Koalas!

Okay I'm guessing you're getting sick of cute animal pictures by now, but if it wasn't clear before....there isn't a whole lot of interesting stuff happening for me during the week, so my weekend activities must suffice for blog fodder! We got a new team member from the US today, let's call him LS, who I had worked with previously in Canada. Very excited for him to be here and I have a feeling we will have fun weekend adventures together in the future!!

Until then.....

....Here are some more mighty cute pictures of the koalas. I couldn't believe how many there were at the sanctuary or how active they were. They usually sleep all day! We were very lucky!

Kangaroos!

You can also feed kangaroos at the koala sanctuary! I was a bit nervous, but Amanda is a veteran (she has a season's pass!!) so after watching her feed one I took my chances. I kept thinking "grandpa wouldn't approve of this - this is the most dangerous seeming thing I have done in the last 5 months of travelling" .... but there were 2 year olds poking at the kangaroos and no supervisors around so I guess they are pretty tame!

Here are some of the best pictures. We took a ton! All for 50 cents worth of Roo Food! 

 (I realised I didn't need to bend over for this big guy above me! And then got nervous!)

More animals!

There were more than just koalas at the sanctuary - when we got there we saw a sheep dog show, where the dog rounded up a bunch of sheep and made them go over a fake bridge and through a gate. Then they were going to shear the sheep, but we left for that part.

They also had lots of other animals, like miniature horses....

And wombats.....

And emus (by this time it was raining!)

Brisbane!!

I'm in Brisbane!! It's a long weekend! Life is good! One of my best friends from business school, Amanda, is here for work for 9 months (!!!) so invited me to come stay at her apartment for the weekend. So nice to be somewhere with a kitchen for a few days! Today we went to the farmer's market in the morning, then to a Koala Sanctuary, then to get our nails done (much needed), and then for dinner. Not bad, eh?

You can "cuddle" a Koala at the sanctuary, which is a big deal, because I think this is the only state in Australia where that is allowed. They are super cute, but not as soft as they look, and they have very long and sharp nails that they sort of cling to you with. Here are a few photos of me and the Koala!

At first they wanted me to hold this one (I forget his name), but he didn't want to hang out with me. He just wanted more food.

So then they swapped in this one, named Utopia. She was incredibly sweet!

HuTong Dumpling Bar

The HuTong Dumpling Bar might be my favourite restaurant right now. So much so that I ate at the larger restaurant in South Yarra with my friend from work (RH) and his wife on Friday night (soup dumplings, chili dumplings, peeking duck, and lots of wine) and went to the smaller bar location in the CBD for lunch on Sunday by myself (soup dumplings, mushroom and prawn dumplings, green tea) by myself. Melbourne's #1 attraction as far as I'm concerned!

Here is an extract from the internet on how to eat "soup dumplings" also called Xiao Long Bao

Method a.) You take the dumpling in your spoon, dip it in the vinager/ginger. Then, you proceed to gnaw a hole in the skin with your teeth. Then, gently sip out the broth like a vampire until it is gone. Proceed to consume the meat and the wrapping by popping the whole thing in your mouth. The disadvantage of this method is that you don't get to consume the broth and dumpling in one fell swoop. The advantages is that you can eat it while it is fairly hot and avoid burning yourself.

Method b.) You pop the whole thing in your mouth. Bite down, and the dumpling explodes in your mouth releasing it's juicy contents in a sublime mix of broth, meat, and wrapping. Advantages: The combination really tastes awesome. Disadvantages: There is 100% possibility that you will burn off the inside of your mouth because the broth is usually HOT.

Here's a picture of the guy making the dumplings:

Maroondah (or "the after")

So, KM finished making George run in circles, and it was time for KM2's ride. But we didn't quite get there. George was upset about something and bucked KM2 off before he even had a chance to get seated. It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen. He is okay, but will require a few days in the hospital. The rest of Saturday was spent in ambulances (2) and hospitals (2) - one in the town of Maroondah. The staff were incredible and KM2 was the best patient ever, and I was glad to be able to keep them company and provide what little help I could. Fingers crossed for a full and speedy recovery KM2!

George (or "the before")

I spent the weekend in Melbourne - doing branch visits on Friday, having dinner with a friend from work and his wife Friday night (and meeting their adorable baby girl), and spending Saturday and Sunday with KM and KM2 (recall these are my very good friends from the first Australia trip).

KM and KM2 bought a horse a few months ago - George!! He is massive, but beautiful. We had a delicious brunch on Saturday (I can't believe I had forgotten how good Melbourne brunch is) and then drove out towards the Yarra Valley where he lives, bought some things for him, and then went to visit. I was going to watch them take turns riding him - they do stuff like dressage and jumping, and have been riding for ages so it promised to be a good show!

The weather wasn't great but the rain held off. Here are some pictures of them and their horse, and of Kirstin longeing him to give him a workout and get rid of his extra energy before riding him. I got some great action shots!

.... to be continued with "the after"