Taking The Punt

We entered a time warp between Christmas and New Year: no-one was sure what day it was, Christmas leftovers made regular mealtimes null and void, and the accepted rules of the universe didn't apply.  It was quite a shock when the fog lifted and 2023's clock started ticking loudly.  Our time in Melbourne was running out and we had a big list of things we hadn't done yet. 

BD, poor child, had lived in Melbourne for almost two years and didn't know the Westgate punt existed, so we bundled her into the car and set out to rectify her ignorance.  If she thought we were a tad obsessed with ferries after the Geelong experience, she was probably right.

Cobwebs saw us getting ready and took herself off to her Sad Place.

The sun shone, a strong hot breeze blew, and I think  BD possibly expected a bigger vessel than what turned up but she gamely went along with us anyway.  Mind you, there was purpose to our punting: we were off to Science Works, the museum on the other side of the river.

Punt ahoy.

The punt was empty, which gave us hope for Science Works being empty too.  The ferry man confirmed that the day was, indeed, quiet.  He didn't seem too upset about that; indeed, he gave the impression that his job was entirely free of stress and might even include a little bit of fishing now and then.

Mind you, Roger didn't look too stressed either.

He told us tales of driving the punt back and forth across the Yarra, dodging the occasional Geelong ferry.  He pointed to the Lime bicycle helmets which festooned the rafters of the punt. "I fish them out of the river," he said.  "Then I lend them to cycle commuters who've forgotten their helmet in their morning rush."  This was very nice of the ferry man, although Lime may have had other thoughts on the matter.  As we disembarked he wished us a good day and gave us directions to the museum.

Science Works is built on the site of the Spotswood Pump station, most of it tucked in behind the impressive French Renaissance buildings of the pump station.  We could have toured the construction that was going on within the old pump station, but we never did get around to that.

The old pump station.  Or part of it, anyway.  It's a big building.

Instead we hung out in the main gallery and did hands-on things with mirrors, light, and other exciting stuff.

He's meant to be disappeared...

A little warped: so kinda normal really.

The muscle team.

They were concentrating on making music.  I had to push buttons to tell them if their music made me happy or sad. The buttons did not allow for nuance or variety of emotions.

Australia's first computer.  Probably less powerful than the ones we had in our pockets.

Selfie 2.

Playing with the fabric of time and space.

When we had finished the same ferry man took us back across the river.  True to form,  the weather had changed and the breeze blowing up the river was a little brisk, to say the least.

The trifecta: punt, bridge, and city.  And sunshine too.

Back at home I took Cobwebs for a walk and contemplated the unavoidable fact that I must turn up for work on the following day and the holidays, sadly, were over.