Penguins, Koalas, and up to the Beach
I know it’s been a few days since I’ve posted, but just haven’t had time. In Melbourne, we rented a car to drive around south. On the first day, we went southeast to Phillip Island to see the penguins. We stopped off at a Koala reserve too and saw the cute little marsupials. There was even one with a baby in her pouch. They had these Koala walls which they couldn’t get over so you could walk around the boardwalk and see them in the trees. We snuck into the Penguin thing just cause no one asked us to buy a ticket when we entered. there’s loads of stuff to in the museum/gift shop but the real attraction is the penguins. Every night they come in from the ocean onto the beach and back to their roosts. They’re called Little Penguins cause they’re actually the smallest penguin on earth. They’re quite cute. They come onto the beach in groups and waddle across the sand into the bushes. It was funny to watch them but it started raining on us so we were really wet and cold which didn’t help Ani, who’s been sick, basically since I got here. We were glad we got in free cause I wouldn’t pay 20 bucks (price of admission) to see this, but it was cool to see for free. When most of them have come in, you can go back up the boardwalk and walk beside them as they return to their roosts.
The next day, we drove down to the Great Ocean Road which is south west of Melbourne. We stopped at Bells Beach and watched the surfers then went on to Lorne where they have a famous golf course. I was hoping to see some kangaroos on the golf course cause that’s where they hang out, but it was raining again and we didn’t see any. I’ve seen some wallabees at the Koala place but so far this whole time no kangaroos! The weather had turned bad and Ani was feeling sick, so we returned home.
The next morning, we hopped a flight to Townsville, just barely making the ferry over to Magnetic Island, erroneously named by the great Captain Cook who thought the island in the distance was messing up his compass. We hadn’t booked accomodations, but had been told of Bungalow Bay hostel near Horseshoe Bay, but once we got there, it was completely booked exept for one room that night. So we stayed there the one night and the next night moved over to Arcadia Budget Hostel, which we actually ended up liking better anyway. Bungalow Bay was nice, but the bathrooms were outside and not very clean. I know, I’m getting less rugged the older I get. I did take a walk down to the beach that night and I’ve never seen so many nocturnal creatures, especially the birds. In the States, typically birds go to sleep at night, but here, that’s when they’re most active. There are the long legged ficknies that come out and make all sorts of noise. The road was dark and all i could hear was their screeching and wings swooping over my head. The bushes were constantly russling with possums and other nocturnals.
The next day, we moved to our new hostel, and went for a bike ride on the bikes the hostel provided for free. We rode down to Alma Bay which wasn’t far and was supposed to be the best swimming spot on the island. It was quite nice and we laid out in the sun. I’m trying to get tan before I go to LA for the BBQ. I bought this water ball, which looks like a hackie sack but bounces on top of the water. I met some guys and we were throwing it around. The thing could hit a ripple and launch into the air over your head or hit you in the face, either way a good time. We went to an art studio and actually scheduled some painting classes for Tuesday. I also scheduled a wreck dive for monday morning which i’m pretty excited about.
After that, we went to the Friday night market, got some fresh fruit, and really good/cheap food. I wish that market was on every night. Since it’s “winter” here the days are very short, so it gets dark around 5 or 6. we came back here to the hostel and watched Babel on DVD. It was good, but I thought it dragged on a bit.
This morning, we woke up and got more accomodations settled deciding to stay in Arcadia instead of return to Horseshoe Bay (it’s a long story). We woke up late, so it was time for lunch by the time the day started. We took the bus to Horshoe Bay and at at Noodie’s, a latin place with some very good food. We ate there for dinner too. From there, we embarked on a walk to Radical Bay which was a more secluded beach, swam and layed out, then walked to Balding Bay and did basically the same thing. 
We returned for dinner to Noodies and didn’t want to wait for the bus so ended up walking half the way back before the bus finally came by us to take us back to Arcadia. And now we’re gonna watch a movie and hit the sack.
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And Happy 4th of July America!!