We have been slacking on posting, in part because we are feeling kind of relaxed, in part because we have done very little, and in part because we don’t have much in the way of pictures.
The last two days have been relaxing, as we wandered through the hills and countryside to make our way back to Melbourne for our next flight to Sydney. We have seen new animal crossing signs. Instead of the usual kangaroo crossing or koala crossing signs, these road signs are apparently for wombat crossings. We found this out during a nice chat with a gardener at a beautiful local park. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any wombats yet, not even any roadkills. We have seen several kangaroos on the side of the road that appeared to have been hit by cars. We have been warned not to drive at night due to the chance of hitting a kangaroo. Two kangaroos tried to get hit by our car, but Dave adroitly navigated to avoid hitting the jumping animals (and they are fast!)
We did a few small hikes of just a couple of miles, but nothing too strenuous. We have enjoyed watching and listening to the various local birds. Seeing all the cockatoos, parrots and the colorful rosellas in flight is really a treat, as is their lyrical calling and squawking. Lunch yesterday was at an outdoor café that allowed us to again practice social distancing while still getting a bite to eat. For our last night, we stayed near Melbourne at a hotel that seemed to be empty except for a handful of people. The airport was equally ghost town-like.
For the next three weeks we will be in Sydney, Australia, where we hope to explore the local national parks, while avoiding contact with people as much as possible. The AirBnB is small with small kitchen facilities so our biggest exposure will be the grocery store trips. We are happy and healthy…and want to stay that way. We are obviously in uncertain times, but we will continue to do as much as we safely can, and as much as we are allowed to do. We are following the news and the various countries’ warnings and restrictions. We don’t know what the future will bring, nor where we will be allowed to go or where we will be forced to stay. As long as we have each other, our health, and decent internet connections, we will be happy. (Oh, yeah, and Dave’s rule that a fat boy’s gotta eat!) We will be in the same place for the next 3 weeks, so that should give us time to rest, relax and assess our situation.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!
