Elephant safari in Melbourne - Mali in the City

To celebrate the Melbourne Zoo's 150th anniversary, many artists painted fibre-glass statues of elephants (50 in total) to exhibit around the city. I decided to spend this afternoon taking photos in the city.

Ming Vase Elephant,
Queen Victoria Market entrance

Patch,
Queen Victoria Market

Mali is Listening to the Earth,
Cnr Peel & William Sts near Flagstaff Gardens

Frank Realities,
The University of Melbourne - Medical School Building

Lotus,
Gordon Reserve

Ranee,
Old Treasury Building - Treasury Reserve

Spot,
Centre of Treasury Gardens

Mali's Crimson Song,
Fitzroy Gardens

Harmony,
Melbourne Marriot Hotel Entrance

Rusty Mali,
Chinatown, Cohen Plaza

Interesting fact: an upright elephant trunk is good Feng Shui

Baroque Baby,
Bourke Street Mall

I think this is Jimbo,
but I didn't come out of the car to check
(It was getting dark, freezing cold and raining)

Yes, I did spend 3 and a half hours taking photos of elephants in Melbourne's busy traffic. I did get some strange looks for stopping to take a photo. 

Overall, going on an urban safari was worth the traffic and strange looks by others to find and capture 11/50 elephants.

Well Done Melbourne Zoo.

Mali in the City

Vote for your favourite elephant and win a trip to Thailand (Melbournians only, sorry)

Maps and info about Mali in the City (I printed out the info to find them)

Adopt an Asian elephant (Zoos Victoria)

Travel Review: Bendigo - Photo Blog

Two days ago, I went to Bendigo for the afternoon. It was a two hour drive but was worth it once I got there.

A fountain 

That is the statue of Queen Victoria.

Another fountain but not as grand as the other.

Believe it or not, that is a toilet!

A Cornish miner

Bendigo Chinatown

You know if it's Chinatown, if the lights are curved. 

A giant lotus.

The Chinese garden, I came there at 5:00 and they were closed.

A male lion. Notice the ball under his paw.

A female lion. Notice the lion cub under her paw.

The golden dragon museum. 

Chinese lucky clouds on a fence.

Notice the 'fish scale' pattern on the lantern.

Bendigo bank

Bendigo bank at night.

I would like to go to Bendigo again and stay there for two or three days so am I able to see the Golden Dragon Museum and the Botanical Gardens. While I was there I did go to Bendigo's Hat Shop on High Street which a large variety of hats. They had caps, berets, Scottish bonnets, hats for weddings and much more. 
I recommend going there if you're in Bendigo. I reckon the Bendigo Chinatown is a bit more 'authentic Chinese' than Little Bourke Street because there is a Museum in there as well as a garden. Even though it is not as big as Chinatown in Melbourne City, I still recommend going there. 

Here is a bit of history about Bendigo.


1. First settled around 1840s
2. Main source of boom was the Gold rush in 1851, first discovered by two women.
3. Population in 1900 was 39,000 and today is 107,000.
4. Has a strong commerce and tourism to support the city's economy.


Comments welcome.