Australia Day 7

 Day 7 of #raustraliatravelog. I had no idea that we would visit this kind of place, which look grand from afar.

Well, we walked quite far in order to reach this spot, relying on google maps.

Fun fact: The Stone (last pic) is aligned with an aperture in the roof of the Sanctuary so that a ray of sunlight falls on the word LOVE on the Stone of Remembrance at exactly 11 a.m. on 11 November, marking the hour and day of the Armistice which ended World War I.

Inside the ziggurat roof of the shrine. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but now functions as a memorial to all Australians who have served in any war.

Its design is based on the Tomb of Mausolus and Parthenon.

Walking down the stairs. In the basement, there was a well-maintained museum about involvement of Australia in wars across the eras, including the world wars and the most recent ones (eg as the part of pasukan perdamaian PBB, what do u call it?).

I dont know what it is.

Eternal Flame. *close your eyes, give me your hand.. #lahjadinyanyi.

The Eternal Flame is placed nearby, representing eternal life. The flame has burned continuously with few interruptions since it was first lit.

You can go to (near) the roof, and then take pics from there, seeing the surrounding.

The Royal Botanic Garden is apparently adjacent to the shrine, so it's no brainer that the next stop would be that garden.

Melbourne was just being Melbourne. Cloudy in the morning, transformed into nice weather at noon. So, let's start.

While enjoying lunchbox.

Apparently we were not allowed to feed the birds. Since it's unnecessary and potentially harmful for them (see last photo for full warning from them).

Well, the birds actually surrounded us when we ate our snack. I dont know whether they liked us, they wanted our food, or they had bigger conspiracies planned.

I think one of the most outstanding features of the Royal Botanic Garden is Guilfoyle's Volcano. Since, it's very unique that perhaps not every botanic garden has this kind of scene.

Guilfoyle’s Volcano was built in 1876 and was used to store water for Melbourne Gardens.

Well, the volcano shape actually is not that noticeable, since it's short and wide. But what makes me admire it is the well-thought design and purpose of this feature.

The water reservoir in the volcano is part of the Gardens’ integrated water management system. This system includes stormwater harvesting and state-of-the-art irrigation programming and is part of the larger ‘Working Wetlands System.’ The 'Working Wetlands System' collects water that is bio-filtered through wetlands in the lakes, then pumped up to Guilfoyle’s Volcano and used for irrigation.

I think this plant is oh-so-exotique. One of many creatures from The Creator.

Wild flowers, not. I don't know actually. But such view is uncommon in tropical countries, I guess.

It was unplanned and unexpected, but for me this place brought lotta fun! Perhaps because of its interactive nature. And most importantly, it's free! lol.

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), the second-highest attendance of any gallery or museum in Australia, and the most visited moving image museum in the world.

Having a stroll at the bank of Yarra River. It's a very pleasant walk, with lively atmosphere, decorated by some boat restos with live music. Good vibes all around.

Random pics around Melbourne. Third pic is Melbourne Arena from afar, actually quite curious of the Rod Laver Arena where the Aus Open is usually held.

Fourth pic: fancy horse carriage, that apparently the passengers were Indonesians.

Nope, didnt enter the amusement park, and TIL the name is Luna Park, where apparently originated in USA. The face seemed familiar, that's why I took this pic. Apparently, it is the best-preserved Luna Park in the world. The original Luna Park which opened in 1903 at Coney Island, New York, closed in 1946 and was replaced by a car park.

Well, we went to St Kilda beach to enjoy our very last sunset for our trip in Melbourne. To reach the destination, we took tram and the journey was quite a lengthy one.

We arrived right on the sunset time, where in a matter of minutes, the sky turned dark and the sun waved goodbye.

What I remembered: anginnya gede banget dan dingin gila!

Do you see the penguins??? Yes, our goal when visiting this beach was to meet the penguins. My first time seeing wild penguins not in zoo/safari.

It's said that the best viewing time is 30 mins after sunset. Actually I was kinda worried that I wouldn't be able to see them. Well, I thought it's like seeing turtles in Ujung Genteng where you could only see them if you're fortunate.

Not long after we arrived, the penguins started appearing!

We can see them standing on the rocks, playing with each other.

Well, it's pretty freezing with strong wind out there. and since it's located at the end of the pier, so basically there's no wind "breaker" to save us.

In the night, before going to our accommodation, we paid a visit to a nearby teahouse called Teamoo. Well, in order to serve the tea, they did a certain way of doing it. Like, how long the leaves should be heated, and so on.

The owner was very friendly, and then he gave some kind of little gift (well, it's tea leaf) that we brought home.

It's our last night in Aussie. Thanks to @bayuadipersada for arranging the itinerary!.

Finally, it's a wrap! This photo marks the end of #raustraliatravelog. Anyway, have you ever wondered, when flying on the plane and seeing thru the window, what kind of surface lying down below? Since some of the sceneries on this flight made me wonder.

Fourth pic: I think Melb airport is pretty cool! it's like they try to fully digitalize checkin and baggage drop with very minimal human touch. Some other airports do this halfheartedly.

Fifth pic: station nearby our accommodation.

See you on the next travelog!