Melbourne and Sydney – the two largest Australian cities fiercely rival one another. This past Easter weekend my friends and I spent the long weekend in Melbourne exploring the iconic landmarks in and around the city. While eating dinner at a restaurant, our waitress inquired about where we were from and after indicating we are student at UNSW and lived in the Sydney suburbs, she was quick to note the rivalry amongst the two cities. After experiencing both cities, determining which city is my favorite is an extremely difficult task due to the vast difference between the cities. Sydney is known for its central business district and beaches, while Melbourne is a cultural hub. Melbourne was ranked by The Economist seven years in-a-row as the most livable city, only to be demoted to second place in 2019 by Vienna, Austria. The criteria to be ranked as a livable city includes analyzing the stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure of the city. Notable while visiting Melbourne was its rich culture and support for the arts. One of Melbourne’s claim to fame is its world renown street art. Normally, walking down small city alleys is generally frowned upon, however in Melbourne, thousands of tourists can be seen going down alleys in search for the street art. Famous street art alleys include ACDC Lane and Hozier Lane. The lanes are home to famous murals and graffiti pieces, including a small stencil painting by the famous street artist, Banksy. Banksy had more paintings in Melbourne, however commercial construction has destroyed his work. Protection of street art possess difficulty for the government, however the Melbourne government does work to try and preserve extremely significant pieces.
In addition to spending time exploring the city, the surrounding areas outside of Melbourne have world famous landmarks. Through guided tours, we traveled along the Great Ocean Road and viewed the spectacular coastline views and the lush rainforest. The highlight of the trip was viewing the beautiful 12 Apostles, which are sandstone islands that jut out of the water just off the coast. Another guided tour took us to visit the Brighton Bathing Boxes. These famous painted boxes now sell for around $300,000 Australian dollars, making them extremely expensive for a bathing box without electricity or running water. However, the price is understandable due to their world-wide fame. On this same tour we spent time visiting the Moonlit Wildlife Sanctuary to feed wallabies and kangaroos and viewed dingoes. Dingoes, which are animals that can be aggressive towards humans, surprisingly look like a dog. This was a tad unsettling, as I questioned whether or not I would be able to distinguish them if I encountered them in the wild. The last trip during the day was to Phillip Island to view the penguins. We sat in bleachers on the beach, waiting for the sun to set to witness penguins coming out of the ocean and waddle onto the beach and into the grass. The penguins wait until nightfall to avoid being spotted by predators such as foxes and feral cats. Once on land, the penguins were highly vocal and active with each other. It was entertaining to see them interact and “speak” with one another outside their homes which are tunnels burrowed into the ground.
Lastly, just outside the city in a park is the famous “Westgate Pink Lake”. The saltwater lake contains an algae which blooms in the warm weather. This algae turns the lake an extremely vibrant pink color. The lake was so hot pink it appeared to be filled with strawberry milk! It is truly breathtaking and mindboggling as to how this natural phenomenon could occur. Overall, Melbourne’s street art, iconic landmarks, and beautiful scenery made the weekend one to remember.
Source Used: The Economist
Victoria Myers
Student, UConn School of Business
Hello UConn! My name is Victoria Myers and I am a junior accounting major with a minor in economics. In my free time, I play on UConn’s club field hockey team, volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and I am also a member of the UConn Consulting Group. A fun fact about myself is that I was born on Halloween; however, ironically, I am terrified of horror movies and the scary aspects of Halloween. View Posts
