Great Times In Melbourne
As part of my trip to visit my Australian buddy Dean in Sydney (articles can be found here and here), we also had a 1 week stop in Melbourne. This is the 2nd most populated city in Australia and is in the state Victoria. I didn’t know too much about this city except that it is the second biggest city after Sydney. I did not know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised at the wheelchair accessible things that I did. From easily getting around in this city to beaches and zoos, here are some of the wheelchair accessible things that Melbourne has to offer:
St Kilda Beach
nice beach day
St Kilda beach is Melbourne’s most famous beach and is located in St Kilda, Port Phillip, Victoria. There is a nice promenade and St Kilda pier to take in the spectacular views. Cafes and old fashion bakeries are found on the streets here alongside old Victorian houses. Luna Park is also located right by the beach and tourists all like to take a picture in front of the giant clown face at the entrance of the amusement park. We didn’t get to go inside as it was closed the day we were there. We decided to spend the whole day at the beach instead and it was totally worth it.
entrance to Luna Park
Street Art
Melbourne has been getting really well known for it’s street art. This city has also been known as “stencil capital of the world” where people use stencils to start their graffiti. There are so many laneways and alleyway with graffiti that there is even a street art walking tour map showing you where the best ones are located. This is a fun and free thing to do and definitely worth checking out.
alleyways full of street art
Twelve Apostles
The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone racks off the shore of Port Campbell National Park, by The Great Ocean Road and is about a 3 hour drive from the city of Melbourne. We could have booked a private accessible tour to take us to see the Twelve Apostles but we decided to go with Gray Line because it was cheaper and we get to go with other people. It was just a regular big bus that had a couple steps to get into, but luckily I travel with someone who can carry me onto the bus and onto a regular seat. My manual wheelchair was then collapsed and stowed away.
paved pathway leading to The Twelve Apostles
The drive out there was amazing as we got to see lush trees with all kinds of surrounding animals including koalas and kangaroos. There were lots of bends and curves in the roads getting to The Twelve Apostles but that did not bother me. Once we arrived at the visitor center, it was a few minutes to get to the viewing area. Luckily, there is a nice easy pathway that is quite wheelchair accessible to get us there. It was amazing to see these nature wonders as I was in such awe and amazed at the scenery. There are only 8 structures left because of erosion but still a magnificent view. This was a great way to spend the day.
glorious view
Melbourne Zoo
Melbourne Zoo is Australia’s oldest zoo and is 55 acres big with over 320 species of animals. It is located in the north of the city and we used the bus and train system which happened to be quite wheelchair accessible, to get there. There are so many animal exhibits at this zoo, including Australian Outback, Asian Rainforest, Reptile House and Wild Sea. I really enjoyed the kangaroo exhibit and the ring-tailed lemur exhibits. These 2 exhibits are open so that you can interact with the animals and see them up close and personal.
lemurs running around loose in this exhibit
Queen Victoria Market
The Queen Victoria Market is a major landmark in Melbourne and is a social and cultural significance to its community. It is 17 acres big and occupies 2 city blocks. This market was quite close to the hotel that we stayed at so we did check out this place a few times. There are a few sections to this market including General Merchandise, Daily Product Hall, Meat & Fish Hall and a Food Court. In the summer, they even have it as a night market on certain days that features dining, bars, live entertainment and other vendors. Entry is free to this market and you just pay for what you buy.
busy and crowded for the market
Overall, it was great visiting Melbourne. Australia is much more than just visiting Sydney. There are so many things to do here and I only covered a few wheelchair accessible things to do. The Twelve Apostles was my favorite thing I did and would definitely like to visit that place again along with Melbourne.
