Crapman and Other Amusements in Victoria

   After our kangaroo encounter (see previous post), we drove out to the Healesville Animal Sanctuary.  The hour drive there was through the beautiful Yarra Valley.  With its mountains, wineries and quaint towns, it's a place we could definitely enjoy exploring further.  Our trip to Healesville was rather quick, but we did get to see some more Australian animals in a great setting.  The Flight Arena show was fascinating and well done. 



We watched Maya having lunch for quite a while.

     Part of the Healesville's mission is to promote practices that help protect wildlife habitats.  To that end, they have numerous signs and information posted about using how using toilet paper made from recycled paper is one thing that helps reduce the number of trees being cut down in Australia.  Sounds good.  On one of the paths through the sanctuary, we ran across this, the funniest face cut-out board ever!  It's been making us laugh for days.

 

    I just don't think this would be seen at a US Zoo.  Ah, good old potty humor with an environmental twist.

    While we're on the subject of signage, there are lots worth mentioning in the state of Victoria.  They don't mind being blunt and they really don't want you to fall asleep at the wheel!  A few that we saw -



This one is rather threatening!



We saw this one over and over at stops along the Great Ocean Road.  Do that many people really travel with their cats and do they take them out to see the views?

    The next stop for us was Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade.  Every evening, Little Penguins, also known as Fairy Penguins, return to shore after days or weeks of fishing at sea.  These are the smallest of the 17 species of penguins and live in colonies along the southern Australian coast.  They gather in groups on the shore just after sunset and waddle determinedly up into the dunes to their burrows.  Several of the groups we watched arriving on the beach would get a bit spooked and return to the ocean for a while before finally coming in for the night.  They are quite vulnerable to predators during their walk home so they arrive and walk in large groups.  When reaching their homes, there is often quite a bit of chattering.  You can hear it all through the dunes. These little buggers are just so cute waddling home!  Photography is not allowed but I did find some photos on the internet.

    We were chilly and hungry after the penguin parade.  We grabbed some tucker (food) and headed back to the suburbs of Melbourne.  It was another late night but worth it! 

Next up, the Great Ocean Road.