A Teacher's Paradise

Hi all. Happy birthday, Bill!

Well...we did not climb Sydney Harbour Bridge, but we did walk over it. Maybe we will climb it on our return visit to Sydney. Also, we did not get swept away by a tsunami. They did stop the ferries for a bit, but mostly Australia learned that it is not prepared for a tsunami!

We continue to see many groups of school children, all in uniform (public or private school), on tours. There is so much to see! Most are visiting the wildlife, as are we. We went to Taronga Zoo where we saw all the marsupials (koala, kangaroo, wallaby,wombat) all up close and personal. We also saw a Komodo Dragon big enough to ride, and a kookaburra. When I saw the kookaburra, I was instantly transported back to Mrs. Hogg's grade six class, listening to music class on the radio, and I burst into song "Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree, Merry merry king of the bush is he, laugh kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra, gay your life must be, ha, ha, ha." Ross had no idea what I was singing!

The aquarium in Darling harbour gave us underwater views of sharks, seals, huge rays, and a great preview of the Great Barrier Reef. The challenge was for all the kids to find Nemo and his friends - I found them all!

We took the overnight train to Melbourne. The highlight was a trip last night to Phillip Island (much like the Isle of Wight we are told, and many places on it have the same name). We saw the little penguins (1 kg., 30 c. tall) make their nightly trek out of the ocean to their nests on the cliffs. They wait until dark, then decided whether or not it is safe to cross the beach. One group decided three times to try the beach, then got spooked and ran (waddled) back to the safety of the ocean. It was fascinating - the most interesting thing I have seen so far!

Today we fly to Hobart, Tasmania, where we will spend a week. More news from there! Happy Easter everyone!