Exploring The Melbourne Zoo & Museum

Today was a big day out with the main attraction being a visit to the Melbourne Zoo. With some other stops along the way including Queen Victoria Markets, Melbourne Museum, lunch, chocolate and sunset at Eureka Skydeck.

Melbourne Zoo

The day did not start out well as I missed the train I had planned to catch. Thankfully Melbourne Trams run quite frequently at 8.30 in the morning, and I was on my way just 10 minutes later. I arrived at the zoo and set my target at around 3 hours to see what I could see.

In the time I had at the zoo I managed to get around and see a lot of the different animals. Somehow managing to capture hundreds of photos and I do not even remember having the camera out that much. Sharing even a fraction of them is not possible but have a couple of the cute animals here.

 

I ended up being a little surprised at just how many different animals they had. There were plenty that I was familiar with, but there were a few that I had never heard of let alone seen before. Also, a number that you hear well before you see them as well.

Queen Victoria Markets

Heading back towards the city from the Zoo I decided to get off the Tram at Queen Victoria Markets. I did not take the time to walk through every area here but soon realised it would not be the best use of my time. There was plenty of fruit and veg for sale. But also a wide selection of wallets, bags, t-shirts, belts, souvenirs, lollies and a lot of other stuff as well. The biggest thing that caught my eye was that much of it looked pretty cheap and junky. Rather different to the markets I have visited in the past, very big and a lot of range, just a pity about the quality.

Melbourne Museum

The next stop was the Melbourne Museum. It is something that seemed a little disappointing for me. Considering the amount of space they have available it could be better used. There is one whole wing dedicated to kids, 8-13 and another five major galleries and a few smaller gallery spaces. Two areas seemed to be done quite well. The living rainforest in the centre and the Insects and Bugs gallery. I spent more time in these two spaces than the rest of the museum combined.

There is a chance that some of the lack of interest in other areas is that they are topics of little interest. However, at the same time, I could see it still being disappointing due to the lack of content that was on display. I very much doubt that I would return to the museum again.

In the same area as the Melbourne Museum is the Royal Exhibition Building. I am unsure if you can normally look through this building, but at the moment they are setting up for a show, so everything is fenced off.

Afternoon Adventures

Since I did not take to long getting around the Museum, I was soon on my way back to the hotel. It was time to give myself a rest from carrying the camera around and swapped it out for my laptop before heading out to find a coffee shop. I stopped into one by the name of City Blend for a Hot Chocolate and to get some writing out of the way.

I decided to head off to Eureka Skydeck again for the sunset this afternoon and was not disappointed. It could be due to a smoke haze or something, but it was a very red sunset. Quite amazing actually and the photos could have been better if I was closer to the window. Either way great to see in person.

At this stage, I have covered most of the places that I had down as must visit. So tomorrow I have a pretty free day and will be looking to do a little research tonight on some options to fill the time. So check in again tomorrow to see what I have been up to in Melbourne.