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We still haven't gone on our Christmas vacation
yet--it's less than two weeks away! But we did take a couple of day trips over the last
month. Part of the reason for this was that we needed driving experience--we were
scheduled to take a road test in order to obtain our Australian driver's licenses within a
month (we both passed by the way--whew!). The other part of the reason was that we were
beginning to suffer from acute loneliness, and we needed to be reminded of the reason why
we came to Australia in the first place.
First, we rented a bomb (from a rental car agency very
appropriately called "Rent-a-Bomb") for $25/day and drove to Healesville. Our
main objective was to go to Healesville Sanctuary, and we achieved this goal. Healesville
Sanctuary is a very well kept wildlife preserve where one can come face-to-face with
Australian animals. The non-dangerous animals are able to wander throughout the park, but
we humans must stick to specified areas. So we are able to handle the animals only if they
come to us.
Of course, we saw lots of
kangaroo... |
as well as a young
wombat. |
And we were fortunate to
pass a dingo on his daily walk of the grounds. |
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We came across the cutest
koala, fast asleep between the branches of a manna gum. Other koalas were awake and
scratching or stretching in the surrounding trees. Incidentally, a guide informed us that
koala do not get stoned off of the eucaluptus leaves; they are immune to the toxins.
Bummer. |
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Seeking refuge and food
within the sanctuary were many types of birdlife. Here is the bird Australia is most
famous for: the laughing kookaburra! We have seen him many times in the wild as well. Last
but certainly not least, we drove through the Yarra Ranges. Pictured here is Maroondah
Highway, a major highway in Victoria. It's rather narrow, but it cuts right through
rainforest greenery and magnificent manna trees. |
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We spent the night at a
cozy bed and breakfast in Healesville, and hiked the Toolangi forest the following day.
Along our hike, we saw this echidna, which crawled under a dead tree just off the path as
we passed. We wouldn't have known what it was had we not seen its siblings at Healesville
Sanctuary the day before. |
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The following weekend, we rented a car from a more
respectable place and drove to the Otway National Park. Although this stop was supposed to
be included in our Christmas vacation plans, we feared that we did not have enough time to
REALLY see the Otways...so we decided to have a preview.
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After driving on the
absolutely gorgeous Great Ocean Road (sorry, it was evening, and unfortunately we did not
get any good video footage), we finally found the obscure camping area known as Johanna
Beach. Unsure how to go about camping here (there was no-one to collect any money, and no
well delineated camping sites), we pitched our tent within a sand-dune and slept to the
surprisingly very loud roar of the ocean. Here is the view to which we awoke. |
We then drove to Maits
Rainforest walk--an easy but BEAUTIFUL walk through official rainforest scenery. Here is
the last view before re-entering the parking lot. |
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Then we stopped at a
not-so-impressive wildlife park, mainly because they had a public barbeque area where we
could grill our lunch (needless to say, Johanna Beach had not afforded us that luxury).
While there, we were able to get intimate with a few wallabies (although we still aren't
sure that we were allowed to enter the fence where they lived). |
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The zoom on our video
camera allowed for this awesome picture of a developing joey in its mother's pouch. |
This joey is a bit more
mature, just a little worried about entering "the real world." We all know the
feeling... |
And here is a grown
wallaby. After about 30 minutes of patient flirting, Mike was able to get this guy to eat
from his hand. |
The host at the wildlife
park informed us that we were just 10 kilometers away from the Twelve Apostles (geological
rock formations along the southernmost coast of Australia). It being a gorgeous, sunny
day, we decided to drive a little further. He assured us that we would not ruin our
Christmas trip to this spot, since there are many shades to the Apostles and they change
with each passing cloud. |
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Next, we searched for the
Aire River campsite (which we had unknowingly driven past the night before). We stopped at
a gas station for directions, and were surprised at how far off the "beaten
path" it was. Along the dirt road which led to Aire River, we confronted a bull that
had escaped its boundaries before letting ourselves through the gate of a cow pasture and
setting up camp along the Aire River. Incidentally this dirt road/ cow pasture was an
official Victoria road. Again we did not see any officials to collect our money. We have
now realized that you can camp anywhere in Australia (usually for free) as long as there
are no "No Camping" signs. |
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On the way back to
Melbourne, we stopped at a reservoir for lunch. Here we saw giant cockatiels flying free
in the surrounding trees. We'd only seen these birds in cages in the states. Even in the
wild, they are truly friendly and communicative birds. |
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And that brings us back to Melbourne. We have only 10
days until we travel out on the Great Ocean Road again, and we are excited to take another
trip. Again, we hope everyone out there is healthy and happy.
--Mel and Mike
