Our Mini-Trip to Phillip Island

Before Christmas, Mike and I were talking about feeling a bit of the travel itch. It's been almost two months since we firmly planted ourselves in Melbourne! So, the week before Christmas we booked some cheap accomodations, rented a car and drove the two hours it takes to get to Phillip Island. I have to say, I got a little excited packing my backpack again! The poor thing has been cooped up in the closet for so long.
The main attraction on the island is the PENGUINS! Every single night the penguins swim to shore and get in these packs and they cross the beach together! There are literally hundreds and hundreds of them. The penguins are so scared of crossing the beach that if something freaks them out, the whole group will turn around and make a b-line back to the ocean until they feel brave enough to try again. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen.
Unfortunately, you will only get to imagine what this looks like because the stupid rangers don't let you take photos! The silly penguins are apparently scared of that too. But please, enjoy the other photos we took!

Christmas!!

We hear that we missed out on one of the whitest Christmas' ever back home. All we got was a nice and sunny 30 degree day! We actually got ridiculed because we spent most of it indoors: opening presents, having breakfast and watching It's a Wonderful Life. We made it out to the park around 6 pm to play with our new gifts and have a good old fashioned Christmas Dinner... Mango Chicken, Steak and Prawns with mashed potatoes and asparagus! It was delicious!

We did miss our families but had a great first Christmas together!

Our Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve! We first went to Mike's work Christmas party, after which we headed to the only Japanese Restaurant that seemed to be open for some noodles and sushi. We also decided to attend our first ever Midnight Mass as St. Paul's Cathedral. By 1 am, they still had another hour of service to go, and we were falling asleep in our pew. I remember hearing a child crying in frustration and could only think "I SO get how you feel, kid." So we smoothly slipped out after "O, Little Town of Bethlehem" and went straight to bed! Santa doesn't come if you're awake ya know.

Melbourne: The Bird's Eye View

For our 9 month anniversary, we decided to have a little night out! (I think Mike was responding to my moody comment that we never go anywhere nice...and I realize how ridiculous that sounds! We're in friggin' AUSTRALIA!! but, anyway...) We thought we'd go up to a viewing deck at the Rialto building in downtown Melbourne. It was absolutely gorgeous and the sunset was stunning! There's a picture on the slideshow of a lake, and that's OUR lake! It's right across the street from our apartment. Mike and I are currently training ourselves for a big run that will take us around that thing a couple times!! Eek!

Our Apartment!

As most of you already know, Mike and I found a place to live! Now, we realize that five months is not considered long-term, but for us this is the most settled we've been in almost a year! The place is really nice and we've been having fun setting up our room! Our flat-mate's name is Alyssa and I'm sure you'll see one or two pictures of her in the future! She is a super-fun girl who owns all six seasons of Sex and the City...need I say more?
Well, enjoy the virtual tour!

Down Under

Well, we finally made it to Australia. Our month of travels on the way were incredible and we are now attemping to "settle down" for the next half-year or so. Upon arriving, we spent 2 nights in a hostel in St. Kilda (a suburb of Melbourne) to see what the area was like. After that we called up Karl and Trude, friends of Gramma Johanna. We have since learned that Gramma called them up out of the blue for the first time in 20 years for us!
We were treated so well staying with Karl and Trude, who welcomed us into their home for a whole week. We ate incredible dinners every night, and searched for an appartment in the city by day. They live about an hour outside of Melbourne, so we spent a lot of time at the library finding places on the internet. Our efforts were rewarded as we found a place to stay in St. Kilda. We are living with one other girl named Alyssa now and are hoping for employment!
We'll post some pictures of our appartment soon!

Johannesburg

Our last stop in South Africa was Johannesburg...or as the locals say "Jo-Burg". We were able to meet up with Stephanie Munholland. The three of us were in the same LIT year at Camp Mini-Yo-We and Steph and I became good friends. I hadn't seen her in about 10 year or so, but when she heard we'd be in JoBurg she told us to come visit her!!
For about 5 years she has been living and working in the city at an orphanage called "Door of Hope". Mike and I were able to visit and help out at church one Sunday as a few babies were being dedicated.
We were very blown away by the amount of responsibility Steph has. She's basically in charge of...well, EVERYTHING there. She's the big MAMA! We are thinking of you Steph and all your babies! Keep up the amazing work.
And thanks to Steph's "adopted" parents who welcomed us into their home for the night! It's always nice to have people looking out for you in the "crime capitol of the world"!!