Kangaroos and Wombats and Penguins, oh my!

The weekend was finally upon us. We had discussed several options for weekend plans, and despite our Aussie co-workers' raised-eyebrow reactions to our final decision, we were ecstatic about our trip to see the penguins at Phillip Island (apparently it's very much the Melbourne touristy thing to do, similar to Atlanta and the World of Coke). We had also decided to visit the National Park in Wilson's Promontory, the southernmost point of Aussie mainland, in hopes of seeing a few kangaroos and wombats. So we booked a cottage, rented a car, mapped out our trip, and off we went that Saturday morning.

Lane was lucky driver #1 - she actually volunteered, despite the looming challenges of driving on the other side of the road. She maneuvered our little Corolla slowly and carefully, and took the "hook turns" (the infamous right turn, found only in Melbourne) with ease and confidence. Once we finally made it outside the city, Carson took over as driver, adopting a more aggressive, speed-up-around-the-mountain-curves approach. A little scary, but Lane and I were too mesmorized by the scenery to notice.

As we drove through the hills full of sheep and cows, I was reminded of Meagan's stories of Ireland. About an hour and a half into our adventure, not entirely sure we were on the right path, we stopped in the small town of Longwarry to ask for directions. By small, I mean one round-about intersection, a hotel, and a grocery store. It seemed as if the whole town of Longwarry (about 20 people) showed up to witness this comical scene, as the elderly store owner, a nice old man who "loved accents", pointed out to us three young tourists how far off our intended path we actually were. Check getting lost off the list.

Several hours later, close to dusk, we arrived at our small cottage near Wilson's Prom. Good thing Lane had thought to bring a box of pasta, some spaghetti sauce, and a box of cereal, otherwise we would have been in serious trouble.

Our cottage was fantastic, and only 40 steps from the water! On the right is the view we had from our deck in the morning - it was so serene and beautiful! We spent the first part of Sunday walking around the bay, enjoying the sun and the warmth.

And we were off again, headed toward Wilson's Prom and the National Park. And guess what - I actually drove, and pretty well might I add!

We actually managed to take a timed picture of the three of us at one of the inlets along the way to "Prom country". We finally made it to the National Park, paid our car-for-one-day fee, and drove straight through to the southernmost tip, Tidal River.
We grabbed some food and asked the tour guide how we should best spend what little time we had. After a few laughs and pictures with the parrots outside the restaurant (yes, that is a parrot on my head ), we set off to find the rainforest of Lilly Pilly Gully. How can you pass up a place named Lilly Pilly Gully. It was so cute, like a scene straight out of Fern Gully.

Above, there's Lane to the left, and Carson and I somehow managed to climb on top a large rock. After Lilly Pillying for an hour and a half, we had just enough time left to hunt down some kangas. We stumbled upon the Kangaroo hangout, and were completely deceived at first glance as to how many of them were actually in the field. Kangaroos blend in very easily with the brush, but there had to have been close to 100, maybe more, in their natural habitat in this large field.

We had a great time seeing how close we could get to the kangas, immitating them, running after them - we later found out that kangaroos can be dangerous when threatened. No worries, mate. We even spotted a couple wombats, which look like chubby koalas that run kinda funny.

We spent as much time with the kangaroos as we could, but had to get going to make it to Phillip Island in time to see the penguins. They come out on the beach right at dusk, so we couldn't be late, and given our previous directions mis-hap, we decided to give ourselves a little time buffer, just in case. We stopped by the southernmost vineyard in Australia mainland, Warratah Hills, before continuing on our way to the island.

We made it to Phillip Island with an hour to spare, but unfortunately we were not allowed to take any pictures once the penguins came out. It was difficult even for us to see the little guys, so a picture probably wouldn't have done them justice anyway. We sat right on the water's edge and waited anxiously until dusk, all the while trying to stay warm with our blankets and hot chocolate. There's Lane and I to the right - a picture really is worth a thousand words.
Sure enough, the first "Little Penguin" was spotted, and swam up from the ocean, waddled onto the sand, and signaled for the others to follow. They are timid creatures, and are rightfully named, as they average about 30 cm in height. They made their way across the sand and behind the pier in groups of 10-20, toward their homes, which resembled little cardboard box hotels that the shelter had built for them. During the summer time, 1000+ penguins swim to shore each night, but during the winter they stay in the ocean on longer fishing trips, so only 100-200 make it to shore nightly. They were really cute, and we were able to get a closer view as we walked back along the pier.

It was a great first weekend, the best I could have hoped for! We were lucky enough to see kangaroos, wallabees (basically a small kangaroo, which we at first mistook for baby joeys), wombats, penguins, emus, and exotic parrots. No koalas, but we did have a Carson-wala sighting :) I hope you've enjoyed this post, I know it was a little long, but there was a lot to show and tell. And now, it's time to sleep, so I bid you good night. Cheers!

She Works Hard for the Money....

So I made it through my first week of work in Melbourne. I was afraid that my co-workers were beginning to think I was a narcoleptic, seeing as how I practically feel asleep at my desk every day around 2pm like clockwork. But my stream lead, David, a South African transplant of 11 years, reassured me that it takes all the ex-pats, as they call us, about a week to get adjusted. He was right.

My office is a 25 minute walk from my apartment, or a 5 minute taxi ride. I was ambitious the first couple of days, taking in the fresh, smog-free air on my strolls to and from the office. I even got lost one evening and ended up seeing quite a bit of the city - some things never change :)

Our office building is nice, lots of suits and ties and heels clicking down the marble hallway. Amdocs sits on the 25th floor - I've posted a picture of the view we have from our office window. The Yarra River runs through the city and can be seen from our office, though you can't see it too well in this picture.

I really like my project team. There are three John's, so we have to get creative with nicknames. So far, I've been doing mostly training, but I'm sure more action than I'm hoping for will come my way soon enough. Our client, Telstra, is the largest communication services provider in Australia, and the "Transformation" project that we are all a part of is the largest project, in terms of money and manpower, in Australian telecom history.

So, there's work. Then there's after work - and Australians like to celebrate the fact that it's after work. Take a close look at the sign on the left, from the doorstep of the European Bier Cafe. I thought the first line was a joke, and thus took a picture before someone explained to me that a thong is actually a flip-flop down here. Quite a funny translation blunder.

I Made it to Melbourne!

My weekend was a bit of a blur, but I arrived in Melbourne (Melbun, if you're Aussie) in one piece and with all my luggage this morning. My departure out of Atlanta Friday morning put me in LA at 1pm, at which point I spent the day enjoying LA (that's my friend Anh and I above, after biking up to Palos Verdes) before departing at 11:40 Friday night. Fifteen hour flight later + fourteen hour time difference = goodbye Saturday, hello Sunday morning 8am in Melbourne. That's 6pm Saturday evening, Atlanta time. Trust me, the experience was as confusing as its recount. I did manage to sleep quite a bit on the flight, even more than I sleep at home sometimes :) So I arrived wide awake, ready for an adventure. I guess you could say my taxi ride from the airport to my apartment was an adventure. Australians drive on the left side of the road, so I don't think I"ll try that any time soon, seeing as how my driving abilities aren't the best to begin with in "normal" driving conditions ;)

2.bp.blogspot.com/_EFnRjkRXmpo/RrYhA-f2eMI/AAAAAAAAAAs/JhfqVBWsSQA/s1600-h/Picture+030.jpg">My apartment is great! It's very modern, white, and simple - you can see my kitchen on the left. To the left of my suitcase is an all-in-one washer/dryer, which should be quite interesting to try and figure out. The picture on the right is the city view I have from my balcony! Also, after careful inspection, I was disappointed to find that my toilet does not flush counterclockwise - or anticlockwise, as they call it down here - but rather, straight down.

I spent the day walking around the city with my friend Lane, a fellow Alpha Chi at Georgia Tech, and now a co-worker who was shipped down here after one week with Amdocs. It was chilly, about 50, so we brought our coats. Apparently, August is a windy month in Melbourne, but they tell me the weather will start getting quite nice around mid/late September. Our first stop was the Queen Victoria Market, about two blocks away. Hilla, you would love this place! A little pricy though, a kg. of cherries cost $10AUD. The exchange rate right now is $1USD : $1.17AUD.

After we left the market, we ran into a couple of camels in the middle of the street. Carson later informed us that camels are actually quite abundant in Australia. You don't say.

There were quite a lot of people out and about enjoying the day. The demographics here are interesting - lots of Asians. The city (CBD) is fairly small and planned better when compared to the Atlanta metro area. You can walk from one end to the other, and it is split into ethnic districts - Chinatown, Greek streets, Little Italy. The fashion is also interesting. I believe Melbourne got stuck somewhere in the 80's - I don't think I've ever seen so many leggings, boots, and brightly-colored, oversized sweaters in my life. But the people here are so nice and friendly!

We also took a stroll to my new office. Behind the cathedral in the picture on the left, you can see three buildings. The tall skyscraper in the middle is the Telstra office, our telecom client down here. The left-most building is our new Amdocs office, which is where I'll be working. I'm quite excited to be able to walk to work, a new concept for me given that my previous daily commute in Atlanta was 45 miles round trip. In fact, I'm pretty excited not to have a car at all :)


Another co-worker, Sammy, who will become my salsa dancing partner down here, met up with Lane and I afterward, and we ducked into a quaint little coffee shop close to the office. That's Sammy and Lane on the right.

All-in-all, not too much of a culture shock. There's even a Target here, complete with 80's style clothes! But I am definitely feeling the jet lag (14-hour time difference), seeing as how I woke up at 4am this morning and couldn't go back to sleep. I will probably need a few doses of caffeine throughout my first day tomorrow. Till the next time, cheers!