Yarra Valley!

Friday we took a bus tour of the Yarra Valley. Our first stop was a park with a lot of birds. People kept feeding them, and flicks of white and red birds would come down to eat. Even though we weren't feeding them, one bird landed on Terry.

 

Next was a steam train ride. I expected it to be fun, but I was a little worried that it wouldn’t be that different from any other train. Then the conductor let us know we could ride on the windowsills if we wanted! I retied my shoes so they wouldn’t fall off, and climbed out the window! It was so much fun!!! The wind was in my hair, my feet were dangling, and I was hanging out the window of a moving steam train! I discovered after I got off the train that the pretty steam had actually deposited lots of little pieces of coal on me, but it was worth it!

Then we went to a winery for lunch. I now know that wineries plant a rose at the end of each row of vines. If there is some problem with the vines, it will show up in the roses first, giving the owners some time to fix the problem.

 Then we went to the Healesville Animal Sanctuary. It was filled with only Australian animals. They were contained, but it had a much more natural feel than a zoo. We saw kangaroos, platypuses, dingos, wallabies, a lyre bird, and more koalas. I couldn’t get a good picture of a platypus, but I was surprised by how small they are. I was expecting something the size of a beaver, but they’re much smaller.

We got to see Kangaroos!

"A dingo ate my baby!"

I was also surprised by dingoes. They look like dogs or wolves. Our guide said that compared to most animals in Australia, the dingo is a recent addition. It's thought that they may have come from Japan, and been traded here by humans. Our guide also explained that all of the problems between humans and dingoes could be solved if people would quit feeding them.

Friday night we went out into the Docklands for a production of Macbeth. The play was in a huge shed, which was quite hard to find, but once we were there, we felt as though we'd stumbled upon something really cool. There were small stages set up all around the shed, and we, the audience, stood up and walked from one to another as the action moved. Luckily, they had seats in front of the biggest stage, so whenever the action was inside Macbeth's castle we could sit down. It was a really awesome production! I've seen Macbeth before, but it's never been one of my favorites. I think it is one of my favorites now.

Macbeth