The next day I decided to take in the penguins. The trip made 2 stops before the penguins one of the stops was the Warook cattle farm.
So the hotel i stayed at was about 10k north of Melbourne in an area called Preston. The first day i was pretty wiped so i decided to just check out the area i was in. What impressed me a great deal is how multicultural this area was. Ethnic shops and resturants were everywhere. It reminded me very much of Gastown little commerical shops all over. From there i went to Riverdale shopping mall which was pretty much like any other shopping mall but was nice to just hang out in. The other thing that surprised me about Melbourne is what they call the bottle shops or liquor stores. They were drive through with aisles on either side where you tell the person what you want as you drive through. Pretty scary. 
But all in all just a good starter day in Australia.
So as i told you it was quite the trip to finally get to Melbourne. I had originally planned on going to the penguins day 1 then checking out the area day 2 but i had to switch that around as i was just too tired. This is a picture from my room there is not a lot of room in it but a good price. It used to be a hospital and is now a hotel. But there is a hospital nearby and some residences stay there. There were floor to ceiling windows for a great view but high enough it did not feel intrusive. Not a great view but still. Every morning there were at least 4 hot air balloons in the air.
The one thing that struck me as you can tell by this photo is how close the houses were. What surprised me was that houses were seperated by only a brick wall and I had to wonder why the wall? There were also a lot of backyards with sails over them I assume for the summer but not the winter.
Well Cat is now on her way home 
getting to see her was so very very nice. We did get to go to 39 steps at the opera house it was Hitchcock so I was not thinking it would be that funny but it sure was. There were only 4 actors and about 100 characters and costume changes It was so very funny and well done. The next night our last began raining so our plans for a picnic were gone but we ended up going on a dinner crusie that was amazing and gorumet food. http://www.sydneyshowboats.com.au/showboats-experience/spectacular-showboat.aspx it was our birthday thing. Food and fun for sure. And we got back about 10pm so it was not bad. Cat was supposed to leave here at 7am but there was a typhooon in Hong kong were her layover is so she did not get out till later. I invite you to check out these 2 sites http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/AlfredHitchcocksThe39Steps.aspx to see more. love trish
Well, today you will all have to put up with reading me again (Catherine) as I figure its my turn. Today was our first full day in Sydney. Our day began with a HUGE breakfast that we got at the hotel and had on the veranda just outside our room with views of the harbour. It was so huge that the girl who brought it in had to go back into the hall to get the other giaganitc tray to bring it in our room. We ate to out hearts content and saved all the fruit for tomorrows breakfast. (were so smart) . After that we had a wonderful adventure touring around “the Rocks” area. We meandered through the Royal Botanical Gardens and ended up at the Opera House where we did a nice tour. We are still thinking about taking in a show there tomorrow night but havent fully decided. The one we are thinking about seeing is called “39 Steps” which is a comedy based on the Hitchcock film. The interesting thing is that there are only 4 actors playing over 100 roles in just over 100 min so it is quite something. Afterwards we happened upon a Lidnt chocoltier…. well, we could hardly let that opportunity pass us by could we, so, chocolate cake with hot chocolate it was. mmmm. Afterwards, as the sun was setting we went to Sydney tower for some great views over the city and ended our day at a quaint pub like restaurant in the old part of the city where you grill your own meat to have with a salad bar. So it seems that today was about sights and yes…food. lots of food. We like Sydney. mmmmm
Quiet day today we go tommorow to Sydney so today we relaxed and enjoyed the huge hotel complex after first seeing ularu by sunrise it was a lot warmer today so it was nice. Cat has taken many photos with a professional camera so most times i leave it up to her. I am looking forward to Sydney. Last night we went from the tents we were in to proper rooms with showers and heat you can take for granted. But that was so nice. Wendy how are the dogs fish and plants? It is gorgeous here now and cat is lying in the grass outside reading as i write this. Tonight we are going to an aussie bbq. We were given park enterance tickets by fellow travellers that saved us some cash.I will write more tommorow. love trish
Cat and i are still in Ularu and will be till the day after tommorow. WE have been seeing the rock both at sunrise and sunset it is amazing and if it is there cat has taken a pic of it. I have not been updating a lot since internet is expensive here but all is well. we have both tried crocodile and kangroo. It is pretty good actually. This morning we woke at 5am and walked around the base of the rock with a breakfast of tea and cookies. Very nice but very cold -4. Tonight we are going to another rock and then tommorow morning to see ayers again before having the rest of the day to us to enjoy the amazing food. We found this place that is not fancy buut has all kinda things to cook yourself on the bbq (very aussie) and fresh veggies so very neat and i plan to write more then. love trish
I will write more later but we are at Ayers now the resort is HUGE we can see the rock but have not been there yet but will be dining in front of it in what is called the sounds of silence dinner. It is about 15 but i am surprised it is a very hot 15 dry heat. Much like 30 anywhere else.
Yesterday was amazing we rented a car and went up to the rainforest known as the Daintree. The sights were neat a lot like the Charlottes or vanvouver island but with different animals and plants. It was nice because we drove ourselves. So went unique places and got different pictures. Off the beaten track kinda. Mom would have been at home. I wrote her name in the sand to show she has been there. Cat got a picture of it. I was very glad she did but she has been taking pics of alot of things lol. We misjudged the time so missed some tours but oh well did our own cool things. We had some home made ice cream that was the best i have ever had. With fruit from the area picked that day. There was a sample of 4 flavours mango, macadamia piannapple and rasberry a scoop of each…amazing.. Then we had dinner back at port douglas at a place called the court house hotel. Very good. Huge steaks. We ate listening to outdoor musicians that played a lot of james taylor. One musicans reminded Cat of her friend Loc Cameron. We made it back to the hotel about 10 and today we are off to ayers…the big rock and a sounds of silence dinner. I will write about that to…love trish
