05.07.10

Yesterday was our last day with Ivana. She dropped us off at the train station and as a sweet little memento, gave us a book about meditation. It was such a sweet thing of her to do! The ride was about 4 hours, but was much nicer then the city train. John and I both started reading the book before falling asleep for the rest of the ride.
Thursday night we took advantage of some killer airfare offers. We got tickets to Indonesia, Tasmania and Fiji, for the both of us, for just under $500 bucks! Can you believe it? It was a buy one-get one deal, and the one ticket was already reduced by 50%. Needless to say, we are excited to have a good portion of our future travels locked in and dated.
At 7:30 am sharp, Gray was at the door ready to get on the road. We are staying with Lucy and Gray at their cabin in Apollo Bay. It was a two and a half hour ride, which we slept the entire way. It was foggy and wet outside when we got there but that didn't stop us from making the most of our day.
We stopped and picnicked for tea and cake, and some how managed to do so in the only window of sunshine for the entire day. It was really misty, which is strange, because it was the first time I can recall every actually seeing mist. At first glance, you could barely tell there was anything in the air, but you could feel it. It was slightly annoying...kind of like a bug that won't get out of your face. The mist was just dancing all around us, bouncing every which way. When the sun rays would come through, it looked like tiny sparkly rainbows floating around everywhere. It was such a simple thing to enjoy, but I really liked it.
On the drive to the first hike path, all the mist created the most magnificent rainbow I have ever seen. It was right over the ocean, and you could see the entire thing from start to finish. We pulled over to get a picture but it was too big to get the whole thing in the frame. I loved it...all these rainbows!
Gray took us to an area that he said they have frequently seen wild Koalas, and sure enough, we spotted one! It was high up in the tree, and a little too far for pictures, but I was so excited to have actually seen a wild one! On our drive to the next hike path, I ended up spotting one moving from one branch to the other from the back seat window. Gray pulled over so we could walk back to see it, and we ended up seeing two more! This time they were much closer so we got some great pictures. The one was all curled up in a little ball and I said "Hi Mr. Koala..." and he turned his head towards us to see what the noise was all about! Haha he looked so sleepy, but I was elated that he turned to look at us. Four, 100% wild koalas in one day...
We stopped a few times within the Otway Park and walked a few hike paths to see some waterfalls. It's like the rainforest out here. Everything is green and mossy, like in Buchan, but all the foliage is much more exotic. (However, in their dry season, I guess it gets pretty dry.) The tree ferns are what really make it...some of them taller then me. There were so many different types of mushrooms and mosses, most of them growing on the trunk of a fallen tree. It was muddy and rocky, so we really had to pay attention to where we were stepping. Because of this, it made it a little hard to enjoy the surroundings. All I wanted to do was look around but had to watch where I was walking instead. Luckily, some of the last hikes we went on had actual wooden paths.
For lunch we stopped and ate under the California Redwoods. They planted them in this area, not expecting them to grow but they did! Not nearly as massive as the ones in California, but still very large. Again, walking into the forest felt like I was in the middle of a fairy tale. Just an unreal environment. It amazes me at how surreal Gods creations really are. You hear about it, you read about it, but until you see it with your own eyes are you able to grasp the intensity. You feel so small, which in a world were man dominates all...isnt such a bad thing.
The rain under the tall redwoods came down every so often, but is was very lazy rain. Not like the dancing mist earlier. Each drop came rolling down in over-filled globs. When they hit the ground, they just exploded, making other tiny raindrops that were much more modest in size. When you looked to the tree tops, you could pick a fat raindrop and just watch it come tumbling to the ground. The sound that each drop made was loud and rhythmic, especially when it hit the plastic-like material of my coat. It's not too often you can actually be outside and enjoy the rain at the same time, but we all agreed that it was quite a wonderful day.
Our last stop for the day was to see the glow worms. We got to the park just before dusk and made some tea before heading out into the darkness. They were all gathered along the wall of the mountain right next to our pathway, and decently close to a stream/waterfall. Their bioluminescences was a pale blue; some more bright then others. The more we walked, the more we ended up seeing. I couldn't believe my eyes! Everyone said that they reminded them of Christmas lights, but to me, they looked like stars. Some dim, some bright...some in clusters, others spread out. You could identify little constellations within them. It was sooooooo neat!
These glow worms, aren't really worms at all. They are insects. The females (in this case) dont have any wings, but the males do. Their glow is to attract a mate, and it seems as though there is some pretty heavy competition in this area! ; ) The glow worms that are found in caves are actually worms, and they spin a long beaded thread that is then lit up to attract prey. I can't wait to see them when we go to Queensland in the next few months.
All the bush walks, and seeing the forest, the creatures, the foliage and the natural wonders...reminded of Avatar. People watched Avatar and saw this magnificent, beautiful world and wish that it really existed...but what they dont realize, is that it already does ; )