Settling in again...

i've made myself a pledge to do something "touristy" at least once a
month now that i'm back in aus. these adventures can be close to home
or they can involve me flying to another city or state. i've got
stuff planned out already until april but i'm not sharing my plans
until they've actually happened ;-)

so without further ado, this month's adventure involved a trip to
philip island which is about a two hours drive south of melbourne and
home to a massive colony of little penguins (the smallest penguins in
the world)!! we woke early and made the trip down the M1 to Cowes
where we devoured pies, took photos on the beach and just ambled about
for a bit. from there, we went to the formula one race track, and
oddly saw a pack of kangaroos, then a hike around one of the points
with some nice views of the coast. it was getting close to penguin
viewing time so we headed back into town to dine and then we were off
to see the little creatures!!

the penguins leave the ocean after a day of fishing under the cover of
dusk. they come out of the ocean in packs of 20-50 penguins
(sometimes up to 150 penguins) and then rush off home along the
shoreline, heading inland. it's quite a phenomenal experience to
watch the little guys come up out of the ocean together and then
observe them as they plod homeward bound, often falling over one
another and looking immensely like they've lost their way, making
these really cute squeaky noises!! it was an enjoyable to watch the
processions and it's most amazing that these little birds, who can't
even see their feet, walk up to 2km after they get out of the ocean,
sleep for a few hours and then head back out again, under the cover of
night, around 3am. not enough sleep for me :-)

other than my penguin visit, there's been the regular social mayhem
which i must confess has probably been worse than normal due to the
time of year!! i've had two holidays parties for work, a couple of
corporate lunches and dinners in addition to the regular fare of
social activities!! i also managed a interstate trip for work to
brisbane where i did two embarrassing things while traveling with my
boss; i missed my flight (i miscalculated how long it'd take for me to
get to the airport, etc...) and then, the following day, i broke my
glasses in half!! (i'd been playing netball a few days before and got
hit square in the face which i think weakened them). anyhow, i taped
them together and then managed to get them super glued back together!!
i've decided to finally try contacts (and i've bought two new pairs
of glasses ;-)

i must head off as i have a bunch of stuff to get done and it's almost
time for bed!!

wishing everyone who still reads this a happy and safe holiday
season!! i'll be thinking of you when i'm at the beach on xmas day,
having a picnic (such an odd concept, i know :-)!!

hugs,
s

p.s. i realised tonight on my way home from work that i've been in
aus for 18mths now... i can't believe it's been that long!!