Tazzy

Hate this:

Love this:

We took off from Melbourne to Tasmania for about 1 week.
We flew in and rented a car because it was cheaper than bringing our
own car into the state. Until we got into a car accident. Then things got really
expensive!

The evening we got there we drove around Hobart and landed in the Cascade Brewery before it closed for the night. We missed the last tour of the day but didn't have much money anyway so we enjoyed a beer and snacks.

Day 1 we walked around Hobart

and went to the Bonorong wildlife park
we got to pet a wombat! and learn about Tasmanian Devils and watched them eat
dead baby chickens from a farm nearby. (That's what I call recycling!)

Tasmanian Devil!

Baby Wombat!

Oh Melbourne, how I love you...

Victoria Market. Great stalls for goods, food, and deli items. Yowza!

Well aren't there just a ton of reasons to love Melbourne? Yip.

First of all, my aunt and cousins live here. Great start.

The culture here is just great! Great coffee, food, and ART.

There is so much to do and see. The great part is it seems like a city you just need to spend forever in. You can't rush through a city like this. I think we tried our first day in the city and lined up 3 DIY walking tours and that didn't go well. We finally figured out we had to have a cup of coffee in all the different suburbs, alleys and laneways that Melbourne has to offer.

So, here is what we've done thus far.

On the Way to Phillip Islande to see the Penguin Parade.

Yes the penguins swim in from the ocean and walk parade-like to their huts

on the way

Waiting for dusk. waiting for the penguins!

the display in the entrance of your potential photoshopped/green screen photo!
before you leave...

We went to Lygon Street

Like a little Italy ... we had pizza and coffee. yum.

Canberra. The Washington D.C. of Australia

The main city of Canberra

the parks and garden design:

The National Galley we checked out. No photos but free entry.....

So from Wollongong we drove to Canberra and stayed with our old Brisbane housemate Royce.

Canberra is full of government buildings. It's a weird city because it was completely planned and the layout was actually designed by American architects and city designers. The strangest part is everything is spaced out similar as to what it would be in the states but with nothing in between. As San diego is a big wide spread city it's also has 1.3 million people while Canberra has a bit over 300,000. Huge difference. This means that you can't function that well in Canberra without a car.

Might sound fine if you're American but every other city in Australia has great public transportation so Canberra is American influenced in a weird way.

A great thing about Canberra is a lot of museums are free.

Wollongong and Beyond....

WE DROVE from Sydney to Wollongong and it was a great ride and wonderful views.

We stayed with a couchsurfer host and had a great time!

We checked out the lighthouse in town and walked along the tiny coast in the small town area.

More Wollongong Photos

Leaving Wollongong

Kiama Blowhole

Other sites along the way

parking lot

walk to the beach

beach