Two and a half weeks in Oz

We've been two and a half weeks in Australia now. Already seen a lot and done a lot. Our next stop was at Phillip Island staying with Phil and Jean Dunstan, another of the couples Liz found through ATC. If the people we've met so far are any indication, this is an organization of the nicest people ever. Phil and Jean made us feel instantly at home. A very nice home it was, too. They'd had it built as the ideal vacation cottage with space for visiting children, grandchildren and whoever else happens along. They're on the upper floor and guests downstairs in their own living area with full amenities. They also thoughtfully located themselves in a dynamite tourist attraction. Long nature walks, a few wildlife preserves, natural history and Vietnam War (Yes, the Aussies were there too, I'd actually met a few of their SAS people when I was there) museum, the motorcycle GP roadrace track, the Penguin Parade to name the few we're aware of. There's more we didn't even have time to research.

We got to San Remo, this side of the bridge from Phillip Island and where the Dunstans live, about noon. Deciding it was too early to bother our hosts, we stopped in the little business district for lunch. Everything closed. Something about working on the power lines. What the heck, take a look at the island. Not all that big, maybe 25 k's square, more properly diagonal to the compass. Lunch at The Chocolate Factory. Never would have stopped there otherwise, but the first place that advertised food. Poor folks were overwhelmed by the overflow trade that would otherwise have been eating elsewhere. Hell of a wait, but a pretty good curry (nearly all the staff and therefore menu was malaysian) at the end. Declined to pay to see the chocolate room so only glimpsed the chocolate tunnel and the chocolate tree with who-knows-how-may other chocolate delights undiscovered.  My belly feels funny thinking about it. We covered most of the main road and ended up on the other end of the island at The Nobbies. Sort of where bits of the island tail off into the sea, a little like the eastern end of the U.P. Prime whale and seal watching site in season. Just now the only thing happening is baby gulls growing right outside the restaurant window.

About 4 we pulled into Phil and Jean's place. Too late to do much more se we settled in and talked a while. Since they'd just returned from a Christmas luncheon we went out to find ourselves dinner. Coming back, we had a glass of wine with them and talked into the night. Did a lot of that the last couple of days. We all had similar interests and got on more than well. Damn, I clean forgot to get their pictures!

The next morning we got serious. Cape Woolamai has a very serious nature walk of maybe 10 k's down the beach, up on top of the cliffs, out to the highest point on the island and back. Big nesting ground for the mutton bird (brown petrel?) . Their burrows were everywhere with a lot of large broken  eggshells that the crows got. Every other evidence of them was hidden in those holes in the ground. On the beach, we happened on a lot of very lightweight, fragile white rocks. Took a while to recognize them as the remains of cuttlefish. We actually saw a wild Echidna! Right next to the trail, not nearly as quiet or well hidden as it must have thought. Also the usual beautiful seaside cliffs, white sand beaches, unusual vegetation, you know, the standard thing for this part of Australia.

I still hadn't seen  a wombat so in the afternoon we went to a wildlife park. Next thing to a petting zoo, but there were the wombats. Cute, not terribly bright vegetarian marsupial teddy bears. I guess one would dress out at 60 pounds or so. It was a hell of a big place with uncounted kangaroos, echidnas, emus, tasmanian devils (caged, of course), dingos, cassowary, many other birds, some caged, some running loose.  I really felt sorry for the discouraged looking kookaburras in the cage with their wild brethren just a few feet away. The kangaroos and some of the black swans were very sophisticated and knew just how to accept handfuls of the grain provided by the management. Line right up, they would.

Dinner out, a movie (The Power of One - South Africa, apartheid) on DVD, more conversation, bed. Got moving slowly the next morning but did make the feeding of the pelicans, a ritual around here, right where the bridge to the island starts and the commercial fishermen dock. Great way to get rid of cleaning scraps, Big, big birds. Easily twice the size of the ones I remember from Florida. Somehow, nobody had mentioned the stingrays. In the middle of the pelican feeding my eyes strayed to the shallow water nearby and I noticed a dark shadow the size of a dinner table. Moving. There was another one. In maybe two feet of water. A toddler splashing in the water maybe six feet away. Surreal. After she finished feeding the pelicans I cornered the nice lady and questioned her. Yep, sting rays-half a dozen or so of them live under the dock and boats most of the year. Never bothered anybody. Damn!

Our last evening at Phillip Island and time for the Penguin Parade. The Little Penguins (if they have another name, I have no idea what it is) spend the entire day out in the ocean and will only come out to reunite with mate and chick(s) when it gets dark enough to discourage flying predators.  Then only in little groups of 6 to about 20. Race across the beach as fast as those little legs will carry them,  stopping close enough to vegetation to dive into in case of danger, apparently to catch their breath. Their burrows (again with burrowing birds)cover an area a kilometer or so wide and a kilometer and a half deep. We were confined to concrete bleachers on the beach and a boardwalk above and among the burrows. As interesting as the beach run was, the glimpses of home life among the cute little beasts was even more so. Not an especially sedate bunch of birds with many demands for food from the chicks (Dad, hurry up and puke so I can eat!) and squabbles. Sorry, no photography allowed, strictly enforced. Home late and up early to turn in the car in Melbourne. Another night in the youth hostel and then a train to Adelaide.

Liz here.
The purpose of this blog is to inform others about hosteling. I learned about hosteling through a member of MPWN, Michigan Professional Women's Network. The general concept is not same as signing up as a member.

I stayed in a hostel was just after 9/11. Over the Dec 2011 break I took my son Ben to Washington, D.C. I wanted him to experience a hostel and bought us each a membership in Hostels International. Ben objected to their curfew and stayed with his cousins in nearby Maryland. My aim was to teach Ben about traveling economically. The purpose of this blog is to explain hosteling with pictures. A hostel is generally more secure and centrally located. While in Washington, D.C. I stayed in a female dorm and met a woman from Australia who invited me to tour Georgetown with her. A single bed costs roughly $25-30 per night. A private room is $85 in the safe heart of a city where a cheap hotel room is $120.

Mike and I stayed in a couples room in North Melbourne for $85 per night. Our room had a full sized bed and bunk beds in case we are travling with our children. The bathroom is shared and not in our room. It is close by.

A hostel check-in area is secured to keep out a problem person. Cameras monitor the site. The cheerful and youthful staff are wonderful concierges, trained to know the area and assist people of all ages, cultures and in various developmental conditions. Space is well designed and handicapped accessible. The kitchen offers refrigerator space, microwaves, cook tops and dishes for guests. Laundry is on site. Melbourne's hostel has a cafe with plenty of vegetarian options.

TVs and WiFi abound in common lounge areas. Every evening inexpensive events are offered. Group trips are offered. A Christmas dinner is offered for $12. A stay in a hostel is a way to meet people from the world over.

The biggest chore is that guests pull off their sheets and put them in a laundry basket before check out. Towels must be requested and rented. Parking cost $5 in Melbourne.

Not our hostel, but there are many in the area, catering to many different tastes