The Castle Villa by the Sea Cowes

... to get up when the wave breaks, but our taken back by the wave into the ocean and they have to try again. When they do manage to reach the shore, they wait for each other and then when everybody is there, they all run to the sand dunes. They look like a little army. They currently are in mating season, so we were lucky to see two of them getting at it, screaming their heart out!!

... that you have to pay to see wild penguins and koalas (next time I will probably still pay just to see it). Thumbs up for Valentino Rossi also, I hope I can make it to the Moto GP here in October! There is a shack for sales just next to the Jetty in Cowes. Ideas, Ideas! Sunset on Phillip Island... Cowes, not really the heart of the nightlife, most of the bars closed at 8.30! A comforting Guinness at an Irish Pub in a converted ...

... up a signed poster and the tickets were handed out to him. Simple as that. Hey presto, we were off to the Moto GP. A friend of Michael's has a holiday house by the sea. A great place to hang out after 'a day at the track'! Casey Stoner won the event much to the delight of the Aussies while Valentino Rossi came second but won the championship - much to the delight of the Italians!

... worked on the bumper but the hammer didn't help at all. Oh well. On the way to Phillip Island we went past the giant worm attraction (didn't stop), across the short bride and onto the Phillip Island tourist center. There we got a list of campsites and purchased tickets for the Penguin Parade. We paid $10 more and got the penguin plus package which allowed you to sit in a smaller seating area right next to the penguin ...

... wendy at home again - they ever so kindly fed us with a fabulous roast dinner inc. Yorkshire puddings!! We really appreciated that and hope we can return the favour next weekend when they are not too busy with work... got to see everyones big efforts in the garden- it has improved so much since xmas - well done harry, Julia and peter- the job's a good un! Also, great to talk to dad and Julia - sorry about your phone bill!

... s later) and it was amazing to witness what rainwater and limestone and thousands of years can produce. On the way stopped at an interesting Aboriginal Museum in Bairnsdale. The history of the settler's interaction with the Aboriginal people is interesting, but they are now stressing recognition of Aboriginal culture and have been trying to settle differences since the 1860's. Well ahead of the US recognition and ...

... the bus dropped me off. idiot. It was really nice when I got there. I got a 4-share room which was a nice break from the ten person dorms. too many people around all the time. Turns out it was just me and this really cool Austrian guy who was travelling on his bike and had just come from Chile. We had our own bathroom and everything. (which is a big deal by now)

... name terms with Ryan Maloney, who plays Toadfish in Neighbours. Bless him; he's coming to my leaving drinks next week. I met him a couple of months ago when he came into the pub to promote his new Neighbours night. You see, for the first time the official (and ****) Neighbours night has some competition, as some of the 'key' cast members (and we're talking genuine 90s gold like Toadfish, Harold Bishop, Stefan Dennis and that Skye who was Joe Mangels' kid and has grown up to ...

... that the entries have been 'started'. Speaking of Obi-Wan, he's here in Melbourne at the moment. We wanted to have a couple of face to face days so we could sit down and plan the next few months, and as my job doesn't really do things like 'time off', he was good enough to come to me. I'm sure we got some damn good planning done, but the highlight was certainly brushing the dust and cobwebs off Bruce Cambell and wheeling him out for a night of alcoholism and poker ...

... for you Teresa!) a call tomorrow to make sure but as long as I send the stuff in from outside Oz my visa should still be vaild and I can come back and work here in a year! So, all in all a good two days! Now it's probably up to Brisbane next week for a week or so (thanks to cheap flights from Jetstar... any discount for the free advert?!) and then over to Christchurch to finally try to work for pay! I'm not sure ...