The seventh week is over and today I start my third and final chapter, around 8:00 p.m. I will leave Melbourne and head to the airport to fly to Auckland. 🛫
13/02/2018: On Tuesday we had day 2 of the Great Ocean Road. Today we saw sooo many animals along the way. For example, we came across a koala! This is especially special because koalas normally sleep for up to 20 hours a day and spend the remaining four hours eating, so you don't usually see koalas in action. It looked really cute as it slowly crawled across the road. Their sluggishness is actually due to eucalyptus, which they can eat a huge amount of in a day. A eucalyptus leaf consists of 55% water, 15% fiber, 7% starch and sugar, 6% oils, 4% proteins, and 13% toxins. These toxins slow down the little creatures. Some say they are constantly high. 😄 In any case, it's a nice life, I think.
We had two major stops today. For example, we took a walk in the rainforest, which was much less tropical than the one up north. It felt like being in a German forest. Pleasantly cool!
The second destination was Phillip Island. We drove along the coast and took a ferry to the other side of Melbourne after a few beautiful stops at beaches and cliffs. Along the way, we encountered even more kangaroos and parakeets.It's a bit difficult to photograph the little creatures.Of course, I don't want to withhold the intermediate stops from you:Great tree, isn't it? Climbing is a must!Cute little cottages on the beach.😊💛In the evening, we finally arrived at Phillip Island. It is known for its penguin parade, which we naturally didn't want to miss and which should be the second major highlight of the tour, along with the Twelve Apostles. What is a penguin parade? The cutest thing I have ever observed with wild animals! 😍 Every day, at sunset, the little creatures come out of the sea and onto the beach to search for shelter in their nests on the mainland for the night. As soon as the sun is low enough, you can see small black dots in the water, which turn out to be penguins. They gather in small groups of 5-10 penguins and stay in the water together for quite a while. They decide together when the right moment has come to come ashore in safety. Carefully, they make their way close together. They are afraid of birds of prey and want to get to the rocks on the beach as quickly as possible because they are better camouflaged there. So they move forward step by step. Sometimes a big wave comes from behind and knocks the little creatures down one after the other, so they clumsily fall forward. 😍 so cute! They get up again and continue. They move forward, but sometimes quickly go back into the water if they suddenly get scared or recognize a potential danger. So the process takes quite a long time, during which you are not allowed to take any photos, which I thought was great because it allowed you to enjoy the experience in a completely different way. 😊 Only the Chinese seemed quite frustrated. What good is such an experience to them if they can't take pictures of it? Maybe I'm being a little unfair, but during my trip I really had many bad moments with Chinese people. They behave thoughtlessly and boldly. They push their way ahead in queues, push, shout hysterically, and stick their cameras everywhere. And they always travel with their whole family. They are not alone or in pairs, no, they are with 10 people or more. Well. That's just part of it.Nevertheless, the penguin experience was absolutely wonderful! 😊Australians are definitely known for their traffic signs. 😄I didn't get back to my hostel in Melbourne until very late and was really looking forward to a bed. 😴 14/02/2018: Last day in Melbourne! Yesterday was all about shopping and packing, today the plane takes off and I'm very excited!I'll be in touch again from New Zealand!
