Hello again!

So more updates are needed!!

School is starting to get a little crazy. Only three weeks left until I leave Melbourne.... I really don't want to go!!!!! I'm certain that if I don't live here, I'll come back to visit soon.

Ayla, Caitlin and I attended the Melbourne Comedy Festival on the last day. We saw a Scottish comedian called Danny Bhoy. He was really hilarious and made jokes about riding the trams, which could really relate to. He also made funny references to the different accents from other parts of the country which I am beginning to discover just now. it was a great show and another amazing night in the city.

Three weeks ago my friends Maxine, Ayla, Caitlin and I rented a car and traveled south east to Wilsons Promontory which is on the beach and full of hiking trails. We got there on Friday and headed straight to Squeaky Beach which gets its name from the sound the sand makes when you walk on it.

Wilsons Promontory is also one of the places that was affected by the bush fires that I'm sure everyone heard about right before I came over. It was surreal to see all the land that was burned. Saturday we went on a 6 hour, 20 km hike through some of the burned forest, the jungle, and then the beach. It was soooo beautiful and we got some really amazing pictures. When we got to the beach it was raining on and off every minute or so. It was strange. The hike back was rough but somehow I'm in shape from walking to campus daily. Seagulls tried to eat our meals and sat about a foot away from us at Sealers Cove, our destination.

We came back across a grassy knoll on the way back and a baby and mother wombat greeted us. It was adorable!! They didn't seem to mind us standing next to them to take pictures. They both just kept eating. It was a great end to the hike. Saturday night after we got back we went to Picnic Bay for sunset which was also incredible. The ocean at WP is one of the most picturesque i've ever seen. I couldn't put down the camera.

After the sun set we headed back to Tidal River camp, made dinner, and went to bed after hanging out. It was about 1 am and I was awakened by some sort of snort. It sounded familiar...oh yes..a wombat. I could hear it chewing from where I was laying. Do they ever stop eating?! We also saw a huge kangaroo coming back from the bathroom in the evening and the possoms would not leave us alone while cooking dinner. The wombats though, were HUGE. I had pictured them maybe the size of a cat. But no. They were about as big as golden retriever with really short legs.

Sunday morning we packed up, and drove back to Squeaky Beach on our way home. We just sort of sat and took in the view for a couple hours. I ran around taking pictures, of course. There was a rainbow and small tidal pools, and hundreds of tiny purple oyster-type creatures over rocks which I was infatuated with. We left when it started raining and drove the 3 hours home. It was such a great weekend!

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Last weekend Caitlin, Ayla and I went into the city again for the day to just hang out and shop around. We went to the Queen Victoria Markets which is like a giant flee market. Then we strolled down another street and looked for places to shop. I spent the whole day lugging around a giant, very expensive medium format camera to take photos for an assignment. Not so fun. The day was great though.

The next day Ayla and I went back into the city because the weather was really nice. We ate sushi on the Yarra River and then went to the Eureka Tower which is the highest viewing platform in the southern hemisphere. Very awesome seeing the whole city and all the surrounding suburbs as well as the ocean. We then decided to go to St. Kilda to check out the beach there. We walked through some markets after riding the tram for about 20 minutes. I really wanted to see Luna Park so we walked to the seaside park and took some photos. It's exactly as I'd pictured it. I was so excited to be there because it's such an icon!

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Coming up:

This weekend we're going to another footy game. This time it'll be a night one so hopefully a little more competitive and crazy. I'll sure miss footy! That's on Saturday. But on Friday Ayla, Caitlin and I are going to Cirque du Soleil. I'm so excited!!!!!!!!! It's going to be insane. So quite a crazy week ahead. The weekend after we're going to see Wicked, the broadway musical. Hopefully I'll get homework done in the middle there....

So that's it for now. Because my internet allowance is running low, I'll upload just a few pictures from the outback, Wilsons, and the city.

Hope things are going great back home!