The Hill of Content Phillip Island

... 8:41, so ages to go yet.

So had my curry in the van, washed up, read a little, listened to the radio with Kate Ritchie (yes her from Home and Away). And then still a little early went into the centre and after a look at the, hhmmmm, interesting displays (one of penguins mating...really), went down the boardwalk to take up my place in the stand. The penguins come up and nest in the dunes all the way up to
and past the exhibition centre, so the boardwalks are there for ...

... startled and confused. and finally got that elusive photos of a galah! So all is good with the world.l But I loved it, its a great park, and so long as you take you're time and spend some time with the critters its great value. They just that second opened a new entrance/shop, which was very posh, although did have a rather creepy animatronic koala in a case. Hmmm. Not sure about the point of that, but hey ho....the only unsettling bit was a sign ...

... the penguins. We were up on a raised boardwalk that allowed the penguins to pass beneath us. So we could watch them waddle by and climb up to their burrows. They are really good climbers! Who would have thought that penguins did that? We also saw a couple wallabies in the area. That night was beautiful. The stars were shining brightly and the milky way and southern cross were spectacular. It was also neat to hear the penguins ...

... the majority of the guests at the hotel were the BMW superbike racing team and rider Ruben Xaux (Troy Corser -another rider- also came to the hotel but stayed at his own cottage here on the island), the other guests were the manager/owner of DFX racing team and their rider Regis Laconi, and three reporters from a firm in Italy. The teams came to the restrant most nights so got to know the team quite well after a few days - Claudia (the german girl we work with) has planned to ...

... Ultimate Parade the next night. You can't shut us down! You're probably wondering what a penguin parade is. Well, the penguins have a parade every year during Thanksgiving and each family makes a giant float so that they can flaunt it down Main St and Regis Philbin comes and hosts it. No, not that kind of parade! You really believed me - I know you did. Anyway, every evening the penguins come back from their day at sea like clockwork. They must make the ...

... just kilometers from the ocean. All the grapes made us thirsty, and Jen, quite by chance decided she liked this one winery that was distant from all the others. What she didn't know is that it's seclusion, unique microclimate, and dedicated staff had managed to win the Australian Wine Producer of 2008. For those of you unfamiliar with Ozzy wines this is a big deal as Australia is loaded with wineries everywhere and the Australians themselves are quite proud of the viniculture. This ...

... it wasn't harold, but it did give me the chance to make fun of his drunkenness the night before (yes, i made fun of connor!!) In return he laughed openly at my driving license photo as the 'hi mum' sign we had made was on the back of a photocopy of our drivers licenses. Claim to fame...... In the evening we just sat and watched nieghbours...spotting all the places we had visited, and had an early night after our fun fuelled neighbours night the previous evening.

... mais faut faire un tour organise.. ca coute et en plus il commence a faire trop froid ici.. PS je tiens a criotiquer la proprete des plages australiennes.. j ai pas mal critique len amerique du sud.. mais la aussi.. j ai ramasse un neon, une bouteille d eau, des sacs plastiques, une chaussette.. quand y a pas le netoyage de l ete tous lles matins.. c est pas beaucoup mieux qu ailleurs, meme chez les champions des plages propres.. a+

... next few weeks. If so, anyone interested in coming along?' - scottwoz The Response:- '-Sounds like quite the adventure Scott. You should get one of those sideseat thingys. How fun would it be to ride around in that! In any case, the sunsets are going to be spectacular...' - whereshegoes (Travelpod.com) - 'Do it. I met a few people who cycled it so I'm sure you can motorcycle it. Just bring plenty of water and sunscreen. Also, once you ...

... me she couldn't help me, I'd have to call the 1-300 no. the woman on the 1-300 number told me I'd have to call the airport. "Phillip" from the airport told me that the noise the brakes were making was "normal for a Toyota". I assumed him we had lots of experience with corollas, and this noise was definitely not normal. He then told me to go to the office at Dandenong, and they could switch the vehicle for us. About an hour later (11.00) had finally found the Dandenong branch ...