24 January 2015 ~ Australian Open & The Bush

Listening to:  George Ezra ~ Cassy O'


I had to go to Melbourne this week for work. It was the start of the Australian Open, so after work on Wednesday we went for general admission seats.

We didn't get into any match as the longs were too long, but we did sit in the lawn area and watch on the big screen. We watched the 2 Aussies play, and Groth won. Then we watched the Nadal match. Hearing the crowd reactions and just being in the setting provided a good vibe.

So if you were watching on tv and thought you saw me in the crowd, it was possible due to this airplane overhead cam.

Melbourne seems to have a mellower, more "hippy" scene going on than Sydney. They even give the trees sweaters, despite the high temperatures and humidity.

I tried a new beer, Fat Yak Pale Ale.

Yesterday I took a 4WD trip to the bush, approximately 1 1/2 hours drive to the southern highlands area. We were on the lookout for the Aussie Big 5: kangaroo, emu, wombat, platypus, koala.

Kangaroos just stop to watch us and then hop away.

This mum has a joey in her pouch. Early explorers described them as two-headed animals.

Emus snacking on the grass.

A wombat came out early from its tunnel for a snack.

We barely found a koala, and this was the only video/picture I could get, hiding between the leaves. This is a koala I took at a refuge center last weekend.

http://youtu.be/TxJ2Vx5lDi0

The platypus alluded us at the river bank. In the dark we saw opossum, owl and wallaby.