On the morning of my last full day in Australia, we (Brian, Leng, and I) drove to the airport to drop off Dan and Rowena (who were on their way to a honeymoon in Fiji) and my parents (who were heading to Sydney to continue their vacation.)     After Bon Voyages were said, Brian agreed to spend the day with me, a generous offer, since I knew almost no one else in Victoria. 

I had been whining about driving a thousand kilometers through Australia and seeing no kangaroos (I was beginning to doubt if these creatures really exist if they were an invention of the Australian Department of Tourism).  So Brian suggested we go to a nature preserve to see some indigenous animals. 

The preserve was in Barrango and featured local animals and some imported from elsewhere.   I got my first view of a kangaroo and I fed some of the llamas in residence.  One of the llamas returned the favor by spitting green slime all over my shirt as I walked away.

Gold Town

Next we went to Sovereign Hill in the town of Ballarat, which is an old gold mining town.  Sovereign Hill preserves living history from the gold mining society of the late 19th century.  Actors dress in period clothing and craftsmen work in the shops along the main street, demonstrating many of the skilled trades popular when the town of Ballarat thrived from the gold industry.  The highlight was an underground tour of the gold mine, which was damp and spooky.

We left Ballarat exhausted not only from walking all day but from the past week's activities.   Brian and Leng and I  walked along the beaches and docks of South Werribee talking and watching the sun set on the bay.   They then drove me around Melbourne, pointing out some of the sights. 

We ended up having coffee and cake at a sidewalk cafe near downtown.    The Becks were exhausted from weeks of planning their daughter's wedding and I was drained from trying to cram as much adventure as possible into too few days on a foreign continent.

I slept well that night.