Boats

The Melbourne Boat Show may have ended yesterday at 4pm and the boats and the food trucks and the spruikers and the pavilions might all have gone away - but my adventure with boats was not quite over.

The Alma Doepel on her way home this morning. (The Enterprize left yesterday)

Some little while ago, when she was looking for eateries local to Southern Cross and Flinders Street stations, Lindsey came across a webpage called Seniors in Melbourne. I registered for their weekly e-newsletter.

October is Seniors' Month in Victoria. There is one week of free public transport around the state for holders of a seniors travel card. There are various events and activities. And the Seniors in Melbourne people had organised a boat trip up the Yarra at a reduced rate for subscribers to their newsletter.

I booked a ticket.

Today was the day - and it was a glorious day for a boat ride.

We were instructed to meet at Berth 2, Southbank at 9:45 for a 10:00 departure. I got there early. It's not all that far from here and didn't take as long as I expected to get there. I even got off the tram early and walked along the river.

I was a touch disconcerted when a group of older ladies began to form. They obviously knew each other. They were clearly going on the boat trip. More and more of them arrived. They were completely ignoring me. That didn't particularly worry me, they didn';t know me and didn't know I was going on the boat.  But I was beginning to wonder what I had signed up for. I was not keen to embark on another Probus-style misadventure.

Fortunately, other people also turned up. It turned out that one of the ladies had brought along pretty much her entire seniors' walking group. Probus disasters avoided.

So. We have loads of seniors. We have the organisers. What we don't have is - a boat!

No visible water craft

It did turn up, eventually,  and we did manage to board people, even not particularly agile people. And off up the river we went, past - well, let me show you:

The MCG

Boatsheds

Parks and gardens

Bridges

Melbourne landmarks

More bridges

I am glad I'm floating peacefully down the river
and not battling the traffic on the freeway

Bridge decorations

Heading back to the city

Sculpture in Birrarung Marr

Back at the starting point

It was such a lovely way to spend an hour on a sunny Monday morning. I am so glad I didn't follow my initial instinct, when I saw all those people who knew each other, to abandon the boat ride and go shopping instead. And I need to be more mindful that I LIVE BY THE RIVER!!!!!!! I have a river as my front and back yard. I also have a railway hub in my backyard. How much better could it possibly be?