Kangaroos Golfing

Once we left Melbourne we headed back to Sydney and the slow end to our time in Australia. We had lots of time and travelled down these very windy roads. The countryside was beautiful. Since the time permitted we decided to go golfing. Although our golf games could use some improving the scenery was amazing. Lots of kangaroos. They did not care that we were there they just wanted to eat and sleep. We even got to see a Joey in the mothers pouch.

Warrock Farms, Puffing Billy, Koalas and Penguins

One of the things we were told to see when in Melbourne was the Little Penguins. These little guys and I mean little only about 1 foot tall go out each day to the ocean to feed and then come into the beach each night to their homes. They are really cute but no pictures here because you are not allowed to take photos. So the rest of the day was the Puffing Billy train, the Warrock Farm and Koalas. The Warrock farm is a working sheep and cattle farm ( which had kangaroos you can feed). We got to see a great sheep shearing demonstrations and I think that could be Diannes' new carreer. The Koalas were at a reserve and for the first time we actually saw one moving ( they sleep for 22 hours a day ). We also had started the day with a rest stop where you could hand feed the Cockatoos and parrots.

In Melbourne

Melbourne has lots to see and do. One of the first things we did was visit the aquarium. They have lots of very interesting fish ( surprising for an aquarium). We also took in the Rod Laver Arena, host to the Austalian Open tennis tournament in January. This is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments of the year. Walking around Melbourne was a lot of fun as the shopping was good and there were lots of sites to see. It was really interesting to see Christmas decorating being done when it was 30 degrees. You quickly forget it is November.

Melbourne

Once you have driven the Great Ocean Road you get to the second largest city in Australia, Melbourne. This is a huge city with lots of sports fields. We got into Melbourne to see one of the truly Assie events, "The Race that Stops the Nation", a horse race. This is an event where there are 140000 people all dressed up in suits and dresses at the horse races. It would be equivalent to the Kentucky Derby except it is on a Tuesday and has been given holiday status so everybody is off. Quite a spectacle for our first day. The most interesting part was not seeing the race because there was so many people but the horse that won has won it three years in a row so it was a very special Melbourne Cup. ( the horse in the picture is Makybe Diva the one that won)