Saturday, May 19, 2012

Final Adventures in Australia


It's hard to believe it has been nearly four months since Lizard's and my trip to Australia. It's even harder to believe that I haven't, until now, written my final installment. Here we go.

Wednesday, January 25
Wednesday morning, we loaded into CW's car and headed to Philip Island, a nature lover's dream. Immediately before crossing the bridge to Philip Island, sleepy San Remo beckons travelers to delay crossing over to the island and stay awhile, especially to view the noontime feeding of the Australian pelicans and brown rays. The pelicans and rays alike were enormous, as well as entertaining. The pelicans were within arm's length and the rays, too many to count, came right up to shore.



Can you see the ray?

Before checking in at our B&B, C took us to the Nobbies. The cliff-top views of waves crashing over the table-top rocks assured us that this adventure would be a highlight of our time Down Under. Here, to our delight, we also spotted our first wallaby.


Next, we checked in at Homewood B&B. This beautiful story-book home was California Bungalow on the outside and Victorian on the inside. We had the entire three-bedroom guest cottage to ourselves, an extravagantly generous gift of the W's. One of our favorite features of the home was our private porch overlooking a lush garden of English style. Lizard and I stayed in the Jane Austen room where, we were told, the U.S. Ambassador had also roomed just a few months prior.

Jane Austen Room

After a brief rest, we all went to the beach where the kids splashed and explored (especially nature-loving Cameron). The kids found yet another awesome Australian playground, and insisted on spending some time there before heading back to our B&B.

Big Brother sharing his love for all things in nature with his Little Brother.

Lizard and I, now the confident travelers, walked to get pizzas and other provisions for dinner. We shopped at the grocery store Coles where we had to insert a refundable coin in order to use a shopping cart. I was again surprised how much we both enjoyed doing the seemingly mundane things, like shopping at a grocery store.

After dinner, C took us to Swan Lake. We only encountered one couple on the trail leading to Swan Lake, which was fortunate, for too many tourists may have frightened off the countless number of wallabies we sighted. Although, we did enjoy seeing black swans at the termination of the trail; it was the wallabies that captivated all of us. Time and again, one of us would stop and hush the rest, pointing out the prized wallaby that had been sighted. Then we'd all attempt to quietly get as close as possible with both moms snapping photos.

A mob of wallabies.


It was already dark when C dropped Lizard, Big Brother and I off at the Penguin Parade. The W's had experienced this before and some needed to get to bed. We sat in an outdoor stadium of sorts set up right along the beach. Before long hundreds of penguins came to shore and wasted no time on their march to find their nests and waiting chicks. It was even more fun to walk along the boardwalk keeping pace with the penguins as they hurried "home." They were non-plussed by the tourists and that made it all the more wonderful.

We couldn't take photos of the penguins, but here you can see the beach side viewing area.

Needless to say, we enjoyed a good night's sleep.

Thursday, January 26
We enjoyed an absolutely lovely breakfast at the B&B, cooked to order. The B&B is for sale by the way, if anyone is interested. It would be a wonderful way for a family to make a living.


After filling up on brekkie, we headed off to Cape Woolamai at the southeastern tip of Philip Island. K and I walked the whole loop that skirted the edges of the cape, offering breathtaking cliff-top views of the rock formations below. While these were among the best views I'd yet seen in Australia, and we were thrilled to spot another echidna, I will cherish this time most because of the sweet conversation that K and I enjoyed. She is becoming a lovely young woman, inside and out.

The waves were so treacherous on this day, the only area allowed for swimming at Cape Woolamai Beach was the very small space between the flags, with more than a dozen lifeguards on duty.

We made several of these "advertisements" for my friend C's truly captivating blog, (the blog I want my blog to grow up to be) The Plunge Down Under: http://wilkincr.typepad.com/blog/


Best photo of J ever!
All of us started out on the hike.

You can see in the distance the end of the cape which Katie and I would not only reach but also pass continuing around to the other side before returning to the beach.
A different day, but a nice photo of K.

You couldn't ask for a better friend than C!
After our long walk, we had a hurried picnic in the town of Cowes before boarding our vessel for the Seal Cruise. The trip out to Seal Rock, a 45- minute ride, found us, at times, gripping our seats as the boat was thrown wildly into the air with each fantastically large wave. We were all so very glad we had taken our anti-nausea pills just as prescribed. Not one (of our party) got sick.


Did you notice our shirts? It was Australia Day and we were all embracing it!
Here we are gripping our seats as we are literally tossed into the air with each wave.
Arriving at Seal Rock may have been the very best of all our experiences during our entire time in Australia. We were in the very midst of THOUSANDS of seals. Hundreds were playing in the water immediately next to our boat. Not only were they not afraid of us; they were curious about US. They peered at us, they performed twists, rolls and leaps for us. We were told that these were the youngsters and they were having ball. Meanwhile, thousands of their parents were on the rocks, raising a cacophony of barks. It was so amazing and the 30 minutes spent cruising there flew by. We were served afternoon tea on the cruise back.

The crashing mammoth waves just added to the beauty of this experience.




Seal Rock captivated ALL of our senses, including smell.

I am proud to say that I DROVE all the way back to Melbourne with one stop at the Chocolate Factory (Australian chocolate is divine). Driving in Australia meant I was sitting on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road. It was disconcerting to say the least and I found the roundabouts especially nerve-racking, but C, in her characteristically encouraging way, assured me that I was doing well. Back at the W home, we all slept well.

Friday, January 27
This was our last full day with the W's. , S, Lizard and I went to Chadstone Mall, the largest mall in the Southern Hemisphere. We purchased our final souvenirs: Havaianas for every flip-flop wearer in the Smith Family, THE most popular footwear (read flip flops) in Australia. Ironically, they are made in Brazil. To my chagrin, I recently discovered they can be bought here in Richmond, but at least the price was comparable. C and I shared an apple raspberry muffin which I accompanied with a latte, while the girls chose something of the chocolate variety for their afternoon tea.


Saturday, January 28
Our flight home was delightfully under-booked. Lizard and I very much enjoyed having a three-seat row to ourselves, allowing us to stretch out a bit affording us a much more restful sleep. Sitting in the San Francisco Airport, we received word that our beloved neighbor and piano teacher had passed away and we cried together. Our vacation was over, but we were thankful to be on our way home.