360 kms = 11 hours of driving and sightseeing

Our new Orbost Rotary friends took us on a driving tour of Errinudra National Park, Snowy River National Park and the Buchan Caves.

At Errinudra National Park we went for a Rainforest Walk, the weather did not disappoint as it rained. Here we are standing in front of one of the spectacular trees.

We had a great time stopping for lunch at one of the most remote schools in Australia. Tubbut School has only 4 students!! We joined in their St.Patricks day celebration with green coloured fruit cake!! They have a great school with lots of resources and the kids were very excited to show us all the work they had done!!

It was a good thing we didn't meet too many cars along the way because they really don't have anywhere to go!! The road is only really made for one and the cliff is close!

MacKillop Bridge was our next stop. The road portion is made of wood and I must say I think some of them need replacing!!!! You can see the water through the wood planks from the Snowy River rushing below. The water rises to only about 20 feet below the road at different times of the year.

Little River Gorge is the deepest gorge in Victoria; being 4 km long and over 500 feet deep.

We finished up the day the Buchan Caves with a tour around the facilities; seeing lots of Kangaroos.

Journey to Orbost

After a fun day of rest; learning we all like movies and that Chris is a great pool player we headed off to Sale where Carolyn and Jenna made their first radio appearance with Gerard from ABC networks. We have video proof!!
On our journey to Orbost we passed through Lakes Entrance which is a beautiful town over looking the ocean and linked to Ninety Mile Beach.
We ended the night with another fantastic Rotary dinner; a spit roast. Once again the food was amazing and our hosts very welcoming. Another great day!!!!

Daily Cows and boat trips!

Today we were in Foster and the surrounding area. We started the day with a tour of a local daily farm and saw an operation which produces 4 million liters of milk per year! From there we were off to the Yanakie Hut where we saw a rebuilt historical building and were treated to a lesson in local history from Michael our guide. After a quick tea we headed to a Park Sandy point, where we snuck in a quick dip and had lunch. We wrapped the day by taking a fantastic boat ride around Wilson's Prom to see the fire damage in the wilderness area. While on the boat we were treated to Spoonbills, a sea eagle and some other great water birds. Some images from the day:


The Dairy operation, the cows get on this rotating platform where 50 are held and milked simultaneously.

Shelly sporting some sweet boots!

Carolyn with Robert as he explains the milking machine

Michael gave us an interesting talk on the local history

The Foster Rotary club prepared us a great picnic lunch

The team on the beach of Snake Island where we saw a Tiger snake.

The burned area in Wilson's Prom as seen from the water.

Welcome to Foster!

Today we woke up and had a great final morning on the island- we went for a hike around the Nobbies and then went to Oswin Roberts reserve. At the reserve we saw wallabies and several different bird species.

We then returned to our homes, gathered our gear and travelled from Phillip Island to Foster. We were greeting with a great lunch and then headed out with our new families.





A shot of a Little Penguin under the boardwalk at the Nobbies









The team and our hosts John and Phil at the Nobbies














The GSE team being welcomed by the Foster Rotary Club.

Vocational Days- Dolf feeds the Penguins!

Today we all went our seperate ways to participate in our voacational days. We ended up in Melbourne, Warragul and on Phillip Island. We all learned a great deal from our Australian hosts and had a wonderful time.

Today I (Dolf) was at Phillip Island Nature Park for my vocational day. It was a great time, with several of the staff showing me several different aspects of park management. The site is self funded and managed by staff and a CAO who report to a board. They face significant challenges balancing native species (key ones including little penguins and shearwaters) with 500,000 park visitors, some local homes in the park boundary and a long list of invasive species. I could have posted dozens of shots from today, but settled for the following:

Ranger "Veg" took me on an tour of their seed collection, propagation and greenhouse areas.

Marg the wildlife rehabber working with a juvenile bushy tailed possum

Force feeding a Little Penguin as they will not eat on their own in rehab.

Lifeguards + Farm Animals + Koala's + beach = a great day!

There are times in life where a person may wonder, does it get much better than this?? Today was another one of those days!!

We met up in the morning and headed over to Woolamai Beach for a tour of the life saving facilities. It was a gorgeous morning and a great tour where they shared with us how these folks operate to keep people safe. After our ritual morning tea, we headed over to Churchill Island Nature park for a walk around the facilities and observed how Australians manage their historical sites. It was great fun as we wandered through the gardens, farmyard and historical buildings. We paused for afternoon tea and then Headed to the Phillip Island Koala Conservation Park. Ranger Ashley took us for a guided hike through the site and introduced us to the many of the 35 Koala's and other wildlife which call the sanctuary home.

The day was busy, but we could not resist the call of the ocean and managed to squeeze in a dip and some boogie-boarding!! We all basked in the sun for a few free, unstructured hours- it was a great opportunity to reflect on all we have experienced in the week that has passed and to look forward to the adventures which lay ahead!


A few shots from our day below:

The team at the life saving station.

What trip would be complete without trying on some hats... They tell us the locals wear these, but we are not so sure...

One of the Koala's at the park.

Dolf, Carolyn, Shelley, Jenna and Chris enjoying an afternoon at the beach!

We have had a great time with our vocational visits and other activities, but one of our key responsibilities is to deliver presentations on Canada and our professions to our Australians hosts. Tonight we delivered our show for a second time to the Rotary clubs of Phillip Island, San Remo and Warragul. These are the folks who have organized our amazing schedule and host families this week. Our presentation was well received and the clubs generously gave us hats, books and flags from the region.

Phillip Island, a seal colony and the march of the penguins

For the second time since our arrival we packed up and headed out, all having enjoying our host families but excited for the new experiences which lay ahead. We met up at Chris' host families place and headed off to Phillip Island, home to one of Australia's famous race tracks. A picture is worth a thousand words, so please see some images from our day below:


Entering the track we were greeted by a pair of Cape Barren Geese- trust us, this is a good bird!




We had lunch at the track and then went for a tour of the facility- it was breathtaking with hairpin turns and long straightaways overlooking the Ocean.



Here is a trust exercise- go for a ride blind folded and hope the feel, and your friends voices keep you on track! For some reason they stopped having this event...



From the track we raced to the dock where we went for a boat tour of seal rocks. The team posed for this shot on the way out.






Seal Rocks was a remarkable place, with thousands of animals basking, swimming and playing!





The captain joined us for a picture on the way back

We had an amazing lamb dinner overlooking the Ocean- does life get better than this??!!

We finished our day by watching the penguin parade- these cute little guys would stage in groups at the waters edge and then make a break for the hills they burrow in. An amazing sight!