Flat rested up in the apartment,
it's just so pleasant to sit in the house and look out at the boats in
the marina.
Flat and I went to the beach, that
crazy guy just loves to play in the sand!
Later we took a walk around the Harbour. The views are just fantastic from just about anywhere around the Harbour.
If you want to read more about the
Harbour walk (we live on that walk) just click here. While we were
on our walk, Stanley had a few mis-adventures. We were crossing the street,
and Stanley did NOT look both ways. Well, it was not a pretty sight
as you can see!
Flat Stanley took a trip with Chad
and Nelly to the South Highlands. The South Highlands are south and
west of Sydney -- about a 2.5 hour drive. In the South Highlands
is much cooler than in Sydney because the elevation is 1,000 metres or
about 3,300 feet above sea level. In the Australian winter, which
is the opposite of winter in the United States including the months of:
June, July and August. Conversely, Christmas comes in the middle
of summer! So often, people travel to the South Highlands during
the "winter" to celebrate a cold Christmas known as "Yulefest". Sometimes
it snows in July!
Here's a picture of Flat Stanley
hanging out in a Christmas tree.
The local inn was all decorated for Christmas, even though
it was June. Here is Flat and Nelly in front of a beautiful antique
crèche.
While we were in the South Highlands, we took a "bush
walk" that's Australian for hiking. Here is Nelly and Flat in the
bush.
We stopped off the road at a small park and took a short walk to see a stunning vista!
You remember I said that the Highlands were 1,000 metres
high? Well, that's what 1,000 metres looks like. It's pretty high
up in the air. Just to the left, there was a beautiful waterfall.
On our trip, we saw a Kangaroo and a Emu!
On the way back from our bush walk, Flat got thirsty,
so we stopped off in a Hotel. Hotel's in Australia can mean a place
to stay, or an old place to stay that is now a pub or a bar.
Flat made friends quickly, well...in no time flat...as
they say.
After our trip to the Highlands, we few off to Melbourne.
Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia and it about 1000 kilometres
away (how far is that in miles?). It is very beautiful too, but very
different from Sydney. Melbourne has wide straight streets and trees
everywhere. Melbourne is also one of the few cities in the world
where street cars are still used to get around town. We flew on Qantas
airlines and Flat was pretty quiet. He perked up in the car when
we say signs telling us we were close to Bunyip territory!
Flat got scared as it turned dark. You never know
where or when the Bunyip can jump out of the bush and grab you. Flat
got a little chilly and huddled up close to the fireplace. Fortunately
he stayed well away form the flames. We stayed in a really cool bed
and breakfast near the Yarra Valley, that is a very famous place for making
great wines! Here is a look at the fireplace in our living room.
Flat enjoyed hanging around the vineyards, literally.
Flat didn't confine his activities to the vineyards, he also hung out in the tasting rooms. His favourite was Cabernet Shiraz...just kidding...Flat was not allowed to even taste wine...not until he finishes graduate school.
We had a great time with Flat, we miss him and our broth Aaron too! We hope that Aaron and Flat will both come to visit us and have adventures in the land of Oz!