Wagga Wagga?

Of course, the morning we left Tasmania was spectacularly beautiful and sunny, but that's only to be expected.  We had an early morning drive from Lonnie to Devonport, and then we had a flight back to Melbourne.  Rainy, cold Melbourne.  We had such a long day of traveling, we didn't feel much up to the sites, so we just ran some errands, picked up dinner at Lord of the Fries, and hung out at the hotel.  And for those of you wondering--while Lord of the Fries had phenomenal fries, I don't think it would do well in the States.  We realized after we ordered our burgers and fries that it is a vegan restaurant, so our burgers weren't actually made out of meat.  They pile on the toppings, so I don't know that it tastes all that different from a McDonald's hamburger, but I doubt Americans will ever willingly (and knowingly) buy a vegan hamburger.  But the fries were outstanding.  And, I finally got to watch Neighbours--a famous Australian soap opera that has been on for years. 

Wagga Wagga

Continuing our trip up the coast, the next morning (the 4th of July--turns out no one celebrates it here, but I wore red, white and blue any way--which reminds me--does anyone know if Australia had to fight for its independence?) we hopped on a train and began our trek north.  The trains in Australia are pretty slow (slower even than Amtrak, if that's possible).  Thus, the trip to Canberra, Australia's capital, would have been about ten hours, so we decided to stop halfway in a town called Wagga Wagga.  Apparently, the name is a Wiradjuri (the local native people) word for "place of many crows"--or "dancing like a drunk man."  Unfortunately, our stay in Wagga Wagga involved neither dancing nor drinking.  The good news is that it is much warmer in the north, so the weather was beautiful, and the people we ran into were very nice.  I have noticed in my travels that people in smaller towns tend to be a lot friendlier than those in larger towns, but I suppose that is true in the US as well.

Female Red Kangaroos

After arriving in Wagga Wagga, we wandered around town for a bit and checked out the botanical gardens and the zoo.  And, there, we unexpectedly saw our first kangaroos, wallabies, and emus.  Funny enough, while the female kangaroos were up and wandering around and feeding the baby kangaroos, the male kangaroos were dozing in the sun.  Doing nothing.  I suppose there are certain behaviors that transcend all species.  **Paul wants everyone to know that he disagrees with my conclusion.  As always, I feel a little strange about visiting zoos.  Part of me thinks that they are cruel and that the animals should be running free in the wild, but part of me also thinks that if I were an animal and my choice was to be kept in a pen with my buddies and get three meals a day and shelter without having to worry about becoming someone's meal, I would choose the zoo over life in the wild any day.  But who knows?

Paul

On Saturday, we headed to the rail station early to drop off our bags and had a nice chat with the rail employee.  It never ceases to amaze me how nice people are! Then we headed to breakfast at a place called Mick's Bakehouse, where we had an amazing breakfast. If any of you ever make it through to Wagga Wagga, you have to stop at Mick's.  The food was fantastic.   And then we went to the railroad station to head to Canberra.  Tune in later for more on Canberra.

Male Red Kangaroos Sleeping

White Peacock

Gray Kangaroos

Gray Kangaroos

Very Curious Kangaroo

Swamp Wallaby

Black Swan

Emu

Emu