New Year's Day

[fbhjr]

It was another cloudy day in Melbourne. I apologize to everyone in the area for my weather curse to be working so well...


We set off about 10AM New Year's Day, and were surprised they still had breathalyzer stations set up on the roads.


We headed out to Healesville for our raincheck wombat patting.
This time we knew the way.

(We both said that it was clear this isn't Wales as people didn't slow down to 10kph in the tunnel...)

As we had seen 95% of the sanctuary before it was evacuated, we decided to stop in Healesville itself and look around.
It was a bit strange when folks point out "one of the oldest buildings" and I realized it was a year younger than my grandfather...

(Yes, my grandfather was born in 1885...)

They had clearly redone the sidewalks recently.


Because it was New Year's Day, a lot of shops and places to eat in town were closed. But, they were having a market day behind the Main Street, so we went to that.


There was some interesting things, but most were things we couldn't bring home on the plane with us.
So, we headed back to the car.

We did notice that some of the holiday decorations are slightly different than at home.


As on Wednesday, most of the animal encounters were sold out. I'm glad we had pre-bought tickets.
For some reason the python is not popular...


We never see this sign at the zoos at home...


It looked like most of what we didn't see when we were here Wednesday was statues and things more about the aboriginals.



The animal we didn't get to see was the dingo. So we saw them. Well, sort of. They hid a bit.


My wife looked at some of the birds too.



We saw some big clothes pins. So, once upon a time there must have been giants here...


We did stop by the reptile house. Last time it had been very crowded and we decided not to go in. This time is was practically empty.



Then, off to the wombats.


There were 6 people in the wombat encounter group. A family with fairly small kids and us.
Maggie the wombat seemed friendly.


But, did hide behind the keeper a bit.


It was not that hard to lure her out.


Wombats like to hide under things. Like the guy sitting across from me.


But, bribery works.


So, the wombat was patted.


And, we certainly got to meet the wombat in person.



Then Maggie was left alone with her treats to wait for the next group of wombat letters.


We headed back to Melbourne.


We had agreed to meet two of my wife's friends for dinner. It was raining and the tram directions involved changing lines three times. So, we ended up driving.
And, I got to drive on Batman's normal road...


We met them over in an area near the university.


There is a fair bit of street art in that area.






We explored the street some before settling on a cider place for dinner.

http://www.theciderhouse.com.au


After dinner we set off for an ice cream place they knew.


There were some impressive buildings along the way.


It was quite a nice place that had a lot of dairy free frozen deserts. I really liked that.

http://www.gelatomessina.com/au/
Then, back a few streets to where we began.


It was a nice visit.


Probably because it was New Year's Day, the place we parked was not full and we had no problem finding out car.

I am glad of that as it made the drive across the city easier. I'm sure it would have been much more difficult on a weekday.

Comments

[touchofgr3y.livejournal.com]

Wombat petting! So glad you were able to make it happen - and you got some AWESOME photos!

[twicet.livejournal.com]

I am really enjoying the photographs of your trip:)

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

aawww the wombat seems to enjoy the petting too ♥

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

I think you should frame the photos of you and your wife with Maggie

[meathiel]

Yay wombat ... :D
Glad you managed to do the pet a wombat thing.

[yesididit2.livejournal.com]

love the kangaroos pulling the sleigh! thats awesome. and yay for finally getting to pet the wombats!

[brickhousewench.livejournal.com]

So did your hands smell like womabat after the petting? (I always notice when I smell like dog or ferret or horse...)

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I didn't notice a specific one. My wife might have as she has a much better sense of smell than I do.
I also didn't go out of my way to sniff. I'm allergic to a lot of stuff, and we went and washed our hands right after th petting.

[hindustar.livejournal.com]

awww!

Wonderful =)

[cissa.livejournal.com]

Great pics and stories! Thank you!

Have you read the novel "Witch and Wombat"? If not, I may have an extra copy. I thought it was a lot of fun.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I do not know that one.
I'll look for it. And, if you do come across an extra copy...