MELBOURNE
Melbourne has some quite attractive urban architecture
The National Gallery of Victoria had two featured exhibits: YAYOI KUSAMA and CATS AND DOGS
Yayoi Kusama was born in 1929. She was 16 when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed with nuclear weapons. As a child she was sent to spy on her father's indfidelities. Perhaps this explains the obsession with penises.
"Accumulation of Corpses"
"Walking on the Sea of Death"
The Cats and Dogs exhibit was in a separate building -- we were advised to ride the streetcar one stop.
Excursion to Moonlit Sanctuary for a nightime tour, to see Koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils, feather-tail gliders, and quokkas, and see and feed wallabies. The rainbow was a special treat on the way. The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly. The paths were level and well maintain, compatible with wheelchair access.
Wombat's butt
Koala
Wallabies - very accustomed to people with cups of food for them
Qokka
Tasmanian devil
Feathertail gliders
Phillips Island Nature Park -- There are boardwalks that bring you within 2 meters of Koalas in trees.
Phillips Island is home to a colony of over 4000 Little Blue Penguins, the worlds largest. They nest is single family burrows. Each day about 10% of them go to the ocean in the early morning to feed on fish. They are divers and swimmers. After filling their bellies, they return en masse at sunset to the beach and to their burrows, where they feed their chicks by regurgitating stomach contents. A few of the chicks came to the beach hoping for an early dinner. The adults recognize and only feed their own chicks. The arrival time at the beach is highly predictable. The park has a viewing stand where you get a great look at the hundreds of birds returning. The guides were very informative and enthusiastic.
Photography is prohibited during the march, as flashing phones and cameras could disturb bird behavior. See this link for excellent photos by park photographers:
-Park photos of March of the Penguins-
The sky was mostly clear the night of our visit. Note that Orion, compared to the Northern Hemishpere view, is doing a hand-stand. Orions sword points south. (The Southern Cross is several frame lengths above the top left corner).
