Melbourne and Hobart Shore Excursion Choices

[blondie1234]

I would be interested in thoughts on the shore excursions. We are most interested in scenery and animals, and one of the members of the party has walking difficulties so we want to minimize long walks of more than 5-10 minutes.

 

Melbourne: We are thinking of either going to the Healeysville sanctuary, a river cruise, and then a lunch; or alternatively the trip that is called "Kangaroos, Koalas and You Yangs Park" where you spend 3 hours with the animals.

 

Any thoughts? Which animal park is better - Healeysville or You Yangs? Is there one tour that would have less walking?

 

We want to see some of Melbourne too. The You Yangs gets back at 2:45, and ship leaves at 6. What could we do quickly in the meantime in Melbourne just to see some of the city?

 

Tasmania, Hobart: We were thinking of going to the animal santuary and Richmond in a half day tour. It gets back at 12. What can we do in Hobart in the afternoon?

 

Thanks!

[kuldalai]

Would not do any of that in Melbourne as you will spend a lot of time travelling especially to Healesville . the only ships tour worth doing is Puffing Billy in the Dandenongs .

 

Other attractions you can do quite easily on your own using Melbourne's excellent public transport system . In place of Healesville go to the Royal Melbourne Zoo at Parkeville close to the CBD . Melbourne Zoo has all the Australian native animals and is one of the World's great zoos, all open plan .

 

Heres how to explore and see Melbourne on your own for a song :

 

Melbourne is a really great port of call for cruisers, to do on your own .

 

Walk to the land end of Station Pier and look to the right and slightly inland and you will see the PORT MELBOURNE light rail terminus . (Buy ticket on tram a DAILY Zone 1 allows unlimited City Area travel on both trams and trains. Ticket machine Aussie coins only).

 

The 109 Tram takes you into the CBD up Collins Street into the heart of the City, alight at the Elizabeth Street stop :

 

From here one block up Elizabeth Street and you are in the heart of the central shopping area . To get to the Victoria Market take any northbound tram in Elizabeth Street and alight at Victoria Street , look left for the Market.

 

Or the next stop up Collins Street is Swanston St .

From here (Cnr Swanston & Collins St) : One block South to Federation Square (Ian Potter Gallery - Australian Art), Flinders St station (Take Upfield line train and alight at ROYAL PARK for one of the Worlds great Zoo's including Native Australian animals.) Over Princes Bridge (next to Flinders St station) for Southbank dining precinct, and National Gallery (International Collection.)

 

At the top of Collins Street the final stop is Spring St - alight here for Old Treasury Building and Parliament House, and Fitzroy Gardens where one can find captain Cook’s Cottage.

 

The Melbourne Museum is in the Carlton Gardens, alight from City Circle Tram when you see the old Exhibition Buildings (Cnr Nicholson & Victoria Sts).

 

A separate City Circle Tourist Tram (Maroon & Gold in colour) circles the City with commentary every 12 minutes FREE . Board these trams in either direction (clockwise/anti clockwise) in Flinders Street, Spring Street or Latrobe Street . The entire City Circle trip takes around an hour .

 

Great coffee and eating in the CBD or Southbank . To return to your cruise boat, just catch a 109 PORT MELBOURNE tram (Westbound) anywhere in Collins Street, and you will be back at Station Pier within 20 minutes.

 

Melbourne's CBD is a one mile square grid : Order of streets :

 

Running North/South : Spencer St, King, William, Queen, Elizabeth, Swanston, Russell, Exhibition and Spring Streets.

Running East/West : Flinders St, Collins, Bourke, Lonsdale, Latrobe, Victoria Streets.

[SmartTraveller]

As one of yor party has difficulty walking, I think the Healesville Sanctuary would be better than the You Yangs. It is also a wonderful sanctuary. It is a long bus ride from the port but you will see a lot of Melbourne on the way. The You Yangs are closer (but still outside of Melbourne) but I'm not sure of their suitability for someone with a disability. Why not ask the tour operator?

 

When you get back you could take a horse/carriage ride around the city. Melbourne is a very beautiful old city and seeing it from a carriage when yo have minaiml time would be a good way to go. The carriage could drop you in Collins Street where you can catch the 109 Tram/Light Rail back to the port. Or at a taxi rank outside the Rialto hotel in Collins Street - its a short taxi ride back to the ship. ($12-$15 outside of rush hour)/

http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Gettingaroundthecity/Pages/HorseDrawnVehicles.aspx

 

If you want to call any of the numbers listed on the web page from outside of Australia you need to drop the leading zero in the number eg 0438 007 144 call +61 438 007 144

 

 

Re Hobart - Richmond is really a lovely place so a worthwhile tour. Hobart is a very small, beautiful historic city. It is VERY hilly. However the good news is that around the docks is very flat and good for walking. There are many seafood restaurants around the pier (one famous one being Mures - http://www.muresupperdeck.com.au/ or just vans where you can buy freshly cooked seafood if you want something very casual. You can wander around Salamanca Place which is at one end of the docks rea - full of shops, cafes and bars. if you luck out and are there on a Saturday, there is a lively market @ Salamanca. http://www.salamanca.com.au/