Melbourne, Australia

It is March 14, 2019 and Lanee and I arrived in Melbourne, Australia. It is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia and Oceania. The city occupies much of the coastline of Port Phillip Bay and spreads into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. It has a population of approximately 4.9 million (19% of the population of Australia). Melbourne is rated highly in entertainment, tourism, sports, education, health care, research and development. It is currently ranked as the second most liveable city in the world.

Melbourne is well known for its changeable weather conditions, mainly due to it being located on the boundary of hot inland areas and the cool southern ocean. This temperature differential is most pronounced in the spring and summer months and can cause strong cold fronts to form. These cold fronts can be responsible for varied forms of severe weather from gales to thunderstorms and hail, large temperature drops and heavy rain. Winters, however, are usually very stable, but rather damp and often cloudy.

Average summertime temperatures are 80 degrees F, average wintertime temperatures are 44.8 degrees F and the average annual rainfall is 23.7 inches. Record high temperature was 115.5 degrees F and record low 27 degrees F. The average annual temperature of the sea ranges from 58.3 degrees F in September to 65.8 degrees F in February.

Lanee and I toured the city by van with six other people and enjoyed finding out more about Melbourne, Australia.