Boing — Boing!  Hop — Hop!  Boing — Boing!!!  Can you guess what’s bouncing now?

A kangaroo!  And Kangaroos are from which continent/country?

If you said Australia, then you are correct.  Our friend Lizzie picked us up from the airport in Melbourne after the flight across the Tasman Sea from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Melbourne, Australia.  Then we drove to Lizzie’s home in Meeniyan, Australia.

Lizzie is so lucky! All of us Americans want to see koalas, right? Well, anAustralian with a eucalyptus tree and no fences like the Lizzie, can see them every day!

Good Morning!

We woke up the first morning and walked outside to see a koala right in her yard. It was so cute! Wish all of you were with us to see it!

Yummy Eucalyptus!

Later that day, Lizzie took us to Coal Creek, an old fashioned town where coal was mined in the the 1800’s and early 1900’s.

Each building had a different subject such as, music, sewing, saddle making, blade Smith, and even a barber.

This was a famous music teacher’s home and studio, Miss Daisy Hardwick.

This was her famous student, Bruce Hungerford

Wow, what did this thing do?

This was the way cash was sent to the purser in the store

I am telling you, roos really are this big!

Wow! Lots of memories recorded in these……SMILE, everyone!

For some kids who like the gross stuff, one of the worlds largest earthworms was found here. Anyway, every building was great.

EEEEEEeeeeeewwwwww!

I also got to see what an old-school was like we are so glad that this is not how school is now.

“Sit up straight!”   “Arthur, that is not how you write an ‘a’!”

Once our bellies started rumbling we decided to search for the perfect picnic spot. The beach was a perfect place for that.

After the picnic lunch was another beach.  We went to Eaglesnest with a tall rock that looks like, well, an Eagle’s Nest!

The Southern Australian Coast, Inverlock.

The next day we went to three art galleries and I met a couple of artists.  One gallery had amazing artwork made from charcoal pencils and even iPhone digital creations. Another had odd furniture made from all recycled materials.

The last one had many books. I read a lot of them because I really like the author who both writes and illustrates her books. This was Alison Lester’s gallery in Fish Creek, Victoria, Australia.  Our favorite book of hers, “Magic Beach,” actually has “charging white horses” in it!  Do you remember what charging white horses are?

We will be enjoying more good home-cooked meals here, too, at Lizzie’s place — how can you tell?

That’s what we did the first few days in Australia….

Look for more posts from your Junior World Trek Reporter.

Keep Calm and Travel Around the World.