Kangaroos and Wallabies and Penguins..oh my!

Melbourne is a vibrant city full of world class restaurants, museums, theaters and gardens. Any tourist, and resident for that matter, could easily lose themselves in all that the city has to offer. Even with its multicultural charm, Melbourne is seriously lacking one key Australian ingredient…penguins! I know what you are thinking. Penguins in Australia? Yes, in addition to the expected kangaroos and wallabies, the southern coast is home to the “little penguins.”

Last Saturday I went in search of Australia’s unlikely residents. Just an hour and half south east of Melbourne is Phillip Island. The island itself has only 7,000 residents, yet attracts 3.5 million visitors each year. My travel mates, Kaleigh, Mandy, Lauren and I arrived early in the afternoon and checked into our hostel, called the chill house which was located in the islands largest town, Cowes.



Awwww



Our first stop in town was the tourist information center to purchase our tickets for the nightly Penguin Parade. From there we headed to the island’s second most popular destination, the wildlife park. Upon entry, each guest gets a bag of feed for all the grass eating animals in the park. I was expecting to feed a few animals through a fence. Boy was I wrong. Wallabies, emu, and kangaroos have free range of the vast park. I’ve fed goats and llamas at petting zoos but I never thought I would be roaming the scrub brush to feed kangaroos. There was hardly ever a need to offer food to the kangaroos or wallabies – they would hop right to you, put their paws on the bag and chow down. The emus were especially aggressive and I made sure to steer clear of them. The park also had a range of less people-friendly animals like the wombat, koala, Tasmanian devil, and pre-historic looking cassowary (think dinosaur mixed with ostrich). My friends and I agreed that we could have stayed at the park all day, but Mother Nature had other plans. Heavy rain forced us to bid the kangaroos farewell and seek shelter in our hostel.



Well hello Mr. Wallaby



Can you believe these are considered pests?

The little penguins only make their appearance at dusk when they head from the sea to their burrows on land. The very clever tourism office on Phillip Island has capitalized on the penguins as a tourist curiosity and built stadium style seating all along the shore. During peak time in the summer, up to 2,000 people can pay to watch the swarms of penguins waddle in. The night I visited was less busy, mostly due to the rain that never ceased to soak everyone. Nothing but an ankle length poncho could have protected me from the rain that night. Nevertheless, the penguins were adorable and well worth getting soaked. From the bleachers it was difficult to see the little guys since they are no more than a foot tall, but the boardwalk back to the main visitor’s center runs right along the burrows so you can see them up close. So adorable!

The Nobbies

After one day on Phillip Island we’d seen most of what the island had to offer. We checked out of our hostel and made our final stop at The Nobbies – a collection of seal covered rocks and tidepools. It was a short visit since the warm summer temperatures are long gone. We had coffee and muffins in the café to warm up then embarked on the quick drive back to the city. What a fun weekend it was!

All the best,

Elisabeth

A Quick Trip to Queensland

I was very fortunate to make some  dear Australian friends while I was in England. Not only do I have Steph, who lives only 10 minutes away, but friends in Sydney and Brisbane. For our first “Nottingham Reunion” I met 5 friends in Brisbane for a weekend at the beach. My flight was scheduled to leave early Friday afternoon but ended up being delayed 2 hrs. I flew the budget (not budget by my standards) airline – Tiger which is notorious for being late. The Australians have a much higher standard for their airlines so the ones who can afford it never fly Tiger. My friends Dad couldn’t believe that I didn’t get served a meal on a two hour flight. Most Americans have come to expect that lack of food. Though some food would have been nice, I flew the most basic airlines in Europe so I was happy to even get a seat assignment.

When I left Melbourne it was in the low 50s and raining so I dressed accordingly. 2 hours later in Brisbane I was melting in the nearly 90 degree heat and humidity. My friend Amy’s mother picked Steph and up from the airport in her wonderful air-conditioned car. She gave us a quick tour of the city and pointed out many of the spots that had been damaged by the flooding. Everywhere in Australia has had abnormal weather this year. Darwin has been sweltering and dry, Queensland had cyclones and flooding, and the south had more rain than many of my uni friends have seen in their lives. It’s remarkable how the city has cleaned up after the flooding, but it’s still sad to see empty boarded up houses.

Steph and I had a relaxing rest of the afternoon exploring the Brisbane suburb of Sherwood. The tropical climate meant that there was a whole new array of flowers and trees that chilly Melbourne can’t support. Unfortunately there were also geckos, opossums, lizards, and HUGE spiders everywhere – including inside Amy’s house. I was not sad to leave those behind when we headed further north the next morning.

Main street in Noosa

It was an hour and half drive to the Sunshine Coast where Amy’s family has a holiday house. Her house was in the town of Noosa Heads – a town with lots of touristy shops and cafés and a large public beach. We spent the first few hours in Noosa on the beach. It was another hot day though so no one protested to having an early lunch and finding shade. The rest of Saturday was spent shopping and relaxing at the house. It was great to catch up with everyone.

The tanning fans in the group (not me) wanted to make an early start to the beach on Sunday to catch a few rays before heading back to Brisbane. The weather had other plans though. It poured on and off for most of the morning so we retreated to the town to have hearty breakfast and do some souvenir shopping. Then it was another drive back to Brisbane to collect our things before heading to the airport again. Whereas in the States, they recommend 2 hours of time to check-in and go through security at the airport, Aussies need about 10 minutes. You don’t have to have ID or a boarding pass to go through security and there is no need to remove your belt, jacket, or even shoes. Oh I miss those days!

I could have stayed in Queensland much longer, but I was certainly happy to return to Melbourne where the humidity is bearable and there is no need to check for spiders before hopping into bed!

Happy April Everyone!

-Elisabeth