Story of the day: Merimbula

I am now educated in the ways of Aussie wild life!! Let me tell you about the adventure this weekend up to Merimbula Beach. 5 of us from school all went to this beach for the weekend. The water is blue and beautiful! On the drive there we saw a kangaroo jump right across the road right in front of us!! It was so cool. We saw loads of bunnies and foxes too. Even a bat flew into our window at one point. It was a 6 hour drive because we had to drive on the curvy roads to get through the Great Dividing Range! My tummy wasn’t a very happy camper.
Once we got there it was bed time. But the morning brought on new adventures. The boys were all geared up for SCUBA diving and us ladies were looking forward to a great beach weekend. The sky had other plans. It was cloudy and a bit windy all weekend. So not that great for sitting on the beach. We spent the day looking in the different shops, walking along the coast of the “inlet” where the town is to the ocean side. I spotted a crab and jumped down to see if I could chase it out of its hiding place so I could get a better picture. April (originally from Ontario) thought it was hilarious and has a picture of “Anne the crab hunter”. Whatever, I think I’m cool.
That night we all went to play some mini golf. This is where I saw my first possum ever! They’re pretty cute critters.
Next day we were off for our sea adventure. We booked a dolphin watching boat ride. It was great!!! So crazy when we were actually boating out into the ocean! Something I’ve never done before. Just straight out… away from all land… into nothing but… ocean! Crazy. So we were looking down and saw jelly fish… and then looking up to see all these birds. Apparently this is how you tell where the dolphins are. So we found the dolphins. It was incredible!!! So cool!! Apparently dolphins like to play in the water that the boat displaces when we move along so there were 6 dolphins playing right up front where I was standing! I loved to see then twist in the water and show off their bellies. It was also cool when they jumped out of the water and jumped over each other and well, it was pretty much just completely mesmerizing to watch they play in general. It was so cool. The on our way back to the harbour… we saw a hammerhead shark!!! Who does that!!! I was so scared and so excited all at the same time! It wasn’t really big… but I sure had never seen a wild shark before. Then for lunch we ate at this fish and chips place… which thankfully served sandwiches, their only non- greasy item on the menu. And for dessert, a SINGLE scoop cone. Single in Australia means 1 litre. WOW!! I was in heaven. I love ice-cream and I sure just ate the biggest cone I’ve ever even seen in my live. It was soooo heavenly!
Now let me tell you about the drive home. Yes, another 6 hrs… but this seems to be the best time for spotting wildlife. Back through the Great Dividing Range and back into kangaroo land. I can’t even count how many I saw! It was so cool to watch then hop across the road! Very cool. I also saw two wombats. And four wild horses! Apparently they have loads of them in the mountains here. And needless to say… loads more bunnies.
What a great weekend. Now school has started and I’m not in vacation mode anymore. Study time. But since I picked all the “adventure eco” classes… well, today we mostly talked about the trips our classes will be taking!! J Did I mention how much I love Australia!?