Happy to report that, as hoped, we all felt we were more on track with the time, and thus the cold was quite tolerable. We had a really lovely day! This trip to Australia and New Zealand (primarily New Zealand) is Ryan’s graduation trip. Elizabeth picked Ireland her year; Gillian and Audrey have pencil plans but nothing in ink. Ryan, our marine science, animal loving child, has always wanted to go to New Zealand to explore their unique environments. Since we were already coming all the way to the Southern hemisphere, we added just a few days in Australia so we could see some Australian animals in their native environment. This should help to explain why we are spending 3 days in Melbourne instead of Sydney with is opera house. Also, Australia is just huge. We’d need weeks to get to all we’d like to see. So, we narrowed it to Melbourne and the animals down here.

We started the day with a really lovely breakfast at a coffee shop right next to the hotel. I believe Greg has already posted a picture of Audrey’s pancakes—with ice cream. When the menu lists ice cream with breakfast items, it’s really ice cream. We had thought maybe it was an Australian variation on the word, but no. All fueled up, we loaded in the car and headed about 2 hours South to Phillip Island (based on an excellent recommendation from Jim Manning). Greg is (knock on wood) doing a great job with the driving. I guess all that experience in Ireland really paid off (well, at least it paid the car rental company in Ireland! J). It was a fun drive through the country to the coast. Lots of horses, cows, and sheep. Elizabeth noted the cows seem to have much longer legs. She’s correct. I don’t know what variation they are, but they have really long legs. Without any real knowledge base, we’ve chosen to believe that it is due to gravity (obviously, it’s pulling the cows away from the ground since we are hanging off the bottom of the Earth).

We chose to visit three places on Phillip Island, and would happily go back to all three and spend more time. First, we stopped at Churchill Island Heritage Farm. This is a working farm with a historic home and beautiful grounds. It was really just lovely. I was surprised to see lemon and apricot trees, but the ranger explained that the island was really a testing ground for the settlers. They would just plant things and see if they would grow there. Beyond the farms animals, we also got a close up look at native Cape Barren geese and Purple Hens. Audrey, of course, found the Clydesdale horses and felt immediately bonded with Sophie. Gillian particularly liked this one chicken. There is only one kind of snake on Churchill and Phillip Island, the copperhead. Not a pit viper like our copperheads, but, well we are in Australia, venomous.

Second stop at the Koala Conservation Centre. The centre has elevated boardwalks so that visitors can view koala’s on their level. We learned quite a few new koala facts: koalas have a natural built in cushion on their backsides, the males can be easily identified by their “Roman noses,” and “koalas sleep because their diets do not provide enough energy to be awake all day. They save their energy for important jobs like eating and mating.” The centre is also a great way to see wallabys. The whole area smells incredible.

Lastly, the highlight of the day, our VIP tickets to the Penguin Parade. Jim is 100% correct. You should definitely spring for the VIP tickets. Phillip Island is home to the largest colony of Little Penguins. Adults are literally the side of a piece of paper (letter size). While the island originally had 10 colonies, they are now down to one, but have made significant strides in restoring their numbers. These Little Penguins come in at or just after sundown, and follow the same paths to their burrows every evening. Our tour allowed us to have a ranger with us, access to the skybox where they are counting the penguins (every night!) as they come in, and access to the underground viewing area (where you are eye-level with the little penguins as they come scurrying up the hillside toward their overnight homes). It’s a really wonderful experience! They are absolutely adorable. And loud. They are extremely vocal when they are on shore (I think they “hut, hut.”). Everyone wanted to take one home, and they would fit in a suitcase. Ryan asked the ranger if they ever had internships. They do. And with international students. Sigh.

An uninspired dinner at the The Cheeky Goose. A safe drive back to the hotel, and we were ready to tuck in for the night. A relaxed and fun filled Australian day.