I spent this past weekend in the south east corner of the state of Victoria in an area called South Gippsland. It was a weekend arranged by South Gippsland teachers who had been on exchange in previous years and wanted to show those of us on exchange this year their part of Australia.
Friday after work one of the ITF's (International Teaching Fellows - that's what we're called here) drove up from Geelong to take me down to South Gippsland. He picked me up right from work which was so nice. We left Melbourne pretty quickly but still managed to sit in slow moving traffic. We stopped in two small towns Cranbourne and Tooradin on our way to Leongatha. We arrived in Leongatha around 8 pm to snacks and drinks at the home of Jo and Mike Street. Many of the other ITF's were there too and it was great to catch up.
The conversations were pretty intense as one on one we complained about all the things that we were frustrated with teaching in Victoria. The experiences were different of course but most of us have been pretty frustrated and stressed with the situations we've been left in. The night was good though and I think everyone felt a lot better after they finished their bitching.
After the party I, along with three other ITF's headed back to our host family Sue and Gary. Sue and Gary had been on exchange a couple of years ago and they were fantastic hosts. They also took a big role in organizing our weekend in their part of the world. Since there were four ITF's at Sue and Gary's we had a few more drinks together and finally went to sleep.
The next morning we all regrouped at the Inverloch Environment Centre. We boarded the bus and headed to the Bunurong Coast. Our first stop was at Eagle's Nest. They had arranged a beach exploring contest.
Eagle's Nest on the Bunurong Coast
We then left Eagle's Nest and took a scenic bus tour to Phillip's Island. On Phillip's Island we visted the Koala Conservation Centre and saw many Koalas.
This Koala was sleeping in the tree. Koalas sleep 20 of 24 hours a day.
This Koala had climbed right down to where we were walking.
Okay, this Koala isn't real but I thought the shot was cute.
From the Koala Conservation we headed for lunch at Cowes on Phillips Island.
Beach at Cowes on Phillips Island
After lunch we drove off the Island and headed to the Bass Coast Walking Trail. It was a 7 km walk plus about a 1.5 km walk to the trail head. It was on a cliff top along a spectacular coast line. Thankfully it was an over cast day because if the sun had been at full strength it would have been a very hot walk. The views from the walk were truly breath taking.
In this picture you can see how dry Victoria is. You can also see a small child running. That is one of the kids on exchange with his family from Wales.
Looking back at the ridge we had walked along.
Near the end of the 7 km walk we spotted kangaroos in the distance. If you double click the picture below and look in the middle of it you might be able to see the kangaroos too. (They blend in very well so don't worry if you can't see them).
The hike ended at the Kilcunda Pub and we provided with many snacks. We all had a few drinks before hopping back onto the bus and heading back to Inverloch. Once back at Inverloch we were treated to a "Barbie". The "Barbie" was right at the beach and so I was able to take a pretty nice sunset photo (below).
On Sunday morning sixteen of us met at Inverloch's "Main Beach" for a two hour surfing lesson. It was a ton of fun but I think the waves weren't quite big enough to get some of the "larger" people out of the water. I did stand up a few times but I also spent a lot of time on my knees. It was a ton of fun though so hopefully I'll get a chance to give it another go.
After the surf lesson was over most of us hung out on the beach for a few hours. By about 1 pm I'd had enough and so Hamish (the man that brought me to South Gippsland) and I headed out. It was sad to say goodbye to the other ITFs. It's a really great group of people and the weekend had been a ton of fun. But we were off. We stopped for lunch in Wonthaggi. I managed to find a "Baker's Delight" which is bakery chain that Cobbs has copied in Canada. If you look at the picture you'd think you were looking at a Cobbs . Baker's Delight is the original and it's also far far better than Cobbs.
Baker's Delight - doesn't Cobbs look just a little too much like this?
Wonthaggi
This is what most of the small towns we drove through looked like.
On our drive back into town we also stopped a four vineyards. I managed to purchase a few bottles of wine/port but I must say I don't think this is the best wine region in Victoria. It has nothing on the Okanagan but it was nice to finally start some wine tasting here in Victoria.
This is a view from the Bass Valley Winnery
You can see how terribly dry it is here with the drought.
The drive home took much longer than I had expected and by the time Hamish dropped me off at my home I was ready to be on my own again. Overall it was a really great weekend. While all the ITF's are very different we get along well and everyone is easy to talk to. Those that have come with families have great kids and it was excellent to see how well they played together. The kids seem to be having a great time too and those that are in school are loving it (most days). So, it looks like it's going to be a great year for everyone.
We get together again as a group in about three weeks in a town called Ballarat. The Ballarat Teachers that have been on exchange will be hosting us there and I know they are very excited to show us their town. I think the rest of the ITFs that I spent the weekend with are excited to meet up again soon too. Most of us live a distance from one another so it's great when we have these events planned for us.
Next weekend I may be off to Angelsea on the Great Ocean Road but I'll know for certain during the week. One of my teaching colleagues has invited me but the date is still not officially set. The funny thing is I think I'm just about ready for a weekend in Melbourne. I still have a few people to meet. I do have dinner plans with a good family friend's friend and her daughter on Wednesday. I look forward to meeting them and having a night out mid week! I'm not going to be so stressed about work any more because I know it is so not worth it. Until I write another post, take care and keep in touch. I still LOVE the comments and the e-mails. I hope you're enjoying the posts with PICTURES!
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