Free Melbourne Walking Tour

I found out about the free walking tour here (they also do tours in Sydney).  They do the tours twice daily, one at 1030 and another at 230pm.  We initially planned to join to the 1030 am but we spent the morning walking on our own so we opted for the 230pm tour

There were already four people at the meeting area when we got there.  Daniel was the guide, wearing a bright green shirt which says "Im free".  Daniel was a great guide I think.  He talks to everyone, asking the typical introductory question and he seems to be perfect for his job.  One couple were from Germany.  The two guys were from Canada.  Another couple came and they were from the Philippines! Honeymooners. And then there were four Sydney girls and another couple from Germany plus a guy from Britain.  Most of them were tourists who have been on the road or will be on the road for months.


Daniel the guide

From the library, we headed to the Old Melbourne Gaol where Ned Kelly was imprisoned (I didn't knew who Ned Kelly was.  I just learned during the tour that he was a forest ranger with a robinhood kind of story).  Now, the Gaol is a museum and the courtyard serves as a football field, both under the management of RMIT.


Old Melbourne Gaol courtyard whose walls are made of bluestones which were stacked and glued by hand

Next stop was the Royal Exhibition Building, one of the iconic buildings reminiscent in Melbourne reminiscent of the gold rush, and of its rivalry with Sydney.  The lower trunk of the trees were covered with a metal wrap to keep them from possums.  It was interesting to hear that they choose to keep the trees covered instead of driving the possums away because they recognize possums as inhabitants of the area. Ang galing lang :)


Royal Exhibition Building

Trees with metal coverings around their trunks

Next was the Parliament House.  Australia was a former British colony and Daniel mentioned that while their parliament is an autonomous entity from the British monarchy, the Queen still has one power in the government - and that is the power to dissolve the government.  Interesting!


Parliament House

After the parliament was the inner city walks where we passed by laneways, arcades, cafes and restaurants that were quirky, tiny but warm and endearing.  And then it started raining but we still went on with the tour.  And that's when one would appreciate a water-repellant jacket.  It was a long walk under the drizzle but it's all worth it.


See the shoes hanging on the clothesline?

AC DC lane

I love the pavements

Yes, those are post-it notes

The Block Arcade

The Centreplace

Beautiful walls and beautiful guys :D

Flinders at night (view from Southbank)

The tour lasted for more than three hours ending at the Southbank area.  By that time, the rain was already pouring heavily.  Daniel thanked everyone for sticking out but it was him who really worked hard in that tour. Despite the heavy rains and the long walk, that tour was really worth it.