It’s Sunday morning. We’re out at Phillip Island, where there’s no broadband Internet so I wrote this on the back porch and posted it later. It’s a beautiful place, but I’ll get to that part soon.
Phillip Island is where Clinton’s family owns a beach house. He’d had been reluctant to add a rental car to the expenses he’s incurred so it looked as if we’d have to skip a visit. When I awoke in Melbourne it occured to me that a trip here would actually save the company money. There was no way a rental car would be more expensive than the $300AUD per night for a hotel. Thus the trip was on.
I called Clinton with the news, whereby he quickly made the arrangements for the car. While he did that, I wandered out to find breakfast and a speedy Internet connection. From a food court three blocks from the hotel I enjoyed a nice muffin and dirt-cheap VoIP calls to the States. It was around eleven when I walked back to the hotel.
Saturday was Clinton’s mother’s birthday, so we joined her and her best friend for lunch in the up-and-coming Docklands area of Melbourne. Ah, nothing like a noontime beer to make one feel part of the culture! We ate at a Mediterranean cafe on the water called Mecca Bah, where I enjoyed a garlic chicken kabob.
It was around 2 PM before we hit the road north. Clinton drove his mom’s well-worn Mercedes, his mom rode in the back, and I had the “suicide seat” up front, windows down to mitigate the 32*C autumn heat. For the first time since my visit started, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, so I dozed for ten minutes.
First stop was Clinton’s house, where he would pick up his laptop. He had locked his keys inside on his way out earlier that morning, so the actual first step would be getting into his house. His mom had helpfully given him a bag of keys she’d collected from her house, but none worked. To get inside, Clinton climbed through an open bathroom window. Ah, these hardy Aussies! Would the Crocodile Hunter walk through the front door? Crikey, no! He’d climb through the window, knife in his teeth, and wrestle with the window screen like it was an angry boa constrictor. Aussies don’t just walk through the door, mate. They live for the drama!
Clinton’s home was much like any single geek’s home: comfortable and full of gadgets of one sort or another. I was particularly proud of his room dedicated to geek pursuits: cables, computers, and electronics scattered from one end to another. Impressive!
We went from there to his parents’ home, five minutes away. There I met his dad, who gave me a look at the beautifully-restored, 50s-style antique car in his garage. Though I forget the name of the model, it was the first car built and sold in Australia. It even clocked distance in miles, rather than kilometers, which goes to show how old it is.
We had no time for a spin, however, so we took our rental car south to Phillip Island, arriving in a little over an hour. Along the way, I set up my newly-acquired Microsoft GPS and mapping software and was surprised to see it did cover Australia’s towns, if not the roads themselves. It was fun to see just how far south we were.
Arriving at Phillip Island, Clinton first took me to his favorite beach, which was farther than the beachhouse. We walked down thirty steps from a scenic cliff to the flat beach overlooking the Indian Ocean. The beach reminded me of one in America’s Pacific Northwest: high cliffs, rocky outcroppings, and few beachgoers out enjoying it.
The Indian Ocean! I couldn’t resist sticking my hand in it. It had been fifteen years since I’d sailed it and I thought I’d have to go to Perth to see it again. While it looked calm from the surface, I know its teeming with life. Lots of stuff unfriendly to man call the Indian Ocean home.
Getting to the beach house, we put our stuff inside and broke out the potato chips. I was getting a headache, so we ventured out to find some ibuprofen and dinner (it was 6PM or so). A visit to a convenience store got the pills I needed and directions to a good “fish and chipsery.” Off we went.
Clinton also had a headache at that point and wanted to get the fish “take-away,” but changed his mind once it was in hand. We sat at the wooden table outside while we watched a parade of tourists and locals descend on the restaurant. I marveled at our timing as we devoured two boxes of swordfish, “flake” fish, fries and vegetables. It was just what I needed.
We went back to the beachhouse and sat in front of the TV. We were killing time before Phillip Island’s “penguin parade” was to begin. On channel ten was the movie Matilda, starring Danny Devito. It was about a little girl with psychokenetic powers. Not too deep, but entertaining nonetheless. At least it seemed that way to this weary traveler!
Around 8:45 we went out to see the “penguin parade,” when dozens of penguins make their way up the beach to nest at a local wildlife park. It’s a very popular event with the tourists: there were over 2,000 people there to see the penguins make their long waddle out of the surf and into the dunes. We timed out trip to occur near the end of the parade when the penguin/people ratio was a bit more favorable. There were still throngs of people along the dimly-lit boardwalk though the dunes on either side were alive with chittering penguins.
Squinting in the dark, we could make out penguins here and there among the dunes. They would simply be standing there, backs turned to the crowd, seemingly happy to snooze among all the attention. It wasn’t like Seaworld where they’d do backflips or anything. After five minutes of watching a penguin sleep, you’ve pretty much seen it all.
We did see penguins waddling here and there. A half-dozen splashed out of the water when we went to the beach end of the boardwalk. They made their way up the dunes with surprising quickness. Others waddled next to the boardwalk as we made our way back out of the park.
No photography was permitted there so unfortunately a written description will have to suffice.
We went back to the beachhouse and straight to the backyard, where the most incredible show was taking place: the night sky. It was so dark on Phillip Island that galaxies were plainly visible with the naked eye. We sat in the darkness and took it all in. Surprisingly, in the half hour we were out there, I didn’t see one satellite pass by. Not even one manmade vehicle, in fact. It was stars and planets, as far as you could see. Absolutely beautiful. After taking that in, I bid goodnight to Clinton and retired to my room, where I read a book until about 11.
When I woke up in the night, I was astounded at how dark it was. We were out at the beach on a sparsly-populated island. The nights were dark. Of course, the awning was pulled over the window, too, which I didn’t realize until morning, but regardless it was dark. I’m not used to sleeping in such darkness and silence.
My alarm clock this morning was the unusual bird calls from the local birds. No robins or chickadees here: it was squawking seagulls and birds I couldn’t identify. Part of the fun of Australia is the sound of it. You know you’re someplace exotic even with your eyes closed.
Once Clinton was awake we went out for breakfast, heading to the Euphoria Gallery Cafe in town of Cowes. As we ate bacon and eggs, I read the travel section of the newspaper. The writer was visiting Tuscany, and described a cafe in Volterra that I visited this time last year. It was fun thinking of that fascinating, fun visit while I was enjoying this one.
We walked through the tourist shop and then went out to the pier, where I took pictures of the gorgeous coast. Then we went to see The Nobbies. No, it’s not a strip bar. It’s a group of rock outcroppings just off the shore. It was here that reconfirmed my comparison to the Pacific Northwest coast. The rocks looked similar to the ones I’ve seen on the beaches of Oregon.
We wandered along the walkway. I took pictures of everything imaginable, as there was fantastic scenery everywhere I looked. Some other tourists were looking under the boardwalk at something which turned out to be penguins. The park rangers had built little coops for them under the walkway. I took my only penguin pictures here.
We debated going to see the koalas at the koala reserve but decided to head back to the Melbourne airport. Good thing, too, as we checked in about twenty-five minutes before our scheduled departure. Fortunately for us the flight was delayed half an hour, so we spent the time in the food court.
Back in Sydney we waited for my bags, then we took the train into town. I realized after a few stops that I could have walked to my hotel from a previous stop, so I parted with Clinton and checked into my hotel. He’s off to get his car before meeting me for dinner, which will happen any time now.
I’m in Sydney for the rest of my trip. I’ll miss the Melbourne area. I didn’t see as much as I wanted to, but what I did see was spectacular. It all means I’ll have to spend more time here on a future trip.