Royal Park and Zoo - January 2016

With a few things to do in Melbourne this weekend we decided to go for a bit of a stroll around Royal Park in Parkville while we were in town. So after spending the morning depreciating the bank balance we headed over to Parkville to start the walk, and this is where it almost ended. Being a typical bloke I'm not over keen on driving around trying to find a parking spot, in fact I'd rather visit the dentist than visit a crowded car park, stalking other punters on their walk back to their cars so that you can lay a claim to their spot doesn't really make for an enjoyable day out for me. So the main reason that I'd decided to head over to Royal Park was the ample amount of car parks marked on my map, we should have no trouble getting a park....err no. What I hadn't banked on was that the Melbourne Zoo has its home in Royal Park (Observant readers may well wonder how this didn't register in my brain considering the name of the walk is Royal Park and Zoo in my guide book). Anyway arriving at the aforementioned plethora of car parks I found that not only would I have to pay by the hour (an expensive option at the pace I walk) but that the dusty paddocks were basically full. Not to worry I figured that I could drive to the other side of Royal Park and find a spot there, err no, all resident permit parking. OK, getting less interested in this walk by the second I decided to try one more option, heading into the park on Brens Drive I finally found a quiet car park near the State Netball Centre, thank f#@k!

Now with my writing sometimes the literary equivalent of Temazepan I rely on my photos to add a bit of colour and keep people from nodding off, so I was rapt to realise that I'd left my camera at home, once again the walk was teetering on the point off abandonment. Sam, being the smart one in the relationship, suggested that we us our phones, which while not thrilling me was a better option than posting no photos. So, after zeroing the GPS we eventually set off on our stroll around Royal Park. Our first issue was to actually get onto the route that our notes described, we had to somehow find a way across the Upfield Railway Line, we successfully did this by walking under a bridge that the trams use to pass under the railway, probably not exactly legal but it added a frisson of excitement to the start of our stroll.

It's probably not strictly legal but we used this bridge to pass under the Upfield Line to join the route.

Once we made it to the other side of the railway we made our way along the Capital City Trail before heading down to check out Trin Warren Tam-boore which translates to Bellbird Waterhole, and you'd never guess but we were indeed serenaded by Bellbirds. The wetlands were also home to quite a few other water birds which was interesting to see as we were in the shadows of one of Melbourne's busiest roads, the City Link Cheese Sticks only a decent stones throw away. After checking out the bird hide and boardwalks we started to head in the direction of the Royal Children's Hospital.

The obligatory tree shot.

Trin Warren Tam-boore.

The City Link Cheese Sticks, otherwise known as the Melbourne Gateway.

Our notes had us meandering past numerous park cricket games, a typical Australian scene where the players were all wearing shorts and the fielders all had their re hydrating stubbies on the grass beside them, just in case you think it was all pretty friendly I watched and photographed a whole over and every ball bowled was a fast bouncer! After checking out a small reserve aimed at protecting the rare White Skink we headed south east parallel to Flemington Road, crossing Elliot Avenue we entered a slightly less manicured part of the park.

Notice the stubbies on the ground beside the fielders, got to keep hydrated in the heat!

An old tip has been turned into a White Skink rehabilitation area.

It doesn't look that old to me...

It was about now that I was questioning the wisdom of wearing my bushwalking havaianas on this stroll, it was one thing walking along made paths but now we were walking through dry grass and dirt. After crossing over the tram line that runs through the middle of the park we slowly made our way around the imaginatively named Grass Circle, a MCG sized patch of native grass. Circumnavigating the Grass Circle in a anti clockwise direction we passed through a nice native garden before we arrived at what was the highlight of the walk for me, the Burke and Wills Memorial. Back in the ye olde days when I was at school we had learnt about these blokes and indeed I've traced a lot of their steps on numerous trips over the years. The kindest description I can come up with of their expedition is probably bumbling, while they were probably nice enough blokes they didn't make great bushman. At the risk of being controversial (who me!) I think John McDouall Stuart was the real deal, for those that don't know, he was the first European to cross the continent from south to north and then make it back again. Still it was interesting piece of history to see the memorial to Burke and Wills, Royal Park being the spot they set off from on their ill fated expedition.

The trams run through the middle of the park.

It's a little dry in Melbourne at the moment.

Circumnavigating the Grassy Circle, the CBD is to the left of the photo.

A nice native garden.

The Burke and Wills memorial in Royal Park.

The rest of the walk essentially found us walking around the perimeter of the zoo, passing the extensive car parks on the way. By now my havaianas were starting to chafe a bit so I was happy enough to climb back up the dry grass to the car park in the middle of the park. jump in the ute and head home.

The front entrance to the Melbourne Zoo.

The Dirt.

While I wouldn't drop everything and plan a trip to Melbourne to walk Royal Park, it's a nice enough stroll if you happen to be in the neighbourhood. The  walk would probably be more suited to the cooler months as the grass lands were pretty parched on this visit and I was very wary of the Red Gums dropping branches in the heat. It's an easy walk that could be done by people with strollers or with a wheel chair, there are some dirt/grass sections but they are not too rough and don't last long. The walk could easily incorporate a visit to the zoo or a picnic. We walked 8 kilometres and climbed 80 metres on this stroll, I used the notes and map out of Julie Monday's book Melbourne's Best Bush, Bay & City Walks, published by Woodslane. At over 180 hectares and being only 4 kilometres from the CBD we are lucky to have such great open spaces I think.

One of my least favourite things in life, crowded car parks, f*#k I'm turning into a grumpy old man!