St. Kilda
We spent Wednesday exploring St. Kilda Beach. The beach is only a mile and a half from our Airbnb and we were able to walk there in about 45 minutes. Although not one of the prettiest beaches we've been too, it certainly made for a lovely day walking around the pier and relaxing in the sand.
The St. Kilda Pier is the prefect place to get a panoramic view of the Melbourne skyline and Port Phillip Bay. The Pier dates back to 1853 when construction began on a wooden jetty used to unload timber and other building materials to St. Kilda. Shortly after the jetty was finished, a storm washed it away. In 1904, the historic St. Kilda Pier was built and has since undergone several renovations in its time.
There is also an amusement park nearby, Luna Park, that was originally built in 1912 based on Coney Island in New York. Luna Park is the oldest theme park in Australia and the only park in the world that is completely enclosed by a roller coaster. The park opened right when we arrived and the line to get in was pretty long. Alex and I didn't go inside this time, but maybe another day while we are here!
After exploring the beach, we walked up to Fitzroy Street, the main shopping and dining area in St. Kilda. We grabbed lunch at Staple, where we shared a bowl of granola and a pork sandwich.
We headed back to St. Kilda last night in the hopes of seeing fairy penguins return from the ocean to their nests among the rocks of the breakwater. In 1956 the rock breakwater was built for the Olympic Games and has since become home to a thriving colony of Little (Fairy) Penguins. There is a viewing platform where you can watch them return after sunset. We arrived 30 minutes before sunset and there were already at least two hundred people waiting. We spent about an hour waiting for the penguins, but with all the people (we heard it was busier than usual), we didn't see much, other than one penguin swim by. Since it is still summer vacation here in Australia, we are planning to return before we leave Melbourne in the hopes it is less crowded and try our luck again. Regardless, it was a BEAUTIFUL evening with perfect weather and amazing views of the city and sunset.
