Pack Some Spray Paint

Virtual Traveller 86
May 8, 2020
3 min read

Day Three: Country No.13

AUSTRALIA Arrival Time: 06:08am

Mornington Peninsula Flying to Melbourne from where I was in Africa takes the best part of a day (at least 14 hours). The Mornington Peninsula is then just over an hour’s drive south of the city. There are regular trains to Frankston station and also a shuttle bus service operates from Melbourne Airport taking passengers to Frankston and surrounding bayside suburbs.

My tour guides were Martin and Dan (localingtours.com). We spent time visiting a number of locations including Cape Shank, Flinders and Pt. Leo Estate. Mornington is a haven for artists and there are numerous galleries in the area. Some of these can be found in Flinders. A lovely place...and not just because it has an amazing chocolate store! It has a huge range of locally-made chocolate to sample (If only I could have!).

Mornington is also known for wine and there are a number of vineyards. One of these, Pt. Leo Estate, is situated on the “often-unexplored Westernport-side of the Mornington Peninsula.” It has an award winning restaurant, views of Phillip Island, a “50-acre vineyard, landscapes of grazing cattle and an expansive 19-acre Sculpture Park.” The Sculpture Park is an outdoor gallery with “60 works mostly but not exclusively of large-scale. Stylistically, exhibits range through a broad spectrum of idioms...Unlike other Australian sculpture parks accessible to members of the public, Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park includes works by major international as well as major Australian artists.” There were some fascinating pieces and I loved the head sculpture. (Pt. Leo Estate)

The photos below are from this tour. The coastline was truly beautiful.

Melbourne

My guides in Melbourne were Dingo and Libby (localingtours.com). I did a brilliant walking tour with them that took me to a wide range of locations. Melbourne is a vibrant and relaxed city. With “chic fashion boutiques, laneway cafes and restaurants, sporting events, music and arts festivals and lush gardens“ it describes itself as “the world’s most liveable city”. There are bars hidden away behind grungy looking doors that you wouldn’t even register as you walk along the laneways. Bars that only a local would know about. There’s a bar that is essentially two shipping containers and several open-air venues have popped up on rooftops. If I was younger I think I’d love living in this city.

Like the Mornington peninsula Melbourne is also an art lovers paradise, with numerous galleries and a huge amount of street art. My guides took me to several areas, including laneways where walls, lampposts and even rubbish bins are adorned with a variety of styles. Some are huge! I especially loved the Koala fire fighter - a recent addition that probably doesn’t require explanation (the widespread bushfires of earlier this year not only destroyed homes and human life, but wiped out a huge proportion of the wildlife population, including Koalas); but hey, I have given one anyway! The Fitzroy Faces are seven portraits on a residential street, each painted by a different Melbourne artist and representing the diversity of Melbourne life. Stunning.

After my tour ended I took myself off to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). It currently offers eight virtual tours of different exhibitions. I chose Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV. This exhibition is a fascinating exploration of the “persistence of images, signs or text painted or drawn on a range of surfaces in Indigenous Australia, from ancient times until now.” (A link to the exhibition is at the end of this article).