We had a very big day today. When we woke up the skies were clear and we actually had good air quality again. We were thankful for that!

We got out the door early and headed for the train station. Our first stop was Queen Victoria Market. This is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere. They seem to like that here.. having the biggest and greatest things in the Southern Hemisphere. The market is about 17 acres. It was established in the 1860s and is the only market of its type left in the city.

There is fresh produce, deli meats and prepared foods. There are also knick-knacks and clothing you can purchase. We picked up a couple souvenirs.

At one point when I was researching Melbourne I had come across a food truck that sells donuts. Its called the American Doughnut Kitchen. I was excited when I saw it at the market and made sure to get in line. With a price of $6.50 for 5 doughnuts, how could we pass that up?

After donuts we walked around for a bit and then picked up some fresh strawberries and bananas for snacking on later. We also got ourselves some lunch. Jacob got a spicy bratwurst and I got a ham and cheese toastie. I also bought a lamington for later. Lamingtons are an Australian dessert that I was excited to try!

We decided to head back to the apartment for a break before we headed out on our next adventure. This was a very good idea. I’m not sure how it happened but I was instantly in nap land. Jacob took a power nap too. We woke up just in time to pack our snacks and head out the door to catch our boat! Jacob had seen boats in the river when we were walking the other day. He looked them up and found out you could rent the boats for up to three hours and cruise them along the river. He asked if I wanted to do that and I said yes!

We reserved our boat for 4 p.m. and arrived just on time. The staff member at the boat dock had an interesting accent I couldn’t place. He asked where were traveling from and we said the United States. He mentioned that it wasn’t the best summer day in Melbourne and we said it was still better than the weather back home. He said that was the same for him and that he was from the Netherlands. So he had an Australian-Dutch accent. That made sense! He was very friendly and helpful and explained to us how to drive the boat. He also recommended that we stop on Herring Island. This is the only island on the Yarra River.

After the quick instructions we were on our way! I let Jacob do most the driving and I was keeping an eye out for boats approaching from behind us. The little electric motor got us up to insane speeds of 8 km/h. The boat staff told us to try and stay in the middle of the river. You’re supposed to stick more to the right, but he wanted us to keep at least 10 meters away from the shore.

It was so cool to see the city from the water. The water was so calm and it was an easy little ride down the river. I even drove for a few minutes!

Kids from the shore would yell and wave and I’d wave back. A party boat went by and I danced and waved with the drunken party-goers. At some point during our trip, I thought Jacob was getting a little close to shore so I reminded him that the boat staff said to keep 10 meters from the shore and that I thought that was about 30 feet. Jacob thought this was funny for some reason.

We stopped at Herring Island like he recommended. We did a few circles before we were able to get the boat up to the dock and tie it down, but we made it. Then we walked on the paths around the island. There were signs for snakes everywhere but we didn’t see any. Jacob commented on how nice the island was. Apparently they run a ferry to the island on the weekends and hold events there.

After walking around, we were both relieved to see the boat was still there and we managed to get on board and get going like we were natural-born sailors.

The three hours just sailed by! And soon it was time to return the boat. When we got back the same staff member greeted us and asked how it was and if we got yelled at by any rowers. We told him no, we had survived without incident.

After our exciting boat ride it was time to head back to the hotel and grab some dinner. We are both relaxing now and planning our last day in Melbourne. Tomorrow we are off to the beach! Hopefully this fresh air will stay with us.

Until then!