Woke up at 7 am as Mark set an alarm on this Labour Day holiday Monday. Didn't get up right away as we were both tired. We both enjoyed a nice hot shower. We ate our boxed breakfasts. Mark was able to secure a hair dryer for me, but had to run down to the front desk to get one. Our company was delayed in getting their rental vehicle. They were heading in our direction as it was on the way to the Moonlit Sanctuary. Mike had his first taste of driving on the left hand side of the road. He was happy to just follow Mark the rest of the way. It took an hour to get there. The place was not too busy. We all signed up for the Koala Experience. We each got a bag of pellets to feed the animals, so checked out all the other exhibits before our appointed time. We all were able to pet a large python snake. The handler was holding it and encouraging us to touch it. It really did have some nice soft skin. That's the first time we all had that opportunity.
We walked out to the area with Kangaroos and Wallabies. There were many of them that were interested in some of our food. It was fun to feed & pet them. They came in all sizes. Once they had enough to eat, they hopped away into their protected area. We headed back to the Koala experience and waited for our turn. The koala was called Victor. He was not very old. The handler was very entertaining with lots of stories and information to relay to us. We stood under an awning as the rain started coming down. When it was our turn, the Bloomgrens went first. We took each others' pictures and enjoyed our time petting Victor who was busy eating leaves off some branches that our handler gave him. We were so happy to have that opportunity. Just amazing. One of the state of Victoria's laws state dictates that we cannot hold a koala without being trained. Petting them was just fine with me. Then we headed back to the Kangaroos and were able to find several and feed as many as we could. Mike also signed up to have an Owl experience with Hootie. We got to watch everyone in that group put on a heavy glove in order to hold the owl. Hootie loved people petting his head. He was well behaved. The handler had a line tied to his feet, just in case he got scared and wanted to fly away. After Mike finished with Hootie, we headed back to the kangaroo area. There were hardly any kangaroos or wallabees in view. After we fed them in the morning, they must have headed away for some private sleep or rest time, having eaten enough. If we had arrived after lunch, we would have been disappointed to have missed so many roos & wallabies. We got to see some very large kangaroos, so that was good too. We walked around a lot. There was a Tasmanian Devil, but he preferred to stay in his wooden enclosure and sleep. Lots of birds, including eagles and ducks and as well as other animals. The sanctuary was beautiful. Thank you to Elizabeth for the suggestion. There was a cafe and gift shop with restrooms. We all had a great time! Then we decided to drive to the coast. It took us about an hour and by this time is was quite late for lunch. Lots of hills filled with animals, mostly cows. But also, horses, sheep and wineries. We finally stopped at Pier 10 Winery Restaurant. The place was packed. The adults took the wine tour and got to sample 6 different wines. They were still harvesting this year's crops. The rows of grapes were covered in netting to keep the birds away the crop. The boy enjoyed playing catch with some other children while we waited for our food. Once we finished lunch, we drove down to the ocean, based on the servers' recommendation. The first beach we headed to had a sandy base but was covered in dried sea moss or sea weed. This was Shoreham Beach. It was not what we expected for an Australian beach. We didn't stay very long. This was known as the surfers' beach and there were plenty of surfers in the ocean. The waves were not that big. It was sprinkling and the weather was cooler. I am glad I chose to wear my jeans plus took a jacket. Philip Island was visible several miles off shore. This is the home of the seals and penguins, which will be one tour that we will take this week. We drove around the bay to Point Leo Beach. No one wanted to get in the water as the sign posted had all kinds of sea creatures that were not safe to be in the water with. One was the Blue Ring Octopus. The guys skipped small rocks on the ocean water. We walked around to a shallow pool of water, climbing up and down the small hill in-between. Then we drove over to the other side of the peninsula to Mornington. This was a sizable city. We first stopped for an ice cream. There was a cool breeze blowing off the ocean. We saw many people fishing off the pier. Had a lovely walk. There was a small marina as well as boats moored out into the bay. We could see the Melbourne skyline across the water. The big ships were coming in and out of the bay. Mike, Tyler and Parker climbed up the rocky hill. Mark, Lara and I climbed the stairs. Great view from the top. A large anchor was displayed at the top. There was also a sun dial, which was interesting. Also, a dedication to Matthew Flinders, who captained a boat that circumnavigated Australia back in the 1700's. We were all getting tired by this time, so we headed back to our hotel as did the Bloomgrens. We plan to meet up tomorrow afternoon. Today's high was in the mid 70's. Not sure they predicted much rain. People that we met along the way said they were happy to get some rain as it was so dry in this area. The temperature dropped quite a bit with the overcast skies and rainy periods. However, the sun came out at times and we were hot. We stopped for a quick bite to eat close to our hotel. Decided to try our luck. Mark found a lucky machine, but mine was very tight with the pay outs. We both enjoyed a free coffee. We were tired and cold, so that really helped. Headed back to the room and started watching some old sitcoms. Thanks for your emails and messages as we continue to explore Melbourne. I have posted several pictures from today's touring. Lots more to see in Melbourne.