Penguin Island

In Australia, Good Friday and the Monday following Easter are public holidays. Brian had a 4-day weekend! We had so many people ask if we were going away for holiday. Brian didn't realize he got 2 extra days off work so we didn't plan anything special- the Aussie's were shocked when I told them Americans don't get any extra time off during Easter. I'm thinking America needs to adopt this practice of 2 extra days off!

On Monday we drove an hour south to Rockingham and took a ferry out to Penguin Island. I think that so far, this is one of my favorite day trips we've gone on since moving here. We brought a picnic lunch & Brian bought some snorkel gear (which we didn't use b/c the girls were too scared- gotta get the girls to practice in the hot tub first). We got to see a penguin feeding at the observatory...then played in the water until we were pooped...then we went home and made curry for dinner. Such a fun day.

I took this picture right after unloading the ferry.

In the observatory looking at the penguins...I now know that the blue penguin is the smallest penguin in the world.

Mina's favorite part of the day was throwing mud- she's not too messy in this pic but trust me, she was one messy girl by the time we left. Poor girl- when she throws mud...most of it lands on her b/c her arms aren't long enough (or strong enough) yet. At least she enjoyed herself.

The not-so-sandy beach. Definitely not the prettiest beach we've been to...but the water was calm and the rocks made for some good exploring. The girls saw a penguin and large crab hiding amongst the rocks in the background. There was also a 2 ft. long lizard hanging out by our stroller.

At this lookout a couple asked me to take their picture. I did. Then the guy offered to take a family pic for us. It wasn't until we got home that we realized he didn't consider Mina to be a part of the family...at least he got part of the stroller.

Kaiya on the ferry ride back to the shore.