Peek Tours – Free guided tour
January 29, 2013 1 Comment
Happy fake Monday! I hope you all had a great long weekend. I ended up taking my mini-webber for a quick BBQ along the Yarra, and with the crowd walking past after the soccer I could probably have turned a profit if I'd thought ahead. I also managed to squeeze in a free Melbourne walking tour with Peek Tours.
The tour runs every day whether there's rain, hail or shine (and since it's Melbourne, possibly all three at once). It starts at 10:30 am from just outside the Visitors Centre, just keep an eye out for the guide in the red t-shirt. My guide for the day was Ellen, and with around a dozen tourists and one curious blogger we headed off.
I won't go into too much detail of the walk itself, since I think it would be more fun to go yourself with one of their guides than have me spoil it all for you. Obviously it covers Federation Square, and lasts about two and a half hours finishing up at the Royal Exhibition Centre. It's an easy walk, and Ellen managed to deliver a surprising amount of information in that time. Among other things, I finally learnt why there are those half circle spaces on the edges of Princes Bridge are for.
Random music video filming!
As a tourist I really loved the tour, but as a know-it-all blogger there's some really cool things I'd have loved to have seen mentioned, like the Yarra Loop ferry, the Rooftop City Bees and how to find out about cool events in town. I had a quick chat with a couple of my fellow tourers during the walk and most of them didn't know about how to find out about events in town. For future reference, there's me, Timeout, A City with a Quirk, me, and Only Melbourne just to name a few.
The tour is completely free, with guides working on a tip basis. Ellen did a great job with the tour, great source of information and free with the bar and restaurant recommendations. Peek Tours also have a couple of paid tours, with more info here. If you have a smart phone, here's some great free/cheap apps for touring Melbourne on a budget
Sounds like a good way to explore Melbourne! Might have to give it a try sometime.