We made our way down to South Bank, and the kiddies spied a red ampitheatre of sorts, immediately hurtling towards it - forcing important business-folk types to halt their urgent strides momentarily.
We boarded a very low-lying ferry for our trip to Scienceworks, and set off towards the mouth of the Yarra. While we enacted a game of limbo with some ludicrously low-lying bridges, we again appreciated the icy blasts of subtropical Melbourne.
The ferry deposited us on a jetty in the middle of nowhere - the captain vaguely waving a hand in the general region of Scienceworks, before setting off again on his merry way. We were confronted with what appeared to be an industrial freeway - and made a frantic dash across, complete with stroller. Pre-booking the tickets turned out to be a good option, as the queue for tickets winded around the side of the building and off into the industrial distance.
An overcast day on the first day of the school holidays was clearly the perfect opportunity to experience Scienceworks - giving me the ideal opportunity to work on my aversion to crowds (ie hoardes of screaming kiddies with snotty noses).
One of the exhibits consisted of 'racing' Cathy Freeman - suffice to say the Martin kids did it in style (albeit giving themselves a reasonable head-start).
The trip back to South Bank was made a little more interesting by a group of apparently-parentless children who thought it might be fun to see just how low the bridges across the Yarra were - by sticking their heads up above the top of the ferry. Fortunately, our trip concluded without any psychological scars for passengers or any Coroner's reports needing to be filled out.
We met up with Stu, Pete and their respective families for dinner - forgoing a nearby Nando's to locate a more suitable place to eat. Several blocks (and katabatic wind-blasted cross-streets) later, we decided on.... a Nando's (clearly a much better option). I made what I thought was a reasonable attempt to ask for a high-chair for Joshie. The young lady gave me a look combining confusion, pity and a touch of contempt. She pointed at the stools the rest of us were sitting on, and noted that they were quite high already. Sensing this was not a conversation that was going to have 2 active participants, I retreated.
The meal and conversation was great, and despite dosing all of the kiddies with an insane amount of sugar - the youngsters of the Martin clan are all crashed in their beds.
