BABY KOALA!

Tonight I am in Melbourne, despite myself. When I was just about to leave the hostel at Warrnambool on Wednesday and managed to lock the keys in my car. An hour later I managed to pry the lock open through the sunroof. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to navigate a 4mm wide wire to a small latch at an angle a meter away. Luckily I am a stubborn bugger.

With my keys freed from their metal prison, I was off again down the Great Ocean Road. I may have accidentally locked my keys away because I was distracted from HOLDING A BABY KOALA!!!! In the morning, just when I was about to leave, I got to talking with an older fella who had been staying there. As it turned out, he was running a tour from Melbourne to Adelaide, and the night before, they were supposed to have a presentation from someone from the local wildlife park who didn't show. As compensation, the group was allowed to come to the wildlife park for free that morning. He invited me along, also free of charge, since they had to stop off at the hostel on the way back anyway. I saw emus and kangaroos and wallabies and possums and even a couple monkeys, but the crowning moment of the trip was when we all got to meet the new edition. Koalas are the softest thing in the entire world!!! If he were an adult his claws would be a bit of a problem but this little guy was just right. About the size and weight of a newborn baby, he was 9 months hold and about 1/3 the size of a full grown koala. I also got to hold Buster, the Carpet Python, who was also quite friendly but not nearly so soft.

I only drove about 250km between yesterday morning today but I was on the Great Ocean Road which is chock full of amazing scenery and limestone rock formations off the coast. I stayed in Apollo Bay last night and had beer and wine with 4 germans, 2 irishmen and a mexican. Sounds like the start of a bad joke. The hostel was really funny because it was basically someone's house where they converted the long shed in the back into a series of dorm rooms and called it a hostel. It was actually quite cozy and a nice change from the utilitarian approach you can get in the big cities. Speaking of which, I am currently in my own hotel room, since there is not a hostel dorm bed to be had on Good Friday. I really need to start planning ahead at some point.... nah. $100 does not get me a private bathroom or tv, but the room has a bed, and is clean and includes parking, which can run up to $25 in a place like Melbourne, which is about the same population as Toronto. I am really liking the city, despite the fact that everything was closed today. I went to the Botanical Gardens and watched an IMAX film... Monsters vs Aliens, but don't judge me- it was actually really funny, and in 3D! It was that or sit in my room and go to bed early.

Did I mention I held a baby koala yesterday? You are so jealous right now.

-A.