|
Beautiful butterflies abound at the Melbourne Zoo.
| One of the many species of birds who make their home at the zoo, right in the city.
| Our first koala sighting, yes, at the zoo, but still fun to see nonetheless.
| The koala bear is a pretty cute looking marsupial, all things considered.
| We saw another platypus, and marvelled again at its unique features, like its duck's bill and webbed, clawed feet.
|
Ring-tailed lemurs were also on display, here huddling together for warmth.
| In Chinatown, we bought some BBQ duck to bring home for dinner one day.
| We caught a show in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival; Black and Tran was the name of the hilarious performance we saw.
| Famous Flinders Street Station in the Central Business District of Melbourne. One of the City Circle trams can also be seen on the right.
| We couldn't help but do the typical tourist thing by snapping a giant picture of ourselves in Federation Square.
|
Federation Square is home to some controversial modern architecture.
| One of Melbourne's famous landmarks, the Victorian Arts Center spire.
| We had a pleasant walk along Melbourne's Southbank Arts and Leisure Precinct.
| Crowded Victoria Market on Saturday morning, where everything can be found from fish to boomerangs to fruit.
| There was plenty of fresh seafood available, as well as fresh meat and produce.
|
Another section of the Victoria Market had all kinds of specialty stores like this Dips and Antipasto shop...
| ... and this specialty meats and sauces store.
| Some of the unique architecture of historic Nelson Place, Willamstown.
| The city of Melbourne can be seen from Jem Pier.
| The city center is full of interesting walking malls and alleyways full of cafes.
|
The view from Baraka Viewpoint overlooking Halls Gap in the central Grampians.
| We had the famous Balconies all to ourselves, even though it was almost Easter Weekend.
| Winston kind of snuck past the barrier to get a closer look at the Balconies. Oops.
| There were all kinds of interesting rock formations around the Grampians, about three hours west of Melbourne.
| Even though there was relatively little water, Mckenzie Falls was still quite attractive.
|
Posing in front of Mckenzie Falls.
| Jen laughing at something while taking a break to admire the view.
| There were many interesting rock formations near the top of the hike to the Pinnacle.
| Winston looks over the edge of the cliff at the Pinnacle, a spectacular lookout point on the end of a rock outcrop.
| The Pinnacle was a fantastic place to survey the surrounding scenery and the valley below.
|
Jen takes a break to view the valley below against a solid blue sky.
| Leaving the Grampians in the afternoon to head south, we quickly enter flat farmland.
| The lighthouse at Port Fairy welcomes the morning sun at the beginning of our Great Ocean Road drive.
| The rock formation called the London Bridge was once connected to the mainland just a few years ago.
| The Arch is one of the attractions along the coast of Port Campbell National Park.
|
This stretch of land was called the Shipwreck Coast for the simple reason that many ships were lost here in rough seas.
| These limestone formations are carved by years of tidal action and wind.
| The famous Twelve Apostles, of which there are only ten left. Every tourist to Great Ocean Road probably has this shot.
| The rock formations reminded us of the similar formations off the Oregon Coast.
| We spotted a few wild koalas munching on eucalyptus leaves along the way.
|
Great Ocean Road was fun to drive with its winding route and fantastic scenery.
| We stopped briefly at Bell's Beach to check out the surfing scene.
| The surfing World Championship Tournament, Ripcurl Pro, was happening while we were there.
| The crowds were gone and the sun was setting, but there were a few die-hard surfers in the water.
| We watched these incredibly talented surfers get in a few practice runs before evening fell.
|