April 21st, 2014
This Morning Alix and I quickly got ready to catch the train to Shoalwater. At the train station, the ticket man helped Alix and I save money buying our tickets. He was very kind and talkative. He also told us that his cousin was the head grounds keeper at the White House. What a small world it is!
We were then I the train headed to the bus stop which was 30 mins late. We missed the first penguin feeding but we had plenty of time for the second. We were under the impression we would get to feed the penguins. So when we arrived we quickly ate lunch and headed into the exhibit to take pictures of the little penguins.
So CUTE!
Swim Swim Swim!
Then it was finally time!... we got to see them be fed... we didn't get to feed them though.
Afterwards, we suited up! Just before we got in on the west side of the island we saw a seal swim in front of us. The swell got to high for us to stay in long, so we walked over the east side. There were eel grass beds that we swam over. The visibility wasn't the best but we did see some fish, sea stars, and algae. There were some fish that followed us around too. The birds on land were not happy that we were swimming close to their nests... we could hear them squawking underwater.
Golden Orb Weaver Spider
Penguin nest box
Red-mouthed ascidian
Armed Anemone 
On the way back to shore I came upon a fish almost as big as me. It was a deep purple colour, and at first I thought it was a shark but it wasn't. I wasn't able to get a picture before it swam away. I told Alix about it as we were getting and overheard some other people saying they saw it too. We dried off and hung up our wetsuits and walked around the rest of the island. It was beautiful.
As it got closer to 4 we made our way to the ferry stop. We were behind a british family with 4 kids. There were too many people in line for the first ferry and the boat was down to one engine. The kids huddled up and made a survival plan talking about eating the youngest kid first then moving on to a bald person because they didn't want to taste the hair. Alix and I were laughing so hard along with their parents. I made the comment I was glad I am a fast swimmer. It was also funny because the little girl was trying to change the subject and did an American impression. Alix and I busted out laughing. She was kind of embarrassed before she realised we were Americans. Finally, the ferry was able to come get us and the kids' eating everyone ideas ceased and we were headed to the mainland. We headed to Penguin Road to await our rides home.
We quickly showered and power walked to the nearest food cafe that was open. Then for dessert we had our traditional ice cream and internet from McDonalds.
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