Kangaroos!

My husband took many business trips to Australia over a fifteen year period before the opportunity finally arose for me to meet him there, and it was well worth the wait. The people are amazingly friendly and helpful, the country is varied with breathtaking beauty, and the animals are incredibly interesting! I fell in love with it the moment I stepped off the plane. In all of his time there, however, he had never seen a kangaroo.

It was April, 2011 when I met him there, spring for us above the equator, autumn for those below. Since autumn is my favorite season, I was thrilled to experience it twice in one year. We arrived in Melbourne after visiting Cairns and Hobart. We have good friends there, and while my husband was working, MaryAnne was my tour guide and took me to many sites around Melbourne and the surrounding area.

One of our stops included the William Rickets Sanctuary at Mount Dandenong. It was a misty, rainy day, so we had the place mostly to ourselves. Willam Rickets was an Australian artist who focused his art on the Aboriginal People. The park is gorgeous, and filled with beautiful birds, as well as Rickets’ art which can be found tucked away in quiet grottos throughout the park, where one can contemplate his thought provoking creations.

The quality of the photo above is poor, but I included it since I was amazed at the colors of the many birds we saw in the park.

We visited many other sites as well, including Yering Station Winery, Arthur’s Seat on the Mornington Peninsula, Sorrento, where we had a delicious lunch, and of course, we drove along the Great Ocean Road.

The view of Port Phillip Bay.

We were scheduled to leave the next day for Sydney, then on to New Zealand, and we still hadn’t seen any kangaroos. Rather than flying to Sydney, we took the train. It was a long ride, but the scenery was beautiful. The train made nineteen stops between Melbourne and Sydney Central, WHEW! Finally, between Galong and Yass Junction, we spotted some kangaroos hopping along in the distance. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a good photo, but it is clear memory for us both. This was my husband’s last trip to Australia. Better late than never!

Wishing you grand adventures,

Tricia