CHIlDREN'S MELBOURNE

I'm glad we had the chance before we left to rediscover the Melbourne we used to explore when Sebastian was a child. Shore Reserve near the Pink House with its playgrounds and sportsfield. Minot Gelato around the corner where I once queued for 45 minutes to get an icecream during Covid. The Waterwall of the NGV where kids splash and play (even though I hate the rest of the building). The Myer Christmas display even though the opening was cancelled because of the threat of disruption by pro-Palestinian activists. 

But the most fun towards the end of 2024 were activities with actual children! We have taken into our hearts a family with 12 year old Ashley, her brother Brandon, aged 2, and their mother Prudence. And in the months before leaving we had a number of iconic Melbourne experiences with them:

- playing in the sand and water at Albert Park Beach

- enjoying the giraffes and the lions at the Melbourne Zoo

- patting the animals at the Collingwood Children's Farm.

There can't be many cities in the world with a working farm within a few kilometres of the CBD. We used to go there regularly when Sebastian was little but in recent years, there has been no excuse to return. Now, we have a family we care about with a two year old so we thought it was time to explore the animals. 

I'd completely forgotten that for city kids who haven't been explosed to anything other than a pet cat or dog, even a guinea pig can be a strange experience, let alone a goat or a horse. We managed to convince Prudence, Ashley and Brandon to have a gentle pat of some guinea pigs and a pleasant time was had by all although the peacock that kept interupting our lunch was a little disconcerting.

Equally disconcerting can be waves, even small ones. The first time Ashley approached the water in Port Phillip Bay she was nervous but then the feel of the sand underfoot and the cool of the sea suddenly became joyful and she twisted and twirled with pleasure. Her little brother had no such qualms and just went running straight in. It's wonderful to see children play.

For many years, we were members of the Melbourne Zoo which meant you could go whenever you wanted to. It was a great Saturday excursion and a place that Betty enjoyed visiting when she was over from Perth. She had a particularly liking for giraffes. These days, one does feel somewhat guilty about peering at animals in cages but I think that we need to see them and be in awe of their beauty, whether a butterfly or an elephant, in order to build some empathy for species other than our own. 

Ashley, Prudence, Brandon, Susan, Ann at the Zoo




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