The weekend
brought our first exchangee get-together in Inverloch on Phillip Island. On
Friday after school, we hit the road, stopping to pick up a fellow exchangee
from Vancouver, grabbing supper and heading to Inverloch, to an informal
drinks-and-appie style get-together hosted by a family who had been on exchange
previously. There, we met Leith and Jamie (science and art teachers) and their
kids Seth (8) and Caleb (10). Leith and Jamie had volunteered to billet us for
the weekend so we headed to their place and, while the kids played, we heard of
Leith and Jamie’s adventures kayaking between the islands east of Vancouver
Island. They had great stories of their month of living out of their kayak,
their tent and off the land and sea…
Saturday was a
busy day that began by meeting up with everyone at the local info centre/sea
museum and then taking a bus (driven by one of our hosts, Peter) to a beach
scavenger hunt at Eagle’s Nest (Bunurong), lunch in a nearby town (happened to
see them feeding the pelicans and a stingray that happened by) and then we went
to a koala sanctuary… The koalas (who usually sleep for 20 hours/day) were
extremely active – fighting, moving about, taking over the boardwalk (one guy
was captured by the ole burlap-bag-over-the-head-trick and carted off, the bag
flailing! Given that the temperatures that day were in the mid-30s, the staff
were surprised at all the activity. Additionally, we saw an echidna snuffling
through the grass looking for bugs and ants, and in the fields beyond the
sanctuary, a kangaroo was hopping about and a couple of his buddies soon joined
him!
After the koala
sanctuary we went on a GORGEOUS hike (or deathmarch from hell (due to the heat)... you call it)
through the blazing afternoon sun. The 7km hike took about 2.5 hours (so not
really that bad length-wise) and brought us along the coast as we walked the
sea cliffs. About halfway, the trail brought us to the beach and we had a
splash and a cooldown in the ocean before heading along. As we came near the
end of our walk, a few of us were lucky to see a troop of kangaroos (kangaroo
lingo for herd) bouncing along, stopping as they came over the rise to check us
out. We stopped and watched as they bent down and looked up, playing a game of
hide and seek with us for a few minutes before hopping off!
Our meeting at
the pub at the end of our walk was a welcome chance to have a beverage and some
snacks before getting back on the bus and heading back to our billets’ homes to
clean up before meeting up again for dinner with all the hosts and exchangees.
We were certainly a tired group after our full day but the laughs and tips
offered by our hosts for proper ways to speak “Aussie” were helpful and SOME of
us left with prizes!
The next day, our
surf lesson became paddle boarding as the usually-predictable surf didn’t get
the memo for the morning! After an interesting start with some high-level dives
and belly-flops into the water/off the boards, we began our 2hr trek along the
beach, keeping eyes open for stingrays as they often come out and swim under
the boards, looking for a visit…
The weekend
wrapped-up with lunch and good-byes. Our hosts in Inverloch were extremely
generous and we left the weekend richer for the time we spent with new friends
and deepened friendships that developed.
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