Days 10, 11, and 12 - Kinglake

Day 10

Not a lot happened here again. I spent most of the morning applying for jobs online and dropped one off over in North Melbourne (about) a thirty minute walk - but I think I can take a short cut through he park behind me if I would get offered the job. The manager sort of interviewed me on the spot so I came off I bit dumb sounding - my bad - but I wasn't prepared for that at all. After my poor interview I went to campus for a few meetings and some generic tasks, one of my classes still isn't doesn't have class times posted and unfortunately the department thought that it was strange but didn't know what to tell me except to email the prof. - so waiting on that. Of course it was a beautiful day ideal for taking campus pics and I forgot my camera cause I'm awesome. After Uni I went for my first run in the park across the street with some friends. I decided to just do one lap of 3.2 k so as not to aggravate the ankle. I watched some more WARTS rehearsal before calling it an early night. I finally investigated the library upstairs so now I have a book to read.

Day 11

I spent the morning setting up my computer account through the college so I could print in the lab. I also watched a very funny run through of the musical. I headed to Uni after lunch to drop off more applications and attend some meetings about traveling. Laurie's friend Sally (Laurie is my friend from work at PSU and Sally is her "Aussie Sister" from when Laurie stayed here as an exchange student - Laurie put me in touch with Sally since she lives in Melbourne and could possible give me the opportunity to see a bit more of the city and surrounding area - Does that make sense at all??) - Anyway Laurie's friend Sally sent me an email asking if I wanted to head up to her (Sally's) sister's place in Kinglake for the night. Since I didn't really have any plans and I decided to take her up on the offer. I rode the Tram to Coburg where I met Sally and her two children (Diana and Alex) to drive to Kinglake (about 45 minutes) - we dropped Alex off for a sleepover. Unfortunately we were in a car accident (someone hit us from behind because someone hit them from behind and drove off) - Whoo who for my first Australian car ride! Anyway besides a bit of a stiff neck no one was hurt - the car's boot (trunk) won't upon anymore. Soooo we finally got to Kinglake I met Sally's sister, Poss, and her daughter and son, Hallie and Matthew. We left the kids at home with their grandfather and went to get something to eat at a local pub. A local country pub - I was so keen to see some Aussie rednecks and hear a bit of country music. We made a night of listening to karaoke and playing pool - I even taught Sally, Poss and their friends some line dances and they played me their best Aussie country artists. It was great time! On the way home a wombat ran across the road - but of course I didn't see it...

Day 12

I actually slept in - this is a major accomplishment for me. Sally and Poss made me eggs which was just amazing. After breakfast I headed out for bush walk around Poss's property and I saw my first wild Kangaroos! and fox and whole assortment of new birds!! yay! We headed down to St. Andrew's market for lunch (excellent curry) and some light shopping with the kids. We drove through Kinglake National Park where I will be going hiking next time I visit. I saw heaps of Kangaroos grazing and sleeping in the sun along the way. Upon returning to Poss's I took another bush walk and saw some more new birds and a lot freshly dug dirt- echidna evidence perhaps??? All in all it was a wonderful experience and I was just so happy to be out of the city and back in the woods! Sally, Diana, and I headed back to her house for dinner before bringing me back to college. I went out for a bit to a very crowded pub before calling it a night.

This here is a budgie (Budgerigar) - they are wild around here but I figured I won't be able to convince one to sit as still as Poss's pet. They come in many colors domestically but the wild one's look like a greener version of this guy.

Poss's backyard - the trail loops around the back, she has about 10 acres

My first kangaroo sighting, actually I first saw them lying down and I thought they were someone's pet llamas until they stood up.

A real live wild kangaroo!

A roo hanging out along the road

St. Andrew's "bush" market - a lot of neat homemade crafts and food

Grey Shrike Thrush with a worm - I saw a bunch of LBJs (Little Brown Jobs) this one I could actually identify


This was my find of the weekend - a Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo. There about 10 of them carrying on in these trees. He's pretty large as well - think big pet store parrots...

Grey Currawong - a bit smaller than a crow, but incredibly fierce looking...