From Cairns, we flew to Melbourne on Christmas day. Upon landing in Melbourne, we were met by our tour guide. Dealing with hungry kids, our first quest was lunch, a daunting task on Christmas day, when even McDonald's are closed. Srinivas finally spotted a Subway with an Open sign, which felt like an oasis in a desert.
After lunch, we drove past MCG getting ready for Boxing Day test match with India and Rod Laver Arena prepping for the Australian Open, to Phillips Island, a marine sanctuary about an hour drive from Melbourne.
Phillips Island is home to the Penguin Parade, where every sunset, wild little penguins emerge from the sea and waddle across the beach to their sand dune burrows. Phillip Island is home to one of the largest ittle penguin colonies in the world. The little penguin is the world’s smallest penguin species and the only penguin permanently found in Australia. This was an opportunity to view the Penguins in their natural habitat.
However, we mistimed our arrival and had to wait close to 3-hours for dusk, a fact that did not sit well with the kiddie brigade. When the Penguins arrived, they did in style, coming in droves and meeting their chicks (It's breeding season now.)
We returned to Melbourne in heavy downpour and crashed on the bed in our hotel.
The next day was a long day, as we drove along the winding Great Ocean Road, from Melbourne to Port Campbell to see the Twelve Apostles, beautiful sandstone formations, stopping at a couple of beaches on the way.
This probably was the toughest part of the trip, keeping the kids engaged on this windy drive that was inducing motion sickness. So I started a quiz leading with asking for the names of the 12 apostles (We got 4 right) and went on asking questions on a variety of topics like Mythology, Literature, Science, Geography etc. Soon the rest of the party joined for a quiz fest. (Here is another instance of the Singampalli genes raising their head, as Aditya is now hooked to quizzes!!!!!)
Here are some spectacularly scenic views of Port Campbell National Park.
After lunch, we drove past MCG getting ready for Boxing Day test match with India and Rod Laver Arena prepping for the Australian Open, to Phillips Island, a marine sanctuary about an hour drive from Melbourne.
Phillips Island is home to the Penguin Parade, where every sunset, wild little penguins emerge from the sea and waddle across the beach to their sand dune burrows. Phillip Island is home to one of the largest ittle penguin colonies in the world. The little penguin is the world’s smallest penguin species and the only penguin permanently found in Australia. This was an opportunity to view the Penguins in their natural habitat.
However, we mistimed our arrival and had to wait close to 3-hours for dusk, a fact that did not sit well with the kiddie brigade. When the Penguins arrived, they did in style, coming in droves and meeting their chicks (It's breeding season now.)
We returned to Melbourne in heavy downpour and crashed on the bed in our hotel.
The next day was a long day, as we drove along the winding Great Ocean Road, from Melbourne to Port Campbell to see the Twelve Apostles, beautiful sandstone formations, stopping at a couple of beaches on the way.
This probably was the toughest part of the trip, keeping the kids engaged on this windy drive that was inducing motion sickness. So I started a quiz leading with asking for the names of the 12 apostles (We got 4 right) and went on asking questions on a variety of topics like Mythology, Literature, Science, Geography etc. Soon the rest of the party joined for a quiz fest. (Here is another instance of the Singampalli genes raising their head, as Aditya is now hooked to quizzes!!!!!) Here are some spectacularly scenic views of Port Campbell National Park.
More Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/100439682375564182182/Australia2011MelbourneDec2526?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuamKa5gNv5Wg#
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