Texan Tour Guides

Yesterday we took a couple coworkers in town from Texas on our favourite tour of Phillip Island.  Yes we've been there dozens of times now but that doesn't make it any less beautiful.  Add the warmest day in months to the mix and it was a truly enjoyable day.

We started out watching the pelican feeding in San Remo at noon and then went to enjoy some fish and chips of our own.  There were about 25 hungry pelicans out, looking extra pretty with blue markings on their bills which appears during mating season to attract their mates.

hungry hungry pelicans
Next we went to the koala sanctuary and got to see them in action doing what they do best - sleep!
koalas love sleeping in awkward positions
Then we took a stroll around the sanctuary grounds to see what birds were around.  We found this guy, a blue fairy wren-
male fairy wren
 and this pretty gallah-
gallah in a gumtree
Then we headed over to the town of Cowes to check out the coast and the local shops.  The wind was strong on this side of the island but the birds seemed very skilled in flying sideways.
the town of Cowes
 Next up was the Nobbies on the far end of the island.  The sky had started to cloud up at that point, making for really pretty light over an already spectacular view.
The Nobbies
 At the nobbies is became apparent very quickly that mating season was in full stride for the silver gulls.  These guys were everywhere, you can see all the white spots in the background of this picture.  We even saw a couple baby gulls - they are little brown blobs, way cuter than the adults.
Gull striking a pose with his many feathered friends in the background
The tide was in and the waves were very high so it made for a spectacular show for our guests.
wave crashing up out of the blowhole
 Next we headed back to the other side of the island to Woolami Beach.  The weather was starting to turn at this point but we only caught a few sprinkles before we moved on.
Woolami Beach with the Pinnacles in the background
On the way to Woolami I had noticed a sign I hadn't seen before for something called the Forrest Caves.  I decided we better check it out so we made this the last stop of the day before dinner at our favourite place in Rhyll and then the penguins.  It turned out to be a gorgeous spot that I immediately fell in love with.  A short hike down an empty beach was this formation of red rock that had been eroded over time and now houses several caves.
The Caves
close up of the caves
one of the caves opening up into the water below
 It's supposed to be best to check out at low tide, so we'll have to make a trip back there soon to check it out again.  The surrounding area was super pretty too.

near the caves
so pretty
Then after dinner we got to watch these cute little guys waddle in from the surf.  Love them!
little penguins - pic stolen from the internet

It was a great way to spend a beautiful day and our Texas guests seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baw Baw Blog

Image
A couple weeks ago Phil set out to climb Mt Baw Baw again with a couple like-minded (read: crazy) bike friends.  We drove out with Les and met John and Glenda at the primary school in Drouin to start the ride.   The crazies started on their ride while John and I headed off to explore the area by car. Phil, Glenda, and Les at the start About 10km in to the ride, as they passed the Drouin West primary school, Phil realised that that was the place he meant to start, and now an already painful 80km ride had become 90km. John and I stopped at the Noojee Trestle Bridge and took a leisurely walk across.  Then we headed on to the "town" of Noojee and saw the sights - the water wheel that no one knows the origin of.  Then we enjoyed some lamingtons while we waited for the tiers to catch up.  They arrived and took a few minutes' break, then set out again on their adventure. Noojee Trestle Bridge Noojee Water Wheel John and I then drove to Tooronga Falls and had a re
Read more

One Sleep Until Citizenship!

Image
In January of 1649, Thos Morgan, my great great ..... grandfather, signed the death warrant for King Charles I, an act that in normal times would make him guilty of treason for conspiring against the monarchy.  He ended up fleeing to America, where he changed his last name to Carrier in order to avoid being sent back to England for trial.  Of course, later he married a woman who was tried and hung for being a witch, but that's another story... Three hundred and sixty two years later, I found myself taking a new job in Australia.  In order to get my work visa, I had to pledge allegiance to the monarchy of the same country that my ancestor fled from so many years ago.  And tomorrow, I'll take the Australian Citizenship Pledge and become a dual citizen. Besides the physical move, there were a lot of little details involved in getting to this point.  We arrived on a skilled worker visa, which required providing my resume and degree in addition to the lengthy application and emp
Read more

Sneans

Image
I was introduced to a new word the other day - Sneans.  According to Urban dictionary, it is the highly attractive combination of sneakers and jeans.  Apparently it is a very American tourist thing that Aussies, Kiwis, and various forms of Irish like to give us grief for.  It has its own hash tag and Facebook page dedicated to making fun of people wearing #sneans.   My coworkers gave the typical example of a middle aged man wearing light colored jeans and white New Balance sneakers together.  I can understand, that's definitely a look.  Throw in a tucked in t-shirt and a belt with a giant Iphone strapped on and it makes quite a statement.  But they also insisted sneans extends to any form of sneakers with any form of jeans.   At first I protested - what's wrong with wearing sneakers with jeans?  Lets say you're on a long weekend in Tasmania, where you may go wine tasting and hiking all in one day.  Sneakers seem like the only appropriate foot wear to me!  They suggested w
Read more