So that Sunday, instead of getting up at 4 a.m. to race, I decided to sleep in and enjoy a beautiful day on the coast! Al and I took a train then bus directly to Bondi Beach, which is about an hour ride from his house. I still am in love with the ease of public transport here...it's absolutely fantastic and so easy to navigate anywhere I need to go. At the beach, I had heard of a "Bondi to Coogee coastal walk," which was a walk with stunning coastal views between Bondi Beach and Coogee Beach. We had lovely weather, found some new places I would love to return to, & I really enjoyed the day with Al before my 8 p.m. bus back to Canberra. I'm of the opinion that if it doesn't make you happy, you shouldn't do it, & I didn't regret skipping my race for one second.
Last week in Canberra, I decided to try and explore a little more when I could (between nap time, chores, and school drop-off/pick-up). The kids and I went to the Australian War Memorial, which is truly a beautiful monument, and had snack with the kangaroos at Weston Park. I love spending time with the kids outside, and there are so many playgrounds in Canberra for us to enjoy. Emily & I met my friend Eli in the city center for lunch and to discuss Eli's and my upcoming trip to Tasmania. We also got to have a leisurely lunch in the garden with my friend Kristina, with whom I traveled to Melbourne this past weekend.
On Friday night, Kristina and I took an overnight Greyhound bus to Melbourne, Victoria. Before our trip, we grabbed a beer & cider at a pub in downtown Canberra, called King O'Malley's. It was there that I learned the conversation starter of a traveler's backpack, & we met a table full of really chill guys, one of whom was even a former study abroad student at UGA (I doubted this until he recited Bulldog chants & told me all about ECV)!
The bus ride was long (8 hours) but it was amazing to wake up and have the entire day ahead of us in a beautiful new city. We had discussed the possibility of visiting Phillip Island to see the "penguin parade" which is the return of the largest Little Penguin colony in the world to their burrows. Upon storing our gear at our hostel (before check-in), we decided to book a tour with Bunyip Tours for that day, which included a visit to Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park, a trip to Pannys Chocolate Factory and the Nobbies (both on Phillip Island) as well as the popular Penguin Parade on Summerland Beach. Although the tour price and location were fantastic, we were disappointed to spend 40 minutes waiting in a bus at the wildlife sanctuary due to a fault of the tour company's, not our own. This cut our trip to the Nobbies down to only 10 minutes, and the beach lookouts were our favorite part. Despite this, it was exciting to be up close and personal with kangaroos, wallabies, and get to cuddle a koala. We saw emus, wombats, lizards, and dingos at close range. Additionally, the Nobbies lookout was beautiful, and to make the most of our short time, Kristina and I sprinted down the boardwalk to get the best view possible. Finally, our tour ended at the little penguin parade, where we watched a colony of little penguins emerge from the ocean after a day of fishing and return to their burrows in the sand. The day was amazing!
On Sunday, we had booked a tour to the Grampians - a mountain range three hours west of Melbourne. We used Autopia as our tour company this time and were extremely happy with our guide, the tour value, and the mountains themselves. We departed early in the morning and stopped in a town close to the mountains for morning tea. We entered the Grampians from Halls Gap and proceeded to do several bushwalks to various lookout points and also a waterfall! My favorite was the bushwalk to the Jaws of Death. Our guide instructed us that this area was off-limits to hikers, although in his youth, he had been able to sit on the edge. He then very pointedly told us that many people still bypassed the barriers to go out onto the Jaws of Death, and he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes on us the entire time. I became very excited at the opportunity to sit and take a picture in such a neat place, and most of our tour did so after our guide had returned to the bus.
We also spent part of the day hiking to Mackenzie Falls, in an area that has recently been recovering from a bushfire. It was beautiful.
Towards the end of the day, a girl on our tour had been feeling sick, and our guide needed to take her to medical care, so we gotan extra hike down into the valley, while our tour guide took the girl to medical care. The Australian wilderness is so different from America's, but it is very difficult to capture in a photo.
On the Monday following the weekend, it was a school holiday, so Kristina and I were both free from our au pair jobs, although Kristina chose to take an early bus home while I decided to take an overnight bus that would arrive home in Canberra at 4 a.m. on Tuesday. So on our last night (Sunday) in Melbourne, we walked to the nearest bottle shop for some wine spritzers and beer and enjoyed time on the rooftop of our hostel. The rooftop had a stunning view of downtown Melbourne, and we got to spend more time with two Brits who bunked across from us in our 8-bed dorm. Ian and Samuel were wonderful guys, and we got to know each other for entirely too brief a time! One of my favorite bits of travel, which is likely commonplace to others yet new to me, is the ease with which friends are made. We spent two nights with Ian and Samuel yet had the opportunity to wake up and fall asleep just a meter apart and share stories of our individual experiences in this beautiful country.
So, on Monday, Kristina left before I woke up, then I roused enough to bid Ian goodbye and good luck. Then Samuel and I lounged around in the early part of the day until I needed to check out of the hostel and store my luggage while I explored again in the city. Due to Ian's recommendation, I first went to the Eureka Skydeck...the highest vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere. The view of Melbourne was stunning and totally worth the $15 concession price I paid. (Note: Australians give concession prices to anyone with student cards, so I frequently pretend that I am still a student with my UGA card.) I also managed to find a Mexican restaurant - one of the few in Australia - where I devoured mediocre nachos. Finally, I walked to the Melbourne Museum, at the recommendation of my friend Ari, where I spent over three hours browsing exhibits on natural history, dinosaurs, oceans, rain forests, aboriginals, and Melbourne's history (again, free with a concession card). At last, I returned to the hostel to charge my phone before grabbing a chicken, avocado, and bacon burger then heading to Southern Cross station for my return overnight bus to Canberra.
When I came into Canberra early on Tuesday morning, I was fortunate enough to find four others headed to my suburb to split a cab with and enjoyed a few treasured hours of sleep before waking up to week 1 of school holidays for my 4- and 3-year-olds! I have been keeping a running jot-list of activities to occupy three children in Canberra over school holidays and on Tuesday, I took Andrew, Annabel, and Emily to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. We ate lunch at the reserve and got a long walk in around the wetlands and saw platypuses, turtles, seagulls, swans, ducks, and wallabies. The kids even got the opportunity to watch a park ranger feed fish to seagulls and then feed ducks themselves. On the way home, I had three children sound asleep in the car, which is the sign of a successful day to me! The rest of our day included making drum sets out of pots and pans, an unsuccessful nap time, and building a fort to surprise Mum and Dad.
On Day 2 of school holidays, we visited the National Arboretum - mostly for the awesome pod playground. We were able to meet my au pair friend Lisa (with whom I will travel to Wollongong and Bondi beaches this weekend) and one of her children, and the kids had a great time having lunch and playing in the pods, sand pit, and slides. Emily got to practice lots of walking as well as going up and down stairs (with minimal help). We also went to the grocery store, which I consider quite an adventure with three young children, watched The Lion King, and played in their play house and on the trampoline! We even made homemade cinnamon banana and apple chips, which will be a delicious snack for tomorrow. I cooked in the evening for my host family (Swiss steak in the crockpot, broccoli, and hasselback potatoes) and then spent some time sampling the new wines delivered to my host family today for their wine cellar and playing Jenga with my host parents. Overall, the week has been lovely so far.
I have been fairly busy on the weekends and am eager to be in town to explore Canberra more, but I am also excited for my next few excursions. Coming up next, I will visit Wollongong and then Bondi Beach with Lisa - a German au pair and friend in my same suburb. The following weekend, I will fly to Hobart, Tasmania with my Italian friend Eli and a new French friend, Laura, for the weekend. And following those trips, the third weekend will be back in Sydney with my darling for lunch and an open bar aboard a "tall ship" (aka pirate-looking ship) in Sydney Harbour, right in front of the Opera House and Habour Bridge!
I truly could not be happier with the the time I have had so far in this country and my plans for the future. One thing that I have realized is that I still miss Al, despite making our time difference go from 14 hours away to zero; we are still three hours drive apart. It has made me realize that I likely will look for an au pair job in Sydney next, because I love the city and also wish to see my man more frequently!
Reagardless, I am so happy and grateful for this au pair opportunity with my incredible host family and in Canberra. If you ever get the chance, do not pass up visiting Australia. It is everything it is made up to be, and you will treasure every second.
xoxo -
Alli
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