My brother Mac recently visited me in Melbourne. For those of you who don't know him, he's a senior in college at Iowa State University (go Cyclones!) and a cool dude (don't tell him I said that). He recently caught the travel bug while studying abroad in Cork, Ireland and couldn't say no to a good deal on a flight to Melbourne when he found it. He visited during his Thanksgiving break but, since he had to get back for school, he only got to be in Australia for 9 days. I'd like to think that we made the most of this time.
Any trip to Australia isn't complete without a kangaroo sighting. As an Australian resident, I know a place or two where kangaroos can be seen. In fact, I know where you can feed them, pet them, and even box them (just kidding, don't box them. You'll lose). On Mac's first weekend in Australia, I went with Mac and Linnea to Phillip Island, home of my local go-to wildlife park (by go-to, I mean I had been there once before). We got to see all sorts of Australian wildlife, including echidnas, dingoes, wallabies, emus (my archenemy), koalas, and kangaroos. If you're wondering why emus are my archenemy, look them up. They're ugly and terrifying. They have no fear of humans and aren't afraid to stick their big beaks wherever they please, including in your face. Anyway, emus weren't the point. We were looking for kangaroos! And kangaroos we found. You name it, we saw it: huge male kangaroos with barrel chests, female kangaroos with tiny joeys in their pouch, adolescent joeys living in their mom's pouch part-time. We spent quite a bit of time feeding them and hanging out with them.
When it comes to Phillip Island, the most famous attraction is the penguin parade. Yes, it's as adorable as it sounds. Phillip Island is home to the smallest penguins in the world (about 12 inches tall). They spend some of their days fishing in the ocean. When they need to return to their homes on shore, they wait until dusk so predators won't be able to see them. This leads to groups of tiny penguins scurrying across the beach to their homes, which is where you get to see them during the 'penguin parade.' We spent our evening on Phillip Island enjoying watching the penguins before we had to drive back to Melbourne.
On the weeknights while Mac was in town, he saw a bit of what the day-to-day looks like living in Melbourne. He visited me at my office and he joined me, Linnea, and a few friends for the Tuesday night trivia at the local pub. However, not everything we did was a part of the routine. He was visiting during Thanksgiving so we had to celebrate! Mac and Linnea cooked up a delicious Thanksgiving meal on a Monday night. We brought the projector into the kitchen so that we could stream the Vikings game while feasting because Thanksgiving without football seems incomplete. Alex, my roommate, joined us and in doing so experienced his first Thanksgiving dinner. I have already turned him into a Vikings fan and now he's a Thanksgiving fan as well. The Vikings won, which is no surprise considering they have won every game that Alex has watched with me.
On Thanksgiving, Mac and I flew to Sydney for a long weekend before he had to head back to the US. We stayed at an Airbnb in Newtown, which is a hip suburb just a few train stops away from the CBD. Our hosts were an absolutely lovely French couple in their late thirties. One morning when Mac and i were getting ready for the day's adventures, we were greeted by a singsong voice with a French accent that said "Good morning! I am a little hungover today!" I had never heard someone be so cheery about a hangover.
Upon arrival in Sydney, we didn't have any plans, which is how Mac likes to travel. I had plans though. Actually, I just had plan, meaning there was one thing we were going to do and I wasn't telling Mac until we did it. As a birthday/Christmas present to Mac, I bought tickets for the two of us to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He had no idea that it was happening. On our first morning, I mentioned that we had to be in a specific area at a specific time. Mac asked why and I said that I couldn't tell him. After a brief moment of annoyance, Mac realized that it was a surprise so he played along. As we headed to the CBD and began walking to our destination, I could see the wheels spinning in Mac's head trying to figure out what we were doing. He would later tell me that he thought I had gotten us tickets to a show at the Sydney Opera House, so the surprise stayed a surprise. Once we arrived at the BridgeClimb doors, a look of realization and excitement came over him as he figured out what we were going to do. Climbing the bridge, which included stops for photos and learning about a history of the bridge, took about 3 hours. The weather was great and the views were spectacular, making for a great BridgeClimb experience.
We spent the rest of our time in Sydney walking around and enjoying tasty food and the occasional beverage. It was a lovely weekend exploring Sydney with Mac and fun to have him in Australia, even if it was a short trip.