And That's It

And then we came home. My Apple Watch was a bit confused . . . since we left on Thursday and arrived home on Thursday, I had 29 standing hours in a 24 hour day . . . with 5 hours where I didn't stand. Time travel, at its best.

Australia and New Zealand are wonderful countries. The people are extremely friendly and helpful; the streets are safe, especially in the small towns; the general atmosphere is unhurried and chill. I love the dedication to recycling, to sustainability, to personal responsibility. I think one man summed up his kiwi thoughts about recyling in particular, but society in general, by saying they try to take care of their country because it is the right thing to do. Could not be said better! We took the Gaskills' recommendations not to try to drive to heart, and they were spot on. We took day tours, sometimes we had a private driver, but every time, we were able to enjoy the scenery and we had running commentary the whole way. We learned a lot about both countries that way - things we would not have learned on our own. We also took their recommendation to book a Skycouch on Air New Zealand, and that was also the perfect recommendation. Less expensive than Economy Premium but more than economy, we had all three seats in our row - no one to crawl over to go to the restroom, no one to bother us, and a place to sleep. I would travel that way again in a heartbeat. So our travels have sadly ended. It was a trip of a lifetime, one that I would repeat if I could. So much to see and do, so many people to meet, so much to learn. It was a perfect trip!

One Last Treat

Then Richard took us for a ride along the coast. This gorgeous coastline provided picture after picture and movie after movie, none of which do justice to the colors.

We stopped at Pyramid Rock, which is just one of many "sculptures" in the sea.

Then he drove us through an area filled with wallabies (most were asleep under bushes), to the place where the little penguins live. These penguins are the smallest penguins in the world, and they live in little burrows away from the water. Early in the morning, they leave their burrows to go fishing, and at nightfall they return to their burrows. They don't come out of the water until close to dusk to avoid any bird predators, and people actually go to the viewing area to see the little guys return from the sea. They climb some pretty steep rocks to get to their burrows, and they do not go fishing every day. We were so lucky to see one little guy, and although our pictures are not great, they give the idea! (The blurry one was taken by Don leaning through the slats in the fence, hoping to catch the little guy. Had his phone not focused on the wood and instead focused on the penguin, we would have had a real winner!)

One last find was an echidna, but we were too late to catch a picture - but we did see it, which was fun! Then it was back to the hotel to prepare to leave the next day. On our way, we marveled at the Melbourne skyline and its amazing buildings, this bent one, included.

The San Remo Coop

Next, Richard took us to one of his favorite places to eat - The San Remo Coop. It is where the locals eat, and he thought we would enjoy the fish and chips, since they catch their own fish in the bass straight.

The day's catch included dory, flake, and a third fish that was more expensive. We had never had dory nor flak, and Richard suggested the flake, since it is a common fish used for fish and chips. It was mushier than cod or halibut but still tasty, and we ate outside on what was a beautiful day. While we finished our food, Richard went in search of a few animals. He didn't find anything on land, but he certainly found something in the sea - sting rays! And big ones. Some seemed to be between four and five feet across. We watched them in the clear water for awhile, marveling at how big they were, and then it was time to head on our way.

A movie of one of the rays makes it real!

As we left, we took a picture of one of the sculptures that serves as a reminder to all of the dangers of polluting the ocean.

Maru Koala Part 2

Perhaps the reason Koala is in the name of this sanctuary is due to the number of koalas they have in their keep. We saw several, and we know more are behind the scenes. We were fortunate to see some baby koalas sleeping on their mommies - it was very cute that one of them seemed to be nearly smothering its mom, but she didn't seem to mind.

The dingo was next. What pretty dogs! I have been reading about the making of the Australian dog, and the dingo plays a prominent role. They live primarily in the bush, so we did not see one in the wild, but it was fun to see it up close - looks a lot like my brother's dog, Chaco.

Although the kookaburra is plentiful in Australia, we saw very few and they certainly were not close enough to get a picture. So when we saw one at Maru Koala, Don managed to get a close-up of this pretty kingfisher. We never did hear one, which surprised us, but we must not have been in the right places. I did sing it its song, however.

The final find was what Aussies call a stick insect. It is much like a walking stick, except it looks much like a praying mantis. They are bigger than praying mantises, and they do not appear to eat each other . . . they are harmless, and their only defense is to look like a leaf or a stick. We neglected to get a picture of it, but Don did take a picture of the sign, which tells all about it.

Although this sanctuary was not as large as some others, it was thoroughly enjoyable, and we were able to see some animals that we had not yet seen.

Maru Koala Part 1

Maru Koala is a rescue organization named after two women, Mary and Ruth. What began as a tourist attraction has become a wildlife sanctuary that saves many animals every year. Australia has significant roadkill, and many of the animals are marsupials. If a driver hits a marsupial, the law states that the driver needs to check on the wellfare of the animal, and if it is not going to survive or is dead, they are to check the pouch for a baby. The baby can live in a pouch for up to five days even if the mom is dead, so in order to make sure the baby survives, the driver is to call the rescue organization, and those people will come remove it from the pouch and spray the carcass with a red X, indicating the baby has been saved. Many of those babies end up at Maru Koala or other sanctuaries. We had seen a number of the animals in the sanctuary, but it still held some big surprises. I wasn't particularly interested in the reptiles and snakes, but we looked at the monitors and lizards anyway. Behind the reptiles lived a big - and terrifying - bird. Kenneth used to love this bird when he was child, and he was proud to let others know that this bird could disembowel a person.

The southern cassowary, Gloria, was different from those at the Sedgwick County Zoo - and look at that casque! It is made up of keratin and is hard like fingernails, helping it defend itself. Then we slipped into the Squirrel Glider cage. Since they are nocturnal animals, the house was dark with red light, but sure enough, there they were. Look closely and you can see them.

We had been carrying around kangaroo food and feeding the kangaroos was next . . . but they were not very excited. They were all just lying down, and unless we went up to them, they just were not interested in eating. And then we saw these guys:

Albino kangaroos. That was never in our wildest dreams. No one was paying attention to them, and when I fed the big one, it was so gentle. After we fed them, we moved on to the wallabies and the grey kangaroos. They were pretty cute, but this biggest one was quite proud:

There is more to Maru Koala, but that is for the next post.

Last Day in Australia

We met our driver at 9:00 a.m. - Richard - and we immediately decided that Melbourne is just another big city and we wanted to get outside the city. We already knew we had reservations at Maru Koala park, so we decided to head that way and see what we could see. In other words, Richard was going to concoct a tour on the fly. First he took us to one of Melbourne's really nice beaches, and Richard invited us to join him on the beach. First, he showed us this sign:

Richard explained that people who own houses across the street from the beach (several million dollar houses, by the way) are eligible to purchase one of these storage shacks to put their beach paraphernalia in them. The shack cannot be slept in, there is no water, and it is only for storage. And now, the added value is that tourists walk by and take pictures of the owners sitting on the porch, or cleaning it out . . . or just eyeing them. This is all available for over $300,000 each! So we went down and looked at the various shacks - maybe 8' x 12':

Then we proceeded to Maru Koala. We had a lot more to do today.

Great Ocean Road Trip

I was the first passenger picked up so I snagged the front row single seat on the left, which I knew would be an oceanside view. It took more than an hour driving through the city and suburbs before reaching the beginning which was marked with a sign over the hiway.

Construction began in 1919, took sixteen years, and was completed by over 3,000 ex-servicemen and later by jobless of the Great Depression. Work was done by picks, shovels, crow-bars, dynamite and horse-drawn carts! It is currently a modern two land hiway with twists and turns and breathtaking views. We stopped for lunch at Apollo Bay. Next was a stroll on a raised boardwalk through Maits Rest in the Great Otway National Park. It was densely shaded and very quiet and peaceful.

A tour bus/car wreck caused a long detour on a non-paved road in order to complete the ride to the Twelve Apostles. That actually was nice because the crowds had thinned and the sun was low in the sky creating highlights on the water.

Our driver stopped for both echidna and koala sightings along the way so the day was very satisfying as well as very late. I was hungry and tired when I got back to the hotel!