A boat trip like no other 難得遊船河

It was Open House Melbourne on 30 July, when many places were open for public visits. My relatives and I took this opportunity to go on a free boat tour of the Port of Melbourne.

7月30日是「墨爾本開放日」，不少地方都開放讓人參觀，我和一眾親戚約了當天下午一同免費遊船河，參觀墨爾本的港口。

We boarded at a pier in the Docklands district which adjoins Melbourne CBD. The area is generally quieter at weekends with a relaxing atmosphere.

登船的地點名叫船塢區Docklands，現在已成為毗鄰市中心的商住區，在週末人流一般偏少，有種悠閒的感覺。

The Port of Melbourne is in fact a conglomerate of different wharves and piers along the last section of the Yarra River before the Yarra meets the sea, with separate parts for concrete, chemicals, conventional containers and oversized cargo. Each type of goods requires its kind of vessel for transport.

墨爾本的港口，其實是將沿雅拉河各個船塢和碼頭集合一起的統稱，每個碼頭各有分工，包括混凝土、化學品、傳統貨櫃（集裝箱）和超大長或超大型貨物，每種貨物都須用各自的船運載。

Concrete 混凝土

Oversized goods 超大型貨物

Chemicals 化學品

One of my relatives called them giraffes

有親戚說是長頸鹿

For containers, there are vessels that carry trucks (lorries) with containers for shipment to Tasmania as some of the ports there cannot handle containers on their own. This type of transport is called Roro, short for 'roll on roll off'.

就算是貨櫃船，前往塔斯曼尼亞的，也要因應目的地的碼頭不能處理貨櫃，而要貨櫃車渡海，行內稱為roll on roll off（原車上船下船之意），簡稱Roro。

Apart from wharves, the banks of the Yarra are dotted with tranquil marinas and residential areas, providing a contrast from the bustling port activities.

在眾多貨運碼頭以外，沿河也經過住宅區和私人艇會，繁忙和恬靜，無縫交替，讓人看到雅拉河最後一段、臨流入大海前兩岸不同的面貌。

d'Albora marina

Williamstown

The highlight of this boat tour is passing under two flyovers, which doubles as two of the arterial roads in Melbourne. The Bolte Bridge closer to Docklands is a major conduit in the city area, while the West Gate Bridge connects Melbourne's West to the rest of the city. It is actually not a common experience to be able to see both flyovers from the water in one sailing apart from taking the ferry between Melbourne and Geelong (50 km south-west of Melbourne).

這次船河最難得是可以經過兩道跨河的主幹道橋，包括市區的Bolte Bridge和通往墨市西面的西門橋West Gate Bridge，從河面遠眺橋景，繼而穿過橋底，讓人多角度欣賞兩橋的建築和結構，平常只有少數坐渡輪來往墨爾本和西南面城鎮Geelong才會看到此景觀的。

Bolte Bridge

West Gate Bridge

The weather allowed us to enjoy the views to the full: the warm sunshine with a little breeze and the fresh air made standing on the deck comfortable for the whole 1.5-hour sailing. We were all thankful for such a special boat trip!

那天天公造美，陽光普照又不大風，我們全程站在甲板，感受冬日陽光和清涼空氣的混合，輕鬆舒服的度過了一個多小時。

Travel advisories 旅遊忠告

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