will be our farewell, but who knows, because a week ago we thought Hobart was goodbye! When walking home, it started raining. It has been quite rainy here lately. The other day, I noticed that it seemed as if one huge rain cloud was hanging over the city – blue skies all around otherwise. Mason commented Melbourne is “very grey.”

So… What’s next?

Funnily enough, someone had posted about driving up to Alice Springs on a rideshare group I’m part of on Facebook. I have been wanting to go on an outback adventure for a while now, thinking it would be really cool to see the red center of Australia. I decided to meet up with him and his wife the other day to see if we vibed or not. He is from Melbourne and has done the trek up to Alice Springs many, many times over. He has a caravan and is well equipped with a water supply, fridge, etc.

I will be leaving Melbourne on Sunday and journeying to Alice Springs on a week long trip with him. From there, I’ll stay at a hostel for a bit and hopefully meet some other backpackers who are driving to see Uluru. I’m not sure what happens then – perhaps I can head up to Darwin or down to Adelaide. The direction of things feels up in the air at the moment, but that’s okay. It sometimes gives me anxiety, but I’m also trying to learn PRESENCE.

It’s funny that after a rough first couple of days, now it feels like I wish I actually had more time in Melbourne. I may return before my visa is up – we’ll see.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading! If you like it… share it on social media!