Penguin Parade at Phillip Island

We go to see the penguin parade at Phillip island. It's absolutely amazing but so as not to disturb the penguins no one is allowed to take any photos. We sat on the beach at dusk & watched hundreds of tiny fairy penguins swim up to the shore & waddle up the beach in groups, rotating themselves so that they all get a chance to keep warm in the middle of the group. They're been gorging themselves on fish the whole day to regurgitate & feed back to their young in the burrows so they are looking pretty portly & some of them have trouble making the journey because they are so rotund. Seagulls bully the slower & weaker ones in the hope that they will regurgitate on the spot from fear & they'll be able to steal the fish. Happily none of them do. At times we're just inches away from the penguins with no barrier between us and them. It's an amazing site & our highlight of Australia so far.

The New Van

The new van seems like heaven compared to our last one. Most importantly it is actually roadworthy but it's also a younger model & all the things that didn't work in the old van (inside lights, camping stove etc) work fine in the new one.

I think that's supposed to be Jimi Hendrix on the side of the van.

At the Anchorage campsite I make a new friend. Despite appearances I haven't shot the cat. She's just sleeping.

The View From Yanakie Campsite

We saw a bit more of Yanakie campsite than we were expecting to as our old banger of a van finally gave up the ghost there. Fifth gear had konked out on our way there & as we tried to pull out of our parking space we discovered that reverse had gone too. Consequently we spent a day enjoying watching the seabirds & strolling along the shore while we waited for a replacement van to arrive.

More Squeaky Beach Walk

A Walk to Squeaky Beach

There are some beautiful walks around our campsite. Squeaky beach is so named because when you walk on the sand there it squeaks.

Parrots & Mad Tree

These parrots are wild and were just clucking around our campsite. I guess people must feed them a lot although you're not supposed to because they were unusually tame. I just thought this tree was beautiful.

The Joys of Camping

Here are some pictures from the campsite we stayed in at Wilson's Prom. As you can see I'm getting into the camping chic look & watching out for wombats.

Tim Tam Explosion

When we arrive at the campsite at Wilson's Prom it's pouring down & blowing a gale. I decide to entertain myself by having my first ever Tim Tam explosion. For the uninitiated a Tim Tam is an Australian biscuit a lot like the British 'Penguin'. To perform an 'explosion' you bite off the two opposite corners of the bicuit, dunk one corner in the tea & suck up the tea using the biscuit as a straw. You then shove the whole biscuit in your mouth before it disintegrates. Not very dignified but quite delicious & it kept Paul amused for a few minutes.

Our Delightful Van Company

This is how our van is decorated. Well, I like the sticker in the last photo.

The Van

On Saturday we picked up our van from Wicked Campers. Let's just say it wasn't exactly what we were hoping for & it's seen better days. Obviously we were delighted with the free temporary tattoos, pack of cards & pink fluffy handcuffs that came with it. Could of done with a few more working amenities instead though. All the vans have been spray painted with 'wicked' grafitti. I think we came off quite lightly really. One of the other vans had 'when I'm having a bad day I just remember that I have a massive cock' painted on the back. Mmmm. Pretty relieved we didn't get that one!

Last Night in Melbourne

Mike takes us to a great bar called 'Cookie' & we spend some time watching our favourite Melbourne busker, a guy called 'Sonic Manipulator' who basically stamps up & down on a platform wearing a silver space suit & operating a bicycle pump. We love him. We go on to 'Manchester Lane' a little basement bar where we watch a ten piece soul band belt out some old favs. Can't resist a bit of a dance.

Rained Off

It had to happen. We've brought the weather with us again & the game gets rained off.

More Cricket

Watching the fans is almost as much fun as watching the game. The Sri Lankans have the edge on the Aussies though with their brass band, drums and flags.