Land Down Under

So many things, so little time....

On Sunday Robyn got here, and the two of us and Jen and Lara went to the Vic Markets to shop for souvenirs and other random stuff. On Monday, Robyn and I went on a tour. We went on the Puffing Billy, which is an old train that used to be used for logging the Victorian forest, but now is just a passenger train. A lot of little kids go on it. It was pretty cool-- they let us sit on the railing and hang our feet out of the train. Definitely not something you'd be able to do at home! Then we went to a winery for a spit-roast lunch, which was really yummy. After that, we went to Healesville Sanctuary and got to see all the native Australian wildlife, including platypuses, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, and of course emus, koalas, and kangaroos. I got a cute video of a platypus swimming around in circles. On Tuesday Mel drove us and Lara to Phillip Island, where we saw the Penguin Parade. This is when the Fairy Penguins (which are rather tiny-- around 8 inches high or so) come out of the sea and crawl into the sand dunes to find their chicks and feed them. They were so cute! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures, because they have poor eyesight and the flash would ruin it further. On Wednesday Robyn and I woke up really early and caught a flight to Tasmania. As soon as we got in to Hobart, we checked in to the Pickled Frog hostel and had to run outside to wait for our first tour to pick us up. Turned out that the two of us were the only ones on it! It was a walking tour of Mt. Wellington, which has a rainforest growing on it. We got to see lots of things that we probably wouldn't have been able to see if we were in a large group, like black cockatoos and other birds. It was very pretty, and I bet it would've been gorgeous if it had been sunny, a bit warmer than 5 degrees Celsius, and not raining. When we got to a lookout point, our guide gave us lunch-- really yummy organic sandwiches, chamomile tea, and a ginger snap. After all that, combined with the cold rain, I felt like taking a nap! However, I didn't. Instead, Robyn and I walked around Salamanca Place, which has a bunch of shops and restaurants, until dinnertime. After dinner we fell exhausted into bed, and didn't move til 6AM the next morning when we had to get up and ready for our next tour. Thursday's tour was a mishmash of everything- we first went to the Cadbury Chocolate Factory, then on a river cruise for lunch, then to a wildlife sanctuary, and finally to historic Richmond, before taking a taxi back to the airport and flying back to Melbourne. At the wildlife sanctuary, we got to pet a koala and a wombat, and feed kangaroos right out of our hands! I have a picture of me trying to kiss a kangaroo's face, and he's pretty close, but I was afraid to get much closer because I didn't want him to feel threatened and decide to kick me or something. They can be vicious with those back legs. Anyway, yesterday Robyn and I went back to the Vic Market and bought tons more things, and after dinner we went to Max Brenner with Mel and Lara. I realized that it was the third time I've been there in 3 weeks. Oops. No wonder the girl who served us recognized me. Today Margaret's son Paul is going to pick me up for lunch with their family, so I get to meet Aunt Lily's sister and her kids and grandkids. After that I'll probably pack a bit, or help Mel finish moving out if she's still not done, and then Robyn and I are going to try our hardest to find a restaurant in Melbourne that serves kangaroo but isn't rediculously priced, so that she can try it. Tomorrow morning at 6:20 we're leaving Whitley to take Robyn to the airport, and then I've got to get back to Vic Market and get a last minute 50 more pounds of stuff that Mom requested of me last night, and then pack up my entire room (and hope I have enough empty space in my suitcases for all the extra stuff I'll be buying tomorrow!). It'll be really sad to see my room all empty and bare. It's going to be really hard to leave, even though I'm going to Fiji before going home. I hope I can plan my next trip to Australia soon!

posted by Christina @ 9:15 AM