I went to my first footy match (Australian Football) on Friday night with my co-worker (Kim) and her family. My new friend Jess (from dance class) also came along and we had such a blast! I'm not big into sports...at least US sports...so I wasn't really sure if I would like this. I figured I would go anyways since there are men playing in short shorts and I could enjoy looking at the good-looking athletic men if I got bored...hehehe...
The two teams that were playing were the Geelong Cats and Essendon Bombers...the first game of the season! We were rooting for the Geelong Cats since that is Kim's team and it was such an exciting game!!! Kim was explaining the rules to me as the game was played and since I could follow along and understand the game, I really got into it...cheering and getting excited as if it was really my own team! :) The Essendons were winning at one point by quite a few goals, but in the 4th quarter, the Geelong Cats kicked their butt!!! They ended up winning by 35 points...it was so much fun!
I realized after the game that I actually understood Aussie football more than American football and I've lived in the US for 29 years! How sad is that?!??! :) American football is too hard for me to understand...the game just keeps stopping and starting because of fouls, etc...so I can never keep up with what is going on. With footy, the game just keeps going with very few stops. I would definitely go back to watch another game and I might also try to go watch a rugby game before I leave here.
On Saturday, Kingsley and I rented a car and drove down to Phillip Island. The island is about 1.5 hours from Melbourne and it's known for the Penguin Parade. This is suppose to be the home of the largest "Little Penguin" colony in the world. Every night after sunset, the little penguins swim ashore and march across the beach to the sand dune burrows. People can sit on the bleachers and watch them as they come out from the sea and waddle their way across the beach. It sounds so strange, but it happens every night.
Phillip Island is also known for other natural wildlife attraction and a chocolate museum/factory. Our first stop was the chocolate factory...I'm ashamed to say that I bought some more chocolate even though I have tons already at home. Everything looked so good so I couldn't resist! I got the white chocolate with macadamia and it was soooooooooo delicious...probably the best I've had yet! Yes, I'm sure I will come home a few lbs heavier!
Next on our list was the Churchhill Island Heritage Farm. We bought a 3 park pass to this farm, the Koala Conservation Centre, and the Penguin Parade. We didn't find this farm very exciting...I guess it's more of a historical place so you can see how the settlers lived and their farming practices. We didn't stay long and then went to the Koala Conservation Centre. I was hoping to see more koalas up close and personal like I did when I was in Sydney, but it was a bit disappointing. The koalas were up so high on the trees and most of them were sleeping...so it was hard to see them and you couldn't really take good pics of them. The only good thing about this place was they had a big stuffed koala that I took a picture with. :)
We went and grab some dinner at a nearby Fish and Chips place..yet another disappointment. The food wasn't good...too greasy and the fries seemed really dry...and the oil they used seemed too old or something because of the coloring on the food. I was beginning to wonder why people were making such a big hype about Phillip Island since everything had been mediocre (except the chocolate)....I didn't have high hopes for the Penguin Parade.
We got to the Penguin Parade area and made our way to the bleachers to wait for the penguins. Since we got there early to get good seats, we waited about 45 minutes before the first penguins came out. Oh my gosh!! They were soooooo cute! These penguins were so tiny and they swim ashore in groups and then all waddle together across the beach. Some groups would just hang out on the shore for a little while and run back into the waves and then back out again before they crossed the beach. It's so interesting that they do this every night...it's almost like a performance. I wish we could've taken some pictures or videos, but we weren't allowed to. This definitely made the trip worth it. As we were walking back out, you could see the little penguins up close walking around the sand dune burrows and other were just hanging out, as if they'd found their spot for the night. it was just too adorable!! :)
Well, this will be my last blog for a few weeks. I'm leaving to go back to the US for a couple weeks on April 1 and won't be back in Melbourne again until April 19 or so. I can't wait to go home and sleep in my own bed!!
