Lecture by Richard De Gille on contemporary Australia (1901-2023).
Walked through laneways and arcades. We were supposed to take a tram, but it was rerouted due to the Australia Day (many call it Invasion Day) protests.
We walk to the Melbourne Skydeck on the 88th floor of the Eureka Tower. No, I did not climb it. We just happened to be on the observation deck when a bunch of fighter jets flew right by the windows. The planes came quite close to the building. We got a free airshow due to Australia day. The timing was sheerly accidental.
Then we were on our own. After all the wonderful smells when we walked through Chinatown, Kim and I were craving Chinese food. We wandered along and found a place in an alley off of Little Bourne Street. Camy Shanghai Dumpling House had all my favorites. We didn't want to eat too much as we were having an early dinner. I just had some BBQ pork buns and green onion cakes. Kim had a noodle dish.
After lunch, I walked to the Queen Victoria Market. It was great fun, even though many booths were closed due to the national holiday. I almost bought some Australian opal jewelry, but I wasn't sure if this was a good place to do it. Plus, I was going to be late, getting back to the hotel.
With the help of Google Maps, I hustled back. It was a longer walk than it seemed. I made it in just enough time to splash my face with water and grab layers for tonight.
Ann and Ron made it back from NZ and met us in the hotel lobby. We all piled onto the bus for the long ride to the Phillip Island penguin parade. I could barely contain my excitement!
We stopped at the little town of San Remo for dinner at Mario's. We had time before our reservation, so we walked around the wharf for a few minutes. There were some serious fishing boats there. One had huge lightbulbs used to attract squid to the surface. We were a little rushed at dinner as Mario needed the room for another party.
We continued the drive and stopped at The Nobbies to kill some time. Great views and lots of squawking sea gulls. We saw dozens of cute wild wallabies in the grasses along the way.
Onto the Phillip Island Penguin Parade visitor center, we were impressed with the modern architecture. We got through the gates with no issues and headed towards our "VIP" seats (Penguin Plus). The workers reminded people (some several times) that photography was strictly prohibited. Flashes could actually hurt the birds' eyes. We all watched the waves intently, looking for the little blue penguins. Around 9:00 PM, we started seeing little shapes moving towards us. Soon dozens of them were visible. They hesitated fie a few minutes, then a few brave birds waddled down their well-worn path, right past our viewing area. Many were very chubby, having been in the Southern Ocean, feeding. They were so darn cute, with their little waddles, sprints, and some tumbles. We spent almost 45 minutes, watching them pour in. We estimated that HUNDREDS of them came ashore. We'll see the numbers tomorrow. We met inside the visitor center at 10:00 PM. Richard showed us the Southern Cross in the night sky.
We rolled into the bus for our long drive back to Melbourne. Most of us napped. I returned a very happy camper.
It was fine, as we had penguins to see!
We completed the drive to Phillip Island, stopping at Yhe Nobbies
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