Last Day of Holiday

April 27th, 2014

When I got up in the morning I had a nice breakfast with Nick and his dad. Shortly after, Nick and I headed out to go snorkelling at Brighton Beach. We could see the Melbourne skyline and the beach boxes. Nick brought his speargun but we didn't see more than a dozen little fish. But we did see a jellyfish. 

I was only able tot stay in the water for about an hour. I was freezing when I got out. I was not in Western Australia anymore. We headed back to Nick's house and got cleaned up. His parents put together a wonderful lunch. We ate outside and enjoyed the sun. His grandfather also came over. It was great to sit and talk to everyone. They also have a trampoline so I got up and messed around before we left. 

It was a great afternoon! Nick's family is great and so generous to welcome me to their home! 

Then Nick and I had a 3 hour drive back to Warrnambool. It was an easy drive and when we got back we hung out with our housemates for awhile. Then we all unpacked and headed to bed. 

My Morning at the Museum

April 26th, 2014

My last morning in Perth. I slept in a bit and finished packing. After I checked out, I found Archie outside the hostel. He had just gotten back from the clubs. It is crazy how late people stay out here! It was still to early for the Museum to be open so I headed to the plaza for wifi. I talked to Eric until he had to go get ready for his night and I headed to the museum. Being the Western Australia Museum it focused on Australian organisms and culture. It was a great experience!

Shark jaw

Stick insect

 Giant Clam

Sloth Bear

 I found Bucky!!! :)

Tazmania Tiger

 Aboriginal Culture

I still had a couple hours before I was going to head to the airport, so I went back to the hostel ate lunch and talked to the people I had met over the week. Then it was time to say goodbye.

My flight went well and I landed after midnight. I was planning on sleeping in the airport and catching the train early in the morning, but Nick offered to pick me up and take me back to Warrnambool. I was so thankful! We got back to his family's house close to 1 and I crashed.

Cottesloe Beach

April 25, 2014

I slept in this morning and then made my way to the beach. I wanted to relax my last full day in Perth, especially to enjoy the sun and warm weather. It was also Anzac Day (the equivalent of Memorial Day) so jets were flying over periodically through the day. I ended up throwing an American football around with some guys on the beach. I assumed they were American since they had a football (American footballs are rare here), but when they started talking I knew immediately they were not. They were actually from an island off the coast of Africa. The left after awhile and I went back to napping and reading on the beach. 

When I got back to the hostel I got cleaned up for dinner. Naomi, my Scottish roommate, and I were grabbing dinner together. We ended up just having dinner at the hostel bar. We hung out with the Irishmen again. Eventually, Naomi, Archie, and I went out to one of the clubs. We had a fun time dancing! Naomi and I were pretty tired so we headed to back shortly after midnight.

Hillary's Boat Harbour

April 24th, 2014

Alix left this morning, it was sad to see her go. She has been an amazing travel buddy! She loves to have fun and explore and can laugh at the wrong turns we made. I waited with her for her taxi then I was off to Hillary's Harbour. It was a tourist resort. There were shops, restaurants and play areas. I took a tour around before walking to the dive shop asking where a good place to snorkel was. The man was very nice and wrote it all down for me. I then walked out to the beach. It was a pretty gloomy looking day but the ocean was still beautiful!

Dolphin Statue

 The Beach!

I needed to go pick up a map from the Western Australia Fisheries and Marine Research Laboratory. I also took a tour around the open part. They had windows looking into the labs and displayed some of the research they were doing. They also had tanks...

 

This fish is getting cleaned by a wrasse

Entrance Art

It was still gloomy outside so I thought I would go to the AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia). Everyone had been telling me great things about it, so I checked it out. It was the best aquarium I have ever been to!

A diver was in the tank feeding the fish and rays.

https://plus.google.com/107577374683880825997/posts/f8omoofWRT8

https://plus.google.com/107577374683880825997/posts/eQKP8P1D68w

i  I found Nemo!

 I found Dory too!

Top View of the Coral Reef

Bottom View

"Curiosity of a Child"

 Cute!

After he aquarium I headed out to the snorkel spot. I accidentally got off the bus too early, but it was a nice walk overlooking the sanctuary. From my walk I saw that it was a better day for surfing than snorkelling. I was disappointed, but I see all sorts of animals in the aquarium. On the beach, I settled for looking for shells and watching the surfers. Eventually I got in and did some body surfing before heading back to the hostel. 

                                                                                               Purple Sponge

I went to a cafe for dinner then came back to the hostel to hang out with some of the Irishmen Alix and I met the day before. It was a new cultural experience hanging out with them. It amazed me how I could not understand a word they said to each other. It was a night full of laughs and translating Irish English to American English.