Day 7. A queer day at Midsumma and a trip to St. Kilda beach!

13.01.2013

The last day of the first week of our trip was definitely a queer one. It was day 1 (and carnival) of the Midsumma Festival, Victoria's biggest celebration of gay culture for the LGBT & wider community. The weather wasn't playing ball, in contrast to the heat & blue skies of the previous days, we woke up to an overcast & drab day at a chilly 19oC. The event soon cheered us up though with stalls, music and a very entertaining dog show hosted by a fabulous drag queen who had plenty of 'bitchy' comments to offer...haha. Like any gay event, there were an array of interesting people both on & off the stage and a great turnout despite the lack of sunshine - we loved it!

Afterwards (even though the sun refused to come out), in typical British spirit, we jumped on a tram headed to the seaside. We checked out the quaint St. Kilda market with a whole host of stalls crammed full of original, local and often home-made, goods. The market is right next to the beach, so when were finished browsing, we sat and ate lunch looking out at the sea.

St. Kilda is the most famous beach in Melbourne and just 6kms (or 3.5 miles) from the CBD. The pier here is home to both a  beautiful little restaurant as well as a colony of Little Penguins - the same species as we saw at Phillip Island. On top of the beautiful sandy beach, you will find Luna Park (the sister of the park of the same name in Sydney) and a marina full of boats. We were spoilt with these fantastic views of the city as we strolled along the pier.

There is a cool, edgy feel to St. Kilda with lots of fascinating tourists & locals alike taking advantage of the plentiful cafes, shops & bars found here. And whilst the views are great every single day of the year, they get even better when the sun comes out to play. As I now have the pleasure of calling Melbourne home, after returning here at the end of the trip, I thought I would spoil you with some pictures of just how beautiful St. Kilda is in the sunshine.

 

                                     Jan 2013 vs March 2013 - the amazing views from St. Kilda pier in both cloud & sun!

These photo's were taken in March 2013 during the longest spell of consecutive days above 30oC on record in Melbourne - 10 days, peaking at a roasting 38oC. There was simply nowhere I would rather have been than swimming in the refreshingly cool waters of the Southern Ocean, looking back towards the golden sand with the city & blue skies as backdrop.