Discovering Melbourne...

The last couple of weeks I have been on the go, which is why I haven't updated anything here.
As I meet more people, I am out and about more, and although its regrettable that I don't have time for updates, I am having the time of my life. so be patient. :)

So, after beginning my stay in Australia with a lot of nature and animal exploration, the last couple of weeks I have been exploring Melbourne.
It started with doing the one hour train ride in to Southern cross Train station (equivalent of Sweden's T-centralen), on Wednesdays for beach handball practise, on Port Melbourne Beach.
But, me being a extremely active person, that wasn't enough, so I found a team to play futsal with in Collingwood on Sundays.
To make the most of my days, I got in to Melbourne early those days, and either met up with people, or went on my own to discover and explore. I saw exhibitions, art galleries with aboriginal art, beaches, alleys, churches, restaurants, bars and a lot, lot more. :)
I even had the great fortune of joining a group of backpackers and locals on a round of Hide and Seek, in Ikea Springvale, the largest IKEA in Victoria. :D
(9th Dec-11)

 It was so funny, because as I was hiding in the showcases, I noticed all the books were in Swedish^^
I also ended up translating the names of furniture, and explain why the candle's named "Tindra" and the bathroom set is called "God morgon". :)

And I can't even explain how funny it was that, as I was looking for hiders, a woman working in the store, asked me if she "could help me find something". ^^ I kindly replied that I didn't think so, and turned the corner before I started laughing^^

And to my great joy, they served Swedish food in the cafeteria! :D
Omg what to choose!?

Yes, ended up getting Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, Apple juice, and for dessert, strawberry flavoured candy laces!

Oh the joy! Even got a Swedish flag ^^

This is one of many things that I have been up to in the last few weeks^^ This, along with markets, and other exploration of Melbourne, have been amazing!

The Great Ocean Road 2 Dec -11

Basically, a road along the ocean coast, from Torquay to Warrnambool, with the most amazing views on the way... A kind of place where pictures say more than words ever could... So enjoy!

(Remember, you can click the images to get them bigger ;)

Twelve Apostles

1st Advent!

Today is the first advent, and I am reminded that Christmas is getting closer.

This year, for the first time (ever?) I wont be spending it with MY family, but fortunately, I am getting to know, and have the great fortune of spending this holiday with, an Australian family. :)
And I am looking forward to it!
I hear it's getting colder and colder in Sweden, and in the meantime, the weather here is only getting warmer. :)
I got a picture sent to me of Sergelstorg in Stockholm. :)

Hope everyone is enjoying this magical time! :D
And enjoy any snow you might encounter, everyone aren't blessed with it ;)

Beach Handball 23 Nov -11

The day started off like it wasn't really sure what to bring. I felt a little tired and lazy, and the weather was a bit grey and there was some rain. But as the day went on, it just got better and better.

During the one hour train trip in to Melbourne City Centre the sun came out, the temperature went up and I felt excited! I had been looking forward to this since even before I'd left Sweden! After a short 15 minutes trip on the tram, I finally arrived at Port Melbourne Pier. After a short walk I was at the beach, one hour early. ^^

That hour I spend walking up and down the beach, before I finally saw a group of people putting up the goals. :)
The next 2 hours we ran(getting use to the sand), jumped, passed, practised our 360 spin, kempa's and ended it all with some play. :)
I had a great time, and I met a bunch of new and fun people. :)
With the sun setting, we packed everything up and went back home... Already looking forward to next Wednesday :)

My first trip to central Melbourne 20 Nov -11

 Sunday!
I've been around Geelong, but for the first time in two weeks since I landed at the airport in Melbourne, was I to go back. It was time for the Polish Festival on Federation square!

I had the fortune of meeting up with some people from a travelling community online, but since I was the only one with any connections to Poland, I ended up being the guide and translator/interpreter. This was kind of ironic... anyhow!
I was happy to find that amongst all the stalls, in which they sold everything from amber-jewellery and clothes, to wooden handicrafts and food, they had a beer tent... With Polish beer!

Sarah and I

 They also had a stage where they preformed polish songs and folk dance. :)

I had the most amazing Polish lunch! They served (amongst a lot of other things), bigos and pierogi! For dessert, apple-mint Tymbark, and polish cheesecake (they were all out of makowiec *sadface*)

After the festival I met up with a friend and went to see Melbourne Victory against Perth. Got sneaked in into the supporter area (sv: Klacken) and actually had a really good time ^^ Even though Victory managed to tie with a 2-0 advantage in the first half... 

Me in a Melbourne Victory-shirt, with my Polish-flag paint which I had to remove since apparently red and white are the colours of another Melbourne team. (It would have been like standing with AIK supporters with green/white on my face) ^^

Phillip Island (day 2) 18 Nov -11

With most of the things on my "List" crossed off on the first day on Phillip Island, the second day was more relaxed. :)

After waking up and having breakfast, we left the cabin and headed for a walk on a boardwalk among mangroves. :) 

I saw a heaps of small holes in the mud under the boardwalk, that apparently were made by crabs!

I looked for them for a long time, but couldn't find a single one, until I finally saw one crawling into a hole, and suddenly there was a lot of them! I saw them everywhere! 

So next stop, were the Forrest Caves, eroded by the sea, and only available to see at low tide. :) Included a walk on the beach to get to the caves. You can see them to the far left. :)

And here is one of the caves! They really looked amazing. :)

On to The Nobbies!

I had expected "Australia's larges fur seal colony", but only got a few seals on a distant rock that I barely saw with binoculars, but that was ok, because the surroundings were stunning!

"The Blow hole", a 12 meter deep cave. Waves come in, compressing the air in the end of the cave, then the water sprays out of the cave. Looks like a whale's blow hole, sounds like thunder. :) 

By the Nobbies is also where I saw my first venomous snake! :)
"Oh, it WILL kill you, but it's not THAT poisonous"
Well that made me feel A LOT better ;)

Next stop! Swan lake!
On the way to the lake I saw a sign that said that there was a lot of echidnas around, can you imagine how excited I was!?

So I walked around, looking for anthills and scratching in the ground, that were suppose to indicate that a echidna could be close by.
Unfortunately I did not find anything more than a whole bunch of marks in the ground.. :(
But we did get to swan lake, and I saw my first black swans ever. :)

Last stop, pyramid rock, a short walk, wonderful view: :)

After a long day, we went home in a amazing thunderstorm, and i even managed to get a picture of a lightning with my amazing reflexes ;)

Phillip Island (day 1) 17 Nov -11

Woke up pretty early to get started on the long drive from Geelong, through Melbourne, and down to Phillip Island, for a two day nature and wildlife adventure!
Even before arriving, we saw heaps of pelicans next to the bridge that would lead us to Phillip Island. The trip started as soon as we had crossed it, with a short stop at the tourist information centre, before quickly continuing to Churchill Island, a small island connected to Phillip Island by a small bridge.

The best way I can describe it, is that it is like a mini version of Skansen in Stockholm, but Aussie-style! It had a farmstead, with a old Mansion, herb garden, kitchen garden, animals like horses, turkeys, sheep, cattle, birds, wallabys and peacocks. Oh yes, the peacock took me right back to Skansen, with their long beautiful feathers and loud screaming... ^^

Meo, meeoo, MEOOOO!!!! ^^

Yes, they DO sound like that, and if you don't believe me, YouTube it ;)

Beware!

For those who wonder
how artichokes grow ;)

Chicks!

Passionfruit-flower by the entrance to the kitchen-garden.

So after the Skansen-flashback, we headed for the koala conservation centre, where I was to see my first ever live koalas!

The treetop board-walk.

Sleepy koala^^

Wallaby! I got as close as 1.5 meters. :) 

Do you see the little Joey (baby koala)
 sticking its head out? :D

So after walking around on the treetop board-walks and a tour on the ground, i had counted a bunch of birds, 2 semi-wild wallabies, and 14 koalas! And fortunately, not a single Drop Bear ;)

The koalas left me with a happy and cosy feeling, but the day fas not even close to being over...

After dropping off our stuff at the caravan-park cabin, a short walk on the beach, and a hamburger-dinner, we were off to see The Penguin Parade!

So we were told to be on the beach at 7pm, since the penguins were getting up from the ocean at sunset, so everyone had to be in their seats, and they even closed the road, so that the penguins weren't going to be disturbed. After 1.5 hour wait, we started to see groups of penguins being washed up on the shore, and then running across the beach, to the grassy hills behind us...

All types of cameras were forbidden, but I had to have at least one picture
 of the small penguins running up the beach to their burrows^^

After the parade, there were some burrows, that had a window, so that you could the them up close without disturbing them :)

A penguin in its nest. :)

 There were a lot of penguins on the beach that night, and you had to be careful not to run any over on your way from the parking-lot. ^^
It was an amazing experience and I slept really well that night. :)