Day 3: Echidna Walkabout

G'day Mate! Today is a Public Holiday in Australia! The Queens Birthday!! Although the queen's birthday is actually in April, they celebrate it the Second Monday in June every year. America isn't the only country that creates their own random holidays. Anything to have a day off!!

We found a breakfast spot not too far from our hotel that offered a very delicious spread. Dominique had his first bowl of porridge. He enjoyed it but said it was much different from the oatmeal he loves so much. I don't think he will be ordering porridge again.

Mom on the other hand went with one of her favorite breakfast choices, pancakes and bacon. She was even happier to find out that when you order pancakes they also give you a side of Ice Cream. This was a sweet start to her morning.

After breakfast we took a short walk to our meeting location to get picked up for our Full Day Echidna Walkabout in the Australian Bush!

We were met by our very charismatic tour guide, Brett. He has lived in both Melbourne and The Bush and is an all-around Outback kind of guy. Interesting fact about Brett, he grew up in lighthouses. His dad was a Light House Keeper. We were shocked, we didn't even know that was a thing.

It was a beautiful 45 minute drive from Downtown Melbourne to The Australian Bush.

Our first stop on our Walkabout took us to Serendip.

The objective of the morning was to find as many Wallaby's and Kangaroos as possible.

Less than 5 minutes into Serendip, Brett spots a wallaby, who has spotted us and is very alert to our presence. Brett couldn't believe we found our first Wallaby that fast. He says that he can go months without seeing wallaby's.

Once we spotted the wallaby from afar it was time to go full on "Steve Erwin". It wouldn't be a walkabout if we didn't get out and actually walk about. We had strict instructions, stay close and stay quite. He obviously has no idea how loud our family is. Wallaby's have great hearing so she knew we were there. As we got close we saw her Joey dash off into the woods. When wallaby's are on edge, they will be in an upright position as she is, our job was to act as though we were walking away from her to make her more relaxed.

The longer we stayed the more relaxed she became and had a seat and really didn't worry about us being there. She was not afraid and we were able to get really close.

On our way back to the van, Brett spotted something high in a tree. It was a possum enjoying an afternoon nap. Possums are nocturnal animals, so he never even saw us there. 

The Bush has over 180 different Eucalyptus trees and they all have their own unique smell. Brett pulled off a few branches and told us to break them open. This particular eucalyptus tree had the most amazing aroma of lemon. He kept some to make us some tea during lunch.

Of course we had to take a photo with our amazing tour guide. This guy was awesome. If you are ever in Australia, please book a walkabout tour with him. He kept us intrigued and laughing the entire tour.

Wallaby's like to spend there time in the Bush, but it was time to head to the more open space to spot some Kangaroos. It didn't take long. As soon as we approached the open field, we spotted heads of a few kangaroo. We thought we were being quite but they had us in their sites before we ever saw them.

These kangaroos were very nervous and did not stick around long. The closer we tried to get the more kangaroos ran away.

Well dad seemed to enjoy his first taste of Kangaroo, lol. Not one piece of meat left on that bone. (Dad didn't really eat the kangaroo, we found this leg bone during our walkabout)

Here is a family of kangaroos. The male is the one that is ripped like "The Rock" and the mother is the next largest, while the Joey is standing right behind his parents.

There were also Emu's in Serendip. They were not shy about walking close to the roads and human. Interesting fact about Emu's. Male Emu's are like penguins, they sit on the Eggs after the Female Emu's birth the egg. They will not move from that spot for the entire period. They will only eat what is in their reach.

Well, we found the rest of the bones from that Kangaroo that has gone to glory. Hop on my friend, Hop on!

We found 2 geese guarding this gate like they were the Guards from Buckingham Palace.

These geese had a vibrant neon green beak which made them very unique and easy to spot.

We entered another flat area in hopes of spotting more Kangaroo that wouldn't be so quick to run away from us.

Dad trying to point out where he spotted the Kangaroo. Dominique is not seeing what dad is seeing. Brett is just happy to be out in the Bush.  

After about a mile walk we spot a group of kangaroos by a fence. They are alert to our presence but they do not seem to feel the need to hop away.

About 50 yards from the group of kangaroos, we spotted the dominant male. This dude was huge and did not have a care in the world. He was laid back and was not threatened by our presence.

As we got close the other Kangaroos hopped along but not him. He even stretched out and had a nice scratch as we got closer.

All of a sudden, we realized why he was not afraid of us. This male kangaroo was over 6 feet tall and his tail was about the size of Dad's thigh.

This guy even struck a pose for us so we could see how big his biceps were. Kangaroos use their tails like a fifth leg. It's really interesting to see them when they walk.

As we spotted one Joey hopping away, we decided to follow and see where he would lead us.

Just around a set of trees we found a jackpot of Kangaroos. It was a mob of kangaroos everywhere and they were unafraid and let us get very close.

We got to stay and watch as they interacted with one another. Kangaroos like to play fight with one another as they grow up. This prepares the boys for the battles they will encounter over their territory.

Male Kangaroos love chasing tails, literally.

We also got to see a Joey going in for an afternoon snack while his little brother or sister stayed inside and enjoyed some milk as well.

Mom and I had a blast checking out the Kangaroo Mob.

Dominique and Charm were very pleased as well. This was as close as we could get to them without them hopping away.

I love how attentive the Kangaroos are in the wild.

As we exited the field we came up on another group of kangaroos that had been tagged by Melbourne University. They let us get very close and we got awesome phots.

Kangaroos are beautiful and intelligent animals.

This little kangaroo looked deep in my soul. We made a connection, that's all I'm saying.

After our time with the Kangaroos it was time to head to the Serendip Sanctuary, our picnic area for lunch.

Nothing like that good ole hose water. When in Australia, you eat and drink like Australians, especially in the Bush. There is no Aquafina or Dasani out here. Also, shoutout to Dominique and Charm who went on a walkabout in all white shoes. They didn't let that stop them from enjoying the journey.

Dominique is having a blast on his graduation trip to Australia.

Brett is preparing us some tea and make our Australian Bush lunch.

Nothing like an old fashioned picnic.

We enjoyed a variety of sandwich's that were delicious and not too heavy.

We also had a nice variety of fruit that was sweet and juicy.

We were so hungry, we didn't care what he prepared, it was going to be eaten today.

Then it was time to try the Billy Tea. He added eucalyptus leaves to the tea as a natural flavor. (Side Note: Eucalyptus leaves are safe. DO NOT go out and purchase eucalyptus oil and pour it in your coffee. YOU WILL DIE!!)

Brett showing us the correct way to make Billy Tea. This man is bold, he is spinning boiling hot water over his head. We stayed back at a safe distance and encouraged him from afar.

We even got dessert. Here we have some Australian favorites. Lamington Cake and Anzac Biscuits. They were delicious but our favorite was to take the Anzac cookie and dip it in our Billy tea.

I think Charm enjoyed her tea and biscuit.

The roads out in the Bush are one lane roads that you have to share with other vehicles as well as all the wildlife.

Dad had a great eye and spotted some tropical birds relaxing on some tree limbs. All the birds in Australia have so many vibrant colors.

The morning was designated for finding wallaby's and kangaroos, so after lunch we headed to the You Yangs Regional Park to search for our friends that live in high places, Koalas.

This young Koala was very afraid of us and would not stick her head out to say hello. She clung to that tree and didn't let us see her face.

Spotting Koala's was much harder than finding kangaroos. They hide so high in trees and it is hard to tell the difference between an actual Koala or a birds nest. If we look very covered, it isn't because it is cold. The You Yangs had a fair share of large annoying mosquitos.

We were very sad to find one of Brett's long time friends on this journey. Let's all take a moment of silence to reflect on this life gone too soon. RIP Koala Unknown

We spotted our second Koala high in another Eucalyptus tree, she was much more relaxed and showed us her face. She was very content in her tree.

Koalas are very particular animals and this bush on the ground makes it hard for them to travel from tree to tree. So we had to take the time to do our part and move some of them so she could move on to a new tree.

The bushes were very easy to move and did not take long.

Charm had a great time in the Bush, she even helped make it safer for the Koalas.

Mom started pulling bushes very quickly, but her path lead back to the car. She was not about that mosquito life. It was time to go!

This concluded our first full day in Australia and it was definitely one to remember.

What will tomorrow bring?