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Beautiful Sights of Melbourne


Yarra river


The date is 18 September 2023. It is almost dawn. I make my way from my hotel to Yarra river to view the sunrise. On my way to the river I notice a number of commuters with cups of coffee in their hands making their way to the Southern Cross training station. After walking for about 15 minutes, I find the Yarra river and take in different views of the river as the sun rises. The side walk along the river is well paved making it easy to walk along the river. 


Later I make my way to my hotel where I take a shower and head to the restaurant for a filling breakfast. Towards midday, John, my work colleague and I step outside to meet my niece Brenda and her husband Khumbulani. After exchanging greetings and planning how to spend the day, we head to the Melbourne International Exhibition Centre to do our conference (Global Entrepreneurship Congress) registration. We find out that the organisers are not yet ready for the registration. Khumbulani, Brenda, John and I head out to look for something to eat.

We settle for lunch at Nando's. Nando's is a South African franchise which specialises in grilled chicken. It feels like having a meal back home, which has a number of Nando's outlets. After the sumptuous and delicious lunch we head out to the Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria. It is a quick visit as we want to be on time for a boat cruise on the Yarra river. 

Gabriel with Brenda and Khumbulani at the Gardens

The Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria voted ‘Australia’s Best Major Tourism Attraction’ at the QANTAS Australian Tourism Awards, and best Victorian Major Tourist Attraction for three years in a row, the heritage-listed Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and the contemporary native Australian Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, offer a plethora of unique outdoor experiences. After walking around for a few minutes admiring the lovely plants and greenery in the gardens we head out to Yarra river. 

Aboard the boat for the boat cruise

We arrive at Yarra river in time and collect our tickets and then board the boat for teh boat cruise. The tour guide for the day is very knowlegable and gives us great insights on the Yarra river and the bridges along the river. 


One of the bridges on Yarra river

On the way we are told about the history of the bridges and how construction of one bridge was moved to a different location due to court appeal by citizens. The tour guide us very knowledgeable and funny. The boat cruise lasts for an hour plus. 

Birds on Yarra river

After we are done with the boat cruise, we have one more place to visit. This place is the home for my friends Paul and Veronica. These are colleagues that I met during a Vocational Education and Training Leadership Programme in Bonn, Germany. Khumbulani and Brenda graciously offer to drive us to the home. It is an hour's drive. On the way we enjoy beautiful sights of Melbourne. Quite a bit of traffic on the way. We learn that Melbourne has a lot of street cameras. Any careless driving can easily be detected.

After an hour we arrive at the home of Paul and Veronica. It is such a delight to see them after almost 4 years. After introductions and greetings, Khumbulani and Brenda say their goodbyes. They need to rest after a long day and being such wonderful hosts and guides. John and I have a wonderful time catching up and chatting with Paul and Veronica. We enjoy a lovely pasta meal prepared by Veronica. 

After some time, John and I ask to take our leave. It's been a long day for us. We are still jet lagged having done a total of 21 hours to get to Melbourne from Lusaka via Doha. Melbourne is 8 hours ahead of Lusaka. Our bodies time clocks are seriously confused. Paul and Veronica drive us back to our hotel. When we arrive at the hotel we say our goodbyes to our hosts and retire to bed to prepare for the Global Entrepreneurship Congress on the next day. It's been a busy and adventurous day.




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