Kangaroos, Koalas and...Skandia?

Today was definitely a day we were all looking forward to and it DEFINITELY didn't disappoint! The team was once again led by Geoff & John out to the town of Healesville where we stopped for a morning tea and some treats of meat pie and pasties (yes before 10:00 a.m.) The rain slowed down and we departed for the Healesville Sanctuary. Dolf was almost out of his skin by the time we pulled in, he was so excited. We were all thrilled at the prospect of seeing all these native species and none of them disappointed. We were able to see kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, dingos, poisonous snakes, a birds of prey demonstration and so much more. There was an incredible animal hospital on-site that was interactive and extremely accessible in that the operating rooms were visible to visitors who could watch through a pane of glass. We even witnessed a live operation on a wombat. We had the opportunity to pet a large native snake and wallabies (small kangaroos). We coincidental ran into another Rotary group who also had Canadians staying with them as part of friendly exchange. We could have easily spent the entire day at the Sanctuary - but we got the good news phone call that we'd be racing on the Skandia after all tonight - so we had to get back to Mornington.
Our morning was tough to top - but as we set sail on the Skandia (2nd fastest sail boat in Australia) it was quickly apparent that this was going to be a trip high light. Sailing as part of the Twilight Yacht Race, at out top speed we were going 20 knots/hr. We were moving! With a full crew of people on board it was a bit of a mad race to get from one side of the boat to the other as the sail changed directions. But we had a blast. Especially since no one ended up in the ocean or lost their lunch in the ocean! We were in the race for a little over an hour and it felt like 10 minutes had passed by. What a rush!!! We arrived back to the Mornington Yacht Club - rosey cheeked and matty hair and we couldn't have been happier. From there we headed out with our host families to La Porchetta pizza and pasta for our farewell dinner. It was bitter sweet saying goodbye to our first host families and Mornington. We had an unbelievable time there and made memories we'll remember for a lifetime. However, we know that there is so much more in store for us as we head to neighbouring Warragul. We're looking forward to seeing what is in store next...