Looking for love, beach boxes or a roo steak? We ask Melbourne’s red coat guides all about it

WHERE do I find love? How can I meet a kangaroo? Melbourne’s redcoat tourism guides have heard it all — here’s some of the strangest questions they’ve been asked.

THEY’RE the people who offer free advice, have all the answers and get to tell people where to go every day.

Melbourne’s volunteer brigade of ‘red coat’ tourism guides have seen and heard it all during three decades of services on the city’s streets and inside visitor centres.

The more than 400 volunteers and staff champion the city’s attractions but also have to field some strange requests.

FED SQUARE INTERVENTION FURY

VICTORIA’S TOURISM BOOM

MELBOURNE’S TOURISM HOTSPOTS

City of Melbourne volunteer guide Jeanette Williams in Hosier Lane, one of the most asked-for destinations in Melbourne. Picture: David Caird

Jeanette Williams, a former teacher from Ascot Vale, said directions to Melbourne’s landmark laneways, transport, shops and even the Brighton beach boxes were among the most popular requests.

Advice on regional areas was also often sought, she said, even if many visitors did not comprehend Australia’s scale.

“One tourist wanted directions to drive along the Great Ocean Rd but also had to be at the airport by 1pm!’’

Some requests were more puzzling.

Another man asked directions to St Kilda for some “up and down, up and down”.

Ms Williams politely said she could not recommend such, um, personal services, but then it was established that the inquirer wanted to ride the rollercoaster at Luna Park.

A sense of city pride has kept Ms Williams in the red shirt as a volunteer for the past 28 years.

“It’s an extremely rewarding and fulfilling thing to do,’’ she said.

Melbourne’s Visitor Hub has moved from Fed Square, which has closed in preparation for Melbourne Metro project works, to the corner of the Town Hall building near Lt Collins St.

The new hub will be officially opened on Monday.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the visitor centre was back at Town Hall after 15 years at Federation Square.

“Thanks to our red coats, visitors to our great city are in safe hands,’’ Cr Capp said.

The Federation Square site was taken over by the Metro Tunnel project which is building an entrance to the new Town Hall station.

Metro and the council are in talks over the possibility of including a visitor centre in the new station.

A second visitor centre will open at the Queen Victoria Market later this year.

One man asked a tour guide how to get to St Kilda for some ‘up and down’. Picture: David Caird

SAY WHAT?

Visitors ask the darnedest things.

One visitor at Federation Square wanted to know if it was OK to visit the mosque over the road. Turned out she was talking about Flinders St station and its dome.

Two young Frenchmen asked if the amount of flies in the city during summer was normal, or was it because they were smelly?

A couple arrived from the airport after being diverted from Bali because of the volcano cloud. “St Kilda beach is nice, but it sure ain’t Kuta.’’

A cruise ship passenger at Station Pier insisted they had arrived in Adelaide, not Melbourne. Wouldn’t be told otherwise.

Two Korean visitors asked for “kangaroo meat” but were horrified when offered restaurant suggestions for roo steaks. They wanted to “meet a kangaroo”.

“Where can I find love?”

One woman approached a volunteer and said that since last time they spoke, she had lost her husband. The guide offered his condolences but she replied: “I don’t think you understand, I’ve lost him in the David Jones food hall.’’

One tourist has mistaken Flinders Street Station for a mosque. Picture: HiVis Pictures

@IanRoyall