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Kangaroos are Not Kosher - Howie & Debbie Down Under

Koalas & Penguins & Sheep, Oh My! Oct 20, 2009

Tuesday October 20, 2009 – Phillip Island

Koalas and Penguins and Sheep, Oh My!

The most trusting animal in the world is likely the baby koala who blissfully hangs upside down in the notch of two tree branches about 30 feet (or more) in the air, apparently certain that it’s mother will not in fact let go at any point. Given that the mother appears to be in the midst of a very sound sleep, this is all the more trusting on the part of the baby. I understand that some koalas don’t live all that long in the wild. Go figure.

Today Debbie, Pat & Elaine risked life and limb by climbing back into the Toyota Tarago minivan (think Sienna but with a different name and slightly different look) and allowing me to drive once again. Masochists.

Our destination for the day – Phillip Island on the Mornington Penninsula. Tobi gave the island a 4 thumbs up endorsement (I think she was including the two thumbs on our nephew to be in there). She was right on all counts.

We started our visit with a walk along the boardwalk at the Nobbies Centre to take a good long look at Tasmania and all the extra cast from “The Birds”, who apparently make this dramatic southern headlands tip of the island their home.

The Nobbies is the name of the 2 rocks, which lie just offshore. They are approximately a 7 iron away but with the typhoon wind in our face blowing even harder than it did at The Coast Club last Wednesday, it was more like a driver (and hope for the best).

Along the boardwalk, we were directed to a couple of Little Blue Fairy Penguins in their nest. Just the first of many hundreds we would see later tonight.

Announcement: We spotted our first wild and uncaged kangaroo this morning, standing by the side of the road just as we entered the headlands area. I stopped the car for a closer look; it hopped on across the road and into the bush on the other side without so much as a ‘how do you do’. In particular, there was no time to determine its Kosher content.

That said, and to repeat, the kangaroo was spotted in the wild. I know that will be important info for Normy, who was skeptical about the likelihood of such an occurrence.

Our next step was the Koala Conservation Centre mid-island, and a visit with Kelly the Koala and all of his buddies. They were pretty much all just hanging around waiting for us to visit. Seeing them during a bushwalk and walking along boardwalks built in amongst the eucalyptus grove was really pretty special. Seeing a few moms hanging out with their babies was a real treat, also. The koala ones, too.

We bought Styrofoam coolers last night and packed a picnic lunch today. This was a good move and part of our continuing attempt to find a way to eat at a more reasonable price point.

One of the strategies we’ve hit on is simply not leaving a tip at restaurants. Really. Okay, turns out that you actually don’t leave tips here. I’m not making that up. This country just gets better and better!

I mentioned that to Normy when we spoke to him & Janet this morning and he thought that would be a good thing to try at FLG lunch from now on. I’d like him to try that out first before I return just so that we can see how that goes over.

We spent an hour at the historic home and Heritage Farm on Churchill Island (just offshore and a short bridge from Phillip Island) chatting with a rugged farmhand originally from Scotland who’s been here for the last 33 years but still sounds like he used to caddy at St. Andrews. His name is (get this) Scott Campbell – seriously.

Anyway, Scott now runs the sheep shearing show at the Heritage Farm and gave us the ins and outs on wool; the wool industry. He knows WAAAY too much about sheep for anyone’s good but he says he’s been happily married for the last 31 years so I guess there’s that.

He was entirely engaging and just the latest in a long line of Aussie’s (or imported Aussies, in his case) who have been nothing but cheerful, helpful and welcoming. This country is just plum full of nice people. I think it’s the counterbalance to the animals, reptiles, fish & insects that are just itching to do you in.

Scott recommended a nice little Thai food shop not far from the pier on the Esplanade in Cowes (the main beach resort town on Phillip Island) – Tom Yummy soup indeed.

And then, over to the Penguin Centre for the nightly Penguin Parade. The Little Penguins (their real name) have dark blue feathers and stand around 13 inches tall – hence their nickname (“Fairy Penguins”). They surf in just at sunset in groups ranging from 6 – 15 or so and then waddle their way, fast-march style, across the beach to their burrows in the grass and hillsides along the shore.

Some of the burrows are a few hundred metres inland so after watching them race waddle across the beach for an hour or so we walked along the boardwalk to see them continue their search for hearth, home and a well-earned rest, after first regurgitating their fish and squid mush for the hungry penguin pups waiting back in the nest.

The Penguin Parade is awesome. The best part: They can and will attack if you try to touch or ‘pet’ them. The aura of danger was for me, of course, simply the piece de resistance.

The evenings Penguin Parade was followed by the Parade of Tourists back to Melbourne. Like the Penguins, they often formed single file packs while avoiding all the nighttime roadwork along the M1 Toll Freeway system. Even more like the Penguins, they often raced to pass one another whenever an opening appeared. The more I see, the more it is clear that we are all one big planetary family.