We're Back!

Phew! Sorry that it's been such a long time since our last entry. Once you're outside the major cities in Australia it's really hard to find anywhere with internet access. I know! Weird isn't it! The only places that we found were one or two libraries which limited your use to half an hour & wouldn't accept any 'outside devices' (that means cameras) so we've been totally flummoxed with the blogging. We have however been saving up all our pictures & news so you'd better brace yourselves ...

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.