Melbourne, the AMAZING OPEN and the AWESOME PENGUINS!!

 THE AUSSIE OPEN!!! 

After buying tickets in July 2012, our big day was finally here!! We got up SUPER early to catch the train and enjoy the day :) Adam put the Australian Open on his bucket list a few years ago; we were both so excited to actually be going. 

When we got to the Arena we were beyond impressed with the facilities. The many sponsors of the event have tents around the arena with free swag, samples, prizes and more. We went straight to the ANZ tent for our 360 picture we posted on Facebook! ANZ also gives you a free fan and hard copy of the pic, a wicked keepsake. We also hit up the Dove tent (where we met Ricky Ponting) and got goodie bags of free stuff. We entered a few other contests and wandered around the venue before the matches started. 

Main Court

We were there for the two days of quarterfinals and saw some amazing athletes. I wasn't sure how I would do with sitting quietly, and intently for 5-8 hours. BUT I did it! I was fascinated and loved the Open! Adam and I loved it!!

Line Up of Games: 

Day One: 

1. Na Li def Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-3

2. David Ferrer def Nicolas Almagro 4-6,4-6,7-5,7-6(4), 6-2

3. Maria Sharapova def Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-2

Day Two:

1. Victoria Azarenka def Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5, 6-1 (And then SHE SIGNED MY PROGRAM!)

2. Sloane Stephens def Venus Williams 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 (And VENUS BROKE HER RACKET!)

3. Andy Murray def Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-1, 6-2

Our seats for both days were AMAZING!! And REALLY HOT! A lady behind us covered us in clothes on the second day to protect us from the sun. She told us it was because our Mom was too far away and would want us taken care of. Too Cute! 

Team Vika!

Venus Williams

Us with a Rod Laver statue. 

The whole city takes in the open. This is a site downtown with lounge chairs where you can hang out and watch the games. Lots of pubs and great restaurants around.

Wandering Around Melbourne..... 

*While in Melbourne we also took in a few of the sights and then hit the aquarium. 

 The aquarium in Melbourne is pretty amazing. They have a seperate Jelly Fish room and a Seahorse room too. You can also eat lunch near the hugest tank with many different sea species in it. 

We watched the Rays FOREVER. They were MASSIVE and so beautiful. There is a walkway through this tank with tons of fish, sharks and rays.

They also had a PENGUIN EXHIBIT!!! It was fantastic :)

PHILLIPS ISLAND PENGUIN PARADE

On our last night in Melbourne we took the trip to Phillips Island for the Penguin Parade. It was hands down one of the most amazing things either one of us has seen in our lives. Phillips Island is home to a colony of Little Penguins. The colony has 30,000 penguins currently but there was a time when there was over 200,000. Every night, the penguins who are coming into their burrows "surf" in at sunset. The glide in on the waves and then they make the journey to their homes. We paid for the Private Penguin tour and it was worth every penny. We had a private tour with a lady who toured us around the colony, and got us the best seats for each portion of the evening. She even has us hooked into a radio so we could hear her down on the beach and so she could help us move through the crowds to have the best view. We started out the night on the sand closest to the waves watching the Penguins surf in. We then moved to the part of beach where the most of them surf in and walk home. It was incredible. 

We learned tons of interesting facts..

- They are the smallest penguin species (each one is only about 30 cm)

- They only sleep for 1-3 minutes at a time

- They can hold their breath for 2-3 minutes and can dive 30m deep. 

- They dive up to 700x a day

- Some of the penguins have had a foot removed due to injury, these ones are called Stumpies. They recover well and live safely and happily after the procedure. They may be a bit slower on land but are fast and stealthy in the water still. 

- Chick's chirp is distinctive to the parents, they do not know who their parents are and so will approach any adult penguin coming up the beach in order to be fed. 

- On land the men dig a burrow and live there forever (unless their son returns one day to challenge them for it). 

- Women choose their mate based on how great their burrow is, their mating dance, and how good of a provider they are. If she feels he is not doing a good job she trades him in!

This is a stuffed little penguin. You cannot take pictures at Phillips Island as flash photography is not safe for the penguins. 

Welcome to BALI!!!

We decided that before we started our new teaching positions that we needed some time in the heat, with a great hotel and a great pool. We found all that and more in BALI!!!

We spent 10 amazing days here. Here is a quick rundown of what we did and saw with a few pics :) 

We stayed in this great hotel called The Pullman. It is right across from the beach and is a five star hotel. It is very resort like with the exception of food and alcohol not being all inclusive, but we did get a great breakfast buffet everyday of our stay! It was amazing, they had everything from waffles, eggs, bacon, to dim sum, a chocolate fountain and ice cream bar. The hotel gave us loads of free water along with gifts for staying there. We were given two big sarongs, hats, a beach bag and fresh fruit baskets every other day. Thank goodness for these things as we soon learned the sun in Bali is incredibly hot; we spent a lot of time in the shade (after cooking ourselves on our first day there!). Our hotel had an infinity pool that overlooked the ocean as well as one in the courtyard with trees and a bar and shade! There was also a 24hr gym with fresh squeezed juices and tons of great equipment. We also had a great room with a huge king size bed, air conditioning and satellite; these were really helpful for the heat of the day (which could get over 45C). We were glad for all the amenities as it made relaxing really easy! 

Sunset on the beach :) 

The view from our hotel's infinity pool.

Bali is a lot like Thailand and Mexico. There are these really nice resorts with somewhat inclusive options and then there are shops, restaurants, spas etc everywhere. You can haggle a deal on just about anything! They also have loads of American franchises (McDonalds, Burger King, Hard Rock Cafe, Starbucks, etc). The bonus of these were for the most part they were really cheap; meals with appetizers, drinks and entrees can be as cheap as $18.00. We got massages a couple of times too because who can turn down an hour massage in a clean and beautiful spa for $8? 

WHO'S THE BOSS???

The shopping here was fun but the shop owners are much more determined than those in Thailand lol. We were used to saying no and that being the end of it but this is not so in Bali. People will walk with you for blocks, often ignoring your refusals. They call you things like Boss or Brother etc. 

Adam started saying TONY DANZA everytime they called him Boss and this really helped them leave us alone. They would all yell TONY DANZA and there would be us Canadians and a bunch of Indonesians yelling TONY DANZA and laughing together (with many others looking at us like we were crazy). This made our trips through the streets hilarious and fun as we learned to joke with the people :) 

Bali also has many temples, and other beautiful areas on the island. For one of our dives we drove through the rainforest and the rice patties to reach the north shore. It was amazingly beautiful and reminded us of Thailand a lot. It is beautiful country for sure. 

SCUBA DUBA DOO!!! 

Adam gives the OKAY sign :)

This is the group of us next to the US Liberty. It is 16 metres down so the only colors you can really see are red and yellow.

NEMO!!! We saw tons of Clownfish but I still had to stop every time cause they are so awesome :) 

For three days of our trip, Adam and I did our Open Water Certification Course at Scuba Duba Doo. We spent one day in a classroom; seven hours with a test! Then we spent the next two days diving. It was a great experience. We got to dive the Tulabem Us Liberty Shipwreck site which is one of the top 10 dive sites in the world. It was amazing; the ship itself is completely covered in sealife but you can swim around it and through it and look around. We also dove a stretch of reef where we saw many different fish, eels, etc. We were taught the course by Mulyadi and he was great, he was very informative and knowledgable. His assistant, Thomas, was super as well. He was hilarious and helpful on our dives. They both were really good with making us feel comfortable and safe. 

The Great Ocean Road Continued!

Day One: Port Fairy and Griffith's Island

After leaving Adelaide we drove to Port Fairy. It was a long 7.5 hour drive but we made it in time to walk around Griffith's Island and see the light tower and the surrounding ocean and beaches. 

It started out as a beautiful walk until the rain and wind showed up! The last bit of the walk was a bit of a sandstorm but seeing the light tower, the black wallabies, and all else there made it totally worth it! After our walk, we hit East Side Take Away, a local restaurant that specializes in fresh seafood. We loaded up and had another sleepover in the Commodore with food and movies. This time we were parked right in front of the ocean. It was awesome! There was an intense storm that night and the waves were huge and the lightning was loud, it was really neat (and maybe a bit terrifying!).

Day Two: Port Campbell

Today was my (Sheila's) first day driving the car for a long distance. WOW it is so strange, I immediately tried to signal with the windshield wipers! Adam was so pro right from the start, I am even more impressed now! 

We arrived early in the day and had breakfast at the Alcove Cafe. While drinking my coffee, I looked up at the television screen to see a screen that said FIRES IN COOMA. Since we had been travelling we had missed most of the fires until now. We were scared about our town and our house so we called one of our friends in Cooma who assured us all was well! Whew... we then made sure to let our parents know we were okay too! Since bush fires are not really common back home we really had no idea the threat they posed until spending the summer here. There are plenty of plans, signs, commercials, radio ads, etc to inform and help people have a bush fire plan. 

Afterwards we headed to the info station to get a map of places to see today! 

We saw many amazing sights on our travels today. The Port Campbell area is home to:

1. London Bridge: A rock body in the ocean that looks just like a bridge falling apart

2. Lorc Ard Gorge: Another beautiful rock body in the ocean where you can walk down to the beach to view as well. This is the site where the clipper ship Lorc Ard ran ashore years ago. 

3. 12 Apostles: The Apostles are rock bodies sticking out of the ocean along the coastline. There is not 12 left but they still call them as such. 

This pic was taken down on Gibson's steps because the weather wasn't great at the higher up view point that day so our other pics aren't great.

4. Razorback: Another rock body (you guessed it!) in the ocean that is shaped like a razor.

5. The Gibson Steps: The last of the rock bodies we visited. This section was great because you could view it from above and then climb down the steps to the beach and walk along it while viewing the massive rock bodies along the coastline as well. It was beautiful. 

Adelaide, you are so HOT!!

After a long day of driving we made it to Adelaide :) We were so lucky to be able to stay with our friends Kevin and Fleur. Kevin did an exchange to Red Deer four years ago and worked with Adam. They live right by the beach in Seacliff and after a few cold beers we walked down to the beach and ventured around. It is a truly beautiful neighbourhood; the beach strip is 70 kms long and loads of people live within walking distance. 

Day 1: Cleland Wilderness Park

In the morning we all ran on along the beach and then headed to Cleland Wilderness Park in hopes of hugging a Koala. When we arrived we found out it would be too hot to hug the Koalas so that will just have to stay on our Aussie Bucket list for now! Cleland was AWESOME! Many of the animals are in open spaces and you can pet and feed them. 

We fed: Grey Kangaroos, Red Kangaroos, Wallabies, Ducks, Swans (a black one!), Birds and a Wombat (well Sheila accidently fed him, and then Adam accidently petted him..oops!). We learned A TON about Australian Wildlife today; we have been seeing many signs of animals that might run on the road and did not really know all of them until today :) 

We still got to see the Koalas and they were amazing!! We didn't get many great shots as they keep them in the shade on days that are 32C or over because they cannot sweat. If they have to be handled at all on these days the handlers put on a wet jacket and hold them that way. Kevin, Adam and I still figure we could have hugged them as it wasn't near the heat maximum when we there... ahh well, next time! (And it is good they are so great about taking are of the Koalas!) 

Adam feeding a Wallabie!

We finally see a Wombat and understand
 the signs we have seen everywhere! They are dangerous
things that are quite fast and have vicious bites!

Adam worked super hard to get these baby ducks out of the pond and up to him. It took him a while but the Mom finally let them come :) 

Yay another Wallabie! They are so cute; there were loads of them
including a bunch of baby ones!

This was a really old, grey kangaroo. He just chilled in the shade 

and waited for people to come to him:) 

Poor Hot Koalas...

The Black Swan!

After the Wilderness Park we had a great lunch in a pub in Stirling. Stirling would be the most amazing place to live, it is close to Adelaide and the beach but is nestled in the mountainside and is a bit cooler with many great shops, pubs and cafes. From there we drove up to the highest point in Adelaide to view the city (Mt Lofty). 

To finish off our day we hit Hahndorf, a little German town close to Stirling. There used to be many German towns and settlements before the second world war and this is one of them that got its name back after the war. The mainstreet is full of German pubs, restaurants and other shops. 

Day 2: THE BAROSSA

Today we had an AMAZING tour guide, Kevin! He drove us around the Barossa Valley Wine Region and took us to a bunch of different wineries!

At the beginning of our day we drove through the city and saw many of the Churches the city is known for. They are massive, and beautiful and everywhere. We also stopped by Fleur's school campus. She teaches at a private school (St. Peter's) and it sounds so cheesy but it was totally like Harry Potter. There was a huge campus, with many different old English brick style buildings, a beautiful Church, and beautiful grounds. 

When we made it to the Barossa we visited 6 wineries! 

1. Jacobs Creek: This winery was HUGE! It is the main sponsor of the Australian Open and has a wide variety of wines. 

2. Grand Burge: We tried a couple good wines here and left with our first purchase of the day!

3. Rockford: This winery was in a bank of lovely old brick buildings. The ceilings were barely high enough for Adam to stand in and the wine here was great! 

4. Dorrien Chateau: This is a family owned winery and we were able to try our first Mead here. There were many different flavors and it was definitely interesting. 

5. Two Hands: This winery was our favorite of the day! They has a sit down tasting and the lady who helped us was extremely knowledgable and helpful. The bottles had great names, labels and marketing. 

6. Penfolds: This was an older winery next to a train station. They had many wines to try and were quite friendly. 

Our wine tour day maxed out at 42C. Adam and I went directly to the beach when we got there. The ocean there is warmer and very calm because of the nearby Kangaroo Island that protects the mainland from the surf. 

The GREAT Ocean Road!!

After a long trip to Melbourne from Cooma, and a good night's sleep we hit the Great Ocean Road on January 4. When we left Melbourne it was +34C @ 10:30am and it was HOT! The Great Ocean Road runs from Geelong to Portland with many places to stop and view the sights, swim, eat etc.

We made it to Bell's Beach, put on our first coat of sunscreen, and hit the beach. It was a beautiful walk down to the beach and we were in the water in seconds, the sun here is so different than home. We were roasting and the water was great! Bell's Beach is home to many great Surfing Competitions during the year, I think there is a huge RipCurl one in November. 

After our swim, we got back on the Great Ocean Road and headed to Lorne. We stopped in @ a delicious fish and chips joint for lunch and then hit the Lorne Falls. The drive down to the falls was really REALLY STEEP! We were very worried about Maximus the Great (our Commodore) and whether or not it would make it back up. The falls were beautiful and you could climb right up to them, AND Maximus handled the hills like a champ and we made it out of there!! 























After finishing @ Lorne we headed to Portland for the night so that we would be that much closer to Adelaide :) Portland is a bit more of an industrial type beach town but it was a good place to walk around. We got a couple of pizzas and found a park with a bathroom/shower station and made a bed in the back of the station wagon. We brought a speaker for our Ipad and hooked up a movie and tucked in . It wasn't too bad of a sleep, it was really hot at first... I think the temperature got close to 40C but it did eventually cool off. 

A pic of us in the back of the Commodore after our pizza and movie :)