Saturday was a transition day. After a good sleep, we left Philip Island for the east side of Melbourne. There was no time for dilly-dallying. The car needed to be returned by 1 pm.
The traffic on the road out of Philip Island was heavy, though not heavy enough to employ the blue line. When the blue line is employed, the shoulder is used as a lane, squeezing some room from the usual lane. The result is two narrow lanes. Generally, I’ve thought lanes are narrow on every road other than the M1.
On many roads around Melbourne, I’ve noticed electronic speed signs, allowing traffic controllers to adjust the speed according to conditions. Another common practice is to put two speed limit signs about 150 meters apart. It’s almost as if they don’t expect drivers to notice the first one.
And speed limits seemed to be fast. On many of the secondary roads in the Dandenong Ranges, the speed limit was 100 kmh. There would be no warning or road widening when a junction came up. It was just there.
Regardless, the countryside was gorgeous.
I loved the pedestrian crossing signs. They are highly visible and no nonsense.
After a rest, we headded out to Luna Park in St. Kilda. It has a wooden roller coaster that opened in 1912. What makes it truly unique is the operator who rides each time, presumably operating a break. Whatever it is, there is a big handle that the standing operator holds on to. The cars for the paying customers are very traditional two-person seats with a lap bar.
Maybe because of its age, Luna Park has some distinctive theming.
We also rode the ghost train. When it came time to refurbish this dark ride, one of the operators bid on the design project. To everyone’s surprise, he won. It reopened last year with new artwork and vignettes. Wonderful.
Juliette Knits 