Motorsport & St Kilda

Today will be the start of an exciting weekend for us as the Melbourne Grand Prix starts today, so mid-morning sees us scurrying down the road towards the entrance. Along with other excited fans we queue at the gate to go through security then like the numerous school children in the park we hurry to the Schumacher stand to see for ourselves what our view will be like on race day. We both agree, the view will be superb, with 2 corners, a section of the straight and the pit entry in full view, there should be plenty of action to watch. We spend the rest of the morning walking round some of the circuit and posing for photo by the AUS GP sign before leaving the circuit for a few hours to stroll down to St Kilda and the beach. The road is lined with small eateries and coffee bars giving it a great vibe. Then there’s the beach, a huge horseshoe shaped arc of golden sand with a pier on once side and a marina full of boats in the middle. The walk down the pier to the pavilion is bracing in the sea breeze but with plenty of kite surfers to watch, how they still have arms attached to their bodies I’ll never know. They zip across the bay before being l pulled vertically into the air to turn around and go back in the other direction. The information board at the end of the pier tells us about the little penguins that have made their home here along with a rare Australian water rat called Rakali, I’m not sure if this last bit of information isn’t some big Aussie wind up! Time for a beer or in my case a sparkling rose wine to consider this information…I’m still not sure especially as they only appear at night!

We’ve decided to go back into the Grand Prix to watch one of the races but this time from the top of the F1 Paddock Club. This gives us a great vantage point to look down onto the pit boxes, watch the start and finish of the race as well as the Renault crew practising their tyre changes. The whole tyre change takes less than 3 seconds, Kwik Fit aren’t that rapid Dave grumbles!

By now I’m walking slower and slower as fatigue sets in, in fact crossing the roads within the time set by the beeping green man is becoming a big challenge. Somehow, I make it back to the apartment in one piece with Dave’s help, s short rest then off to The Fifth Province for a steak. We feel we’ve well and truly earned this meal as we’ve walked nearly 11 miles today!