We recently took a two week family holiday down to Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and drove The Great Ocean Road to Adelaide in South Australia before coming home. This post covers the first few days of our adventure.
After returning from several days in Sydney we turned around and flew to Melbourne the following evening. Bryan had to spend our first few days teaching a class for John Deere so the boys and I hits the streets of Melbourne to find things to do. I know, I'm getting very daring to head out in a big unfamiliar city on my own with two children . . . but all turned out well and we had a good time in Melbourne.
On day one we found a Krispy Kreme store and made sure to stop for a few (expensive) donuts for breakfast, then it was on to the Melbourne Aquarium. Evan enjoyed running from room and room to see all of the different fish and sharks. We even got to watch the scuba divers go into the large bubble tank and feed the sting rays, sea turtles, sharks, and other fish.
Day two took us in search of a park and on the way we passed a major taxi cab protest that was occurring right in the middle of the street at Federation Square (the busiest city intersection in Melbourne for taxis, trams, and the train.) Nothing could move because there were 200+ protesters, police officers, and red cross workers covering the streets. A young Indian taxi cab driver had been stabbed the night before and was in the hospital in critical condition. They were protesting for more protection from the police and respect from the community. I believe the protest went on for almost 24 hours before decisions were reached. The city agreed to put screens up in all taxi cabs between the front seat and back seat, as well as agreed to pre-paid cab rides for all night time fares. It was quite interesting to see everything unfold right in the heart of Melbourne and not far from where we were staying. After getting around the protesting we arrived in Federation Square, a famous section of Melbourne. The park that we were in search of was behind Federation Square so we enjoyed our morning at the park after all of the commotion we had witnessed.
Bryan's training was complete and he wasn't due to teach again until the following week in Adelaide so we hit the road in our Holden Statesman and headed for Phillip Island. Phillip Island is known for the Penguin Parade that occurs every evening at dusk. The Fairy or Little Penguins arrive on the island (from the ocean) and head to their burrows for several days before heading back out to sea to fish. We spent the afternoon buying winter coats for the boys . . . we hadn't realized how cold it was going to get in the evenings on Phillip Island, and touring around the island. While walking along the boardwalk Bryan spotted a fairy penguin that was apparently growing his winter feathers and then I spotted another one under the boardwalk (that looked more like your typical Fairy Penguin.) That night we took our places on the platform to view the penguins arriving from the ocean. It was a spectacular sight! It was chilly out but nothing like the cold we have experienced in the US!
After viewing the penguins we then headed to Sorrento, Victoria so that we could catch a car ferry the following day across the ocean/bay to Queenscliff and start our journey along The Great Ocean Road. (Stay tuned for more on the rest of our journey in another posting!)
Australian Education: The Fairy Penguin (Australia) or Little Blue Penguin (New Zealand)
This is a close up picture of the Fairy Penguin that we went to see at Phillip Island.
Here are some interesting facts about the Fairy Penguin:
- Fairy Penguins are found on the southern coast of Australia and New Zealand.
- The Fairy Penguin is the smallest kind of penguin.
- The Fairy Penguin lives in a burrow. These penguins don't live in the snow and ice like most penguins do. Fairy Penguins live for six years in the wild.
-Fairy Penguins come ashore after dark when most predators are not around. Then they move inland in small groups to their nesting groups. Most penguins go back to sea one or two hours before sunrise.
- They have little heads and big bodies. They have two little holes for their ears, one nose and a mouth. They have webbed feet and they have dark blue feathers on their back and white feathers on their front. The shape of their body helps them to swim and dive easily.
- At sea the penguin's predators are sharks, seals, killer whales. On land foxes, feral cats and dogs, sea eagles and large gulls are the penguin's predators.
- Like most seabirds, they have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing experiments have recorded individuals that have lived for over 20 years.
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