A different kind of walk-and-swim outing. I didn’t want to spend a day of our short Melbourne break doing a 25km walk and rendering myself useless for any socialising in the evening. But I did want to do a walk long enough to count as ‘training’ - i.e. a minimum of around 10km. So, we decided to walk from our spot on Sydney Rd in Brunswick to my sister’s place high up in the sky on Southbank. The direct route is more like 8km (and a bit boring), so we added a few scenic diversions. We started off by calling in to Tabets for some late lunchy snacks, then stepped over onto the bike path that runs beside the Upfield line. It’s always fun to revisit the old haunts and see what’s changed and what hasn’t since we lived in the area. And on the bike path we ran into an old friend! Kate, who made so much tasty food for us on our Snowy River adventure. That was lovely, not just to stop and have a chat but to be reminded that yep, we lived in this city for 10+ years and know enough people that we can just randomly bump into them. The bike path curves into Royal Park, joining the Capital City Trail (we once walked this loop in one day - and it remains one of my longest distances covered in a day at 30-something kilometres). We jumped off that path behind the zoo, and instead made our way to the native grasslands circle. This was our main additional detour of the walk - we did an almost complete loop, adding about 1km. It’s quite a nice spot to go for a stroll, with big skies and views of the city skyline. We enjoyed the park beside the children’s hospital as the last bit of this long section of non-roadside walking, then headed through the streets of North Melbourne. A helicopter landed on the Royal Melbourne Hospital as we waited for the traffic lights. We passed the old Meat Market then headed south to stroll through Flagstaff Gardens. The skyscrapers of the city sprang up around us and we crossed William Street to avoid the stream of workers heading to the station. A nice little surprise was the Market Street Park, which gave us a great view of our destination: the super tall building with a golden ‘skirt’. It was a quick walk from there across the river and into Southbank. In keeping with my theme of having a swim after a walk, my sister took me to the infinity pool on floor 70 for a dip. Maybe not as refreshing as the creek, but pretty spectacular. I’ve definitely never been swimming somewhere that gives me a view over the top of other high rise buildings, parks, suburbs and the bay before! Notes This was an easy 10km walk, and the only possible issue was that the majority of it was on sealed surfaces. My feet were slightly sore immediately afterwards, but I didn’t notice any twinges the next day. Having a swim helped stop any lingering stiffness, too. Honestly, I wondered if I should even write this up as a training walk. But then, I started with 10km walks in January, so I might as well. It did tell me that my walking fitness has improved since then! This walk in Naarm (Melbourne) is on Wurundjeri Country. Sovereignty was never ceded and this always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.
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