I forgot to tell you about my day out in the 'tinnie'! I think my core muscles are still recovering from the experience. It was all good fun though. My cousin Andrea, her husband Andrew, and eldest son Jayden took me out for the day from Bribie to Moreton Island in their little boat that is like travelling in a large tin can. It can go some but not in the most comfortable style. The sea was a bit rougher than Andrew anticipated so it was touch and go at first whether we'd make it to the island. But after spotting a big sea turtle (which disappeared fast as anything once it saw us coming) we ploughed on across the water hoping for the best. About 15 minutes in and I wasn't sure how long I could carry on with all the bumping and lurching but soon settled into it after that.
We saw a large fish, Jayden thought it was a tuna but it was black and white, leaping out of the sea at one point and tried to doubleback to find it but to no avail. Once on the island the beautiful blue and green sea was truly breathtaking and the view of it was even better after climbing up another hugely steep sand dune. More sand surfing down and we tucked into our lunch in need of some sustenance after all that exertion.
A short boat ride further along the coast took us to the tiny resort of Tangalooma for a browse in the gift shop and an ice cream. On the journey back to the mainland, we came across hundreds of birds (we didn't manage to identify what kind) fishing in the sea for something, circling round and diving again and again for their prey. Andrew tried fishing for whatever they were searching for but didn't come up trumps. It was quite bizarre to sail through the flock again and again, a very unique experience.
But back to the here and now, I'm holed up in my hostel in the centre of Melbourne after a busy day sightseeing. The day started with a free walking tour put on by the hostel but was enough to give me a flavour of some of the sights and where they are situated. After a delicious lunch - Melbourne really is the foodie heaven it's painted to be - I headed into a Lego art exhibition. An opportunity to take photos for my nephew, a Lego fiend, that I just couldn't pass up. It is amazing what you can create from a few, or rather thousands, of little bricks!
I then spent the afternoon eyeing up the street art in the lanes around the city and checking out the ACMI, a gallery of the moving image. Some fascinating exhibits by an Aussie artist, Shaun Gladwell. I was transfixed by a particular installation of a number of screens overhead showing various people just spinning round and round in slow motion, either on a skateboard, BMX bike, or just dancing. The pole dancer in the middle was particularly mesmerising!
Off to stay with my old friend Amelia tomorrow and looking forward to a weekend of hanging out with her mates and helping her out with her business that she's just set up. Yes folks, I'm actually going to be doing some (unpaid) work in the next week! That's going to be a bit of a shock to the brain. She's got me lined up for some proofreading and formatting of reports. I'll let you know how it goes.
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