Ginger Without Borders

In Australian, if the wind comes from the north, it brings the dry heart of the Australian desert. But if it comes from the south, that is the cold winds of the Antartic. Today was one of the hottest October days on record in Melbourne and got to 93 degrees Fahrenheit. While we were on the Great Ocean Road, the wind was from the south, so we were cold and wet and wondering if we could ever wear our short sleeves again. That was answered today since the wind shifted two days ago. So we decided today needed to be a museum day, particularly when we were informed that one of the free trams (the one that circles the CDB) would not operate today since it was too hot.

The Melbourne aquarium (called Sea Life) was only a short walk from our hotel (and our other destinations depended on the tram that would not operate). It is rated the best acquarium in Australia and is very popular with families. Our favorite exhibit was the penguins. But these were not Australia’s little penguins, they were King and Gentoo penquins from Antartica. The smaller Gentoo are roosting in the back of the picture and the King are in the front with one of them molting (the gray areas on the back and front of the penquin to the right). We arrived in time for feeding and got to see the Gentoo jumping in and out of the water in the adjacent pool (like dolphins) as they were feed whole squid. Lots of excitement and squeeling kids.

The cafe featured a very large tank with tropical fish from the Great Barrier Reef, including this moray eel.

Dawn and I did pass over a Moray Eel on our Low Island snorkel trip but I quickly moved us out of that area. The guide assured me (after we were safely on the boat) that we were OK as long as we didn’t try to get closer but that was not a risk I was willing to take at the very beginning of our adventure.

We also finally saw a cuttlefish. The cuttlefish is a favorite food of a number of seabirds, seals and dolphins. The beach on Phillip Island was litered with their cuttlebones, a porous very lightweight structure that provides the cuttlefish with its buoyancy. Below is the cuttlefish and Dawn holding a large cuttlebone on the beach at Phillip Island. All those white spots on the beach are cuttlebones.

We retreated back to the cool air of the hotel after wandering through a few more of the many parklands of Melbourne. Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia with over 5 million inhabitants. Founded in 1837, it boomed after the discovery of gold in the 1850’s. By the 1880’s, it was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. It served as the first capital of Australia (named a federation in 1901) until Canberra became the capital in 1927. Now it is a leading financial center in Asia and very cosmopolitan, with a steel and glass skyline. There are cranes everywhere as the city continues to grow. We often felt like the whole city was a construction zone.

Unlike Brisbane, there is no consensus on which side of the sidewalks to walk, so it feels more like NY as you wade through the crowds. There are tons of tourists and we seemed to hear more Chinese and Japanese than English on the streets. And by the way, in Australia, at certain major intersections, pedestrians are allowed to not only go right or left but also diagonally across the intersection.

Tonight it is early to bed because tomorrow we fly to the cool highlands of Tasmania and driving on the left side of the road again.

PS, Lena we know you don’t like acquariums but we spent some of your inheritance there anyway. And we found a great bookstore where Dawn bought three books, so I am safe again.