Jul 16 - Penguin Day!

  Hi Everyone!  It’s finally here!  It’s Penguin Day!

  Today we go to Granite Island to see my friends and relations. 

  We were up bright and early and headed off to the Victor Harbor Information Centre.  Jess and Mr Smart weren’t sure where the Penguin Centre even was so they thought we’d better check there first.  While we were there we saw a Pengi-bank!  My fellow penguins on Granite Island need a lot of help so Jess and Mr Smart let me make a donation.

  It turned out that the Penguin Centre was located on Granite Island itself and we were up early enough to catch the very first tram over the causeway to the island.  Mr Smart likes trams.  At home in Melbourne, that's his favourite way of getting about so he was very happy to see one.  This tram is a bit different though!  There is no electricity involved, the tram is pulled along by a horse.  The horse pulling our tram in the morning was called Mac.  He was very big and intimidating but I got quite close when Jess went to pat him on the nose.  It was a bit drizzly as we boarded the tram set off but that was great, because it meant we had the top of the tram to ourselves!

  The trip across the causeway is only a kilometre but I have very short legs so I was glad I didn't have to walk.  Mac the horse has very long legs and he's very strong.  By the time we got to the tram stop on Granite Island he must've been very tired.  At least the sun had come out so he (and I) could dry off the drizzle for the rest of the day.

  We stopped for a quick look around the gift shop to pass some time while we waited for the Penguin Centre to open then we wandered down to meet some penguins!  The Penguin Centre is currently home to ten Little Blue Penguins like myself, who can't go back into the wild for various reasons.  I could go back to the wild if I wanted to, but I have decided that I like living with Jess and Mr Smart and getting to travel around Australia.
  There was a lot of useful information at the Penguin Centre.  I learned my scientific name, I am a Eudyptula minor!  Jess said that Eudyptula is Latin and means 'good little diver', which sums up we penguins very nicely indeed, and the minor is because we are the smallest penguins in the world!
  The penguins at the centre are fed twice a day and we were there in time for the first feeding.  My tummy was rumbling as the keeper Joyce gave her talk and fed all the other penguins fresh pilchards, but Mr Smart said I would have to wait until my own lunchtime.

  We didn't meet all of the penguins, but we did learn that the best way to tell a boy penguin like me, from a girl penguin, is by looking at the beaks.  Boy penguins generally  have a shorter stouter beak and girl penguins, a slender and longer beak.  The method isn't perfect though, as Joyce introduced us to a pair of penguins, Billy the girl, and Sophie the boy!
  Billy had a sad start in life, but her story has a happy ending.  As a chick, Billy was pulled out of her nest by a child and when the child was told by its mother to put her down, the child dropped her on a rock and her skull was fractured.  She was rescued but it took six months for her to heal and the vets thought she might have fits later in life as a result, but she's lived happily at the Penguin Centre ever since and loves Sophie very much.  Sophie is quite shy, he never came out from under the rock Joyce was sitting on!

  While Sophie and Billy seemed very happy together, some penguins seem to bully their partners a bit.  There was a penguin called Charlie and we didn't get to meet his partner Maddy because he wouldn't let her leave the nest!  Joyce said sometimes he only lets her out every other day, and I thought that was mean, but we also found out that penguins don't mate for life.  Penguin girls pick the house they like best and then take up with the boy who built it, so I guess Charlie must be a good nest builder!  I think I'd better start brushing up on my carpentry skills!
  Joyce also told us that the penguin colony on Granite Island is in dire straights.  In 2008 there were about 2000 penguins in the colony and at last count earlier this year, they think there are only around 26 left.  Lots of things can affect penguin colonies, like feral cats and dogs which used to be a big problem in Bicheno where I come from, and human interference, but the main problems on Granite Island seem to be disruptions in the food chain, and fur seals.  Fur seals like to (gulp) 'play' with penguins.. and they play rough!  Hopefully, the Penguin Centre will get permission to breed their captive penguins before it's too late!
  After all that learning and watching the other penguins eat yummy pilchards I was very hungry so we went and had lunch.  Jess and I had fish and chips and Mr Smart had a chicken pot pie.  Once we'd eaten we were ready to tackle the rest of the island.  You can walk right around it, or if you're lucky like me, be carried around it in a handbag or jacket!  At the beginning of the walk there is a very impressive pile of granite boulders.

  We walked from there to a boardwalk platform and we could look further out to sea and I could see another even smaller island.  It turns out that it is called Seal Rock, and it's where all the nasty fur seals live.  Unfortunately there isn't much that can be done about there being too many fur seals as they're a protected species too.  The view of the side of Granite Island from up there was very pretty though.

  There were a lot of very cool looking granite formations on the walk, as well as interesting birds and plants.  Jess and Mr Smart had a big laugh at this rock in particular.  They both giggled and said it looked like Boba Fett, but I didn't know who that was.

  We met lots of other visitors during the day.  There were lots of other tourists and everyone was running around and taking pictures.  Jess and Mr Smart took photos of other people for them and they swapped back and took photos of us!  It's very nice that everyone is so happy and friendly when they are visiting new places.  When we had nearly got all the way around to the start again, Mr Smart spotted a new spider web glistening in the sunshine.

  One of the reasons that I like living with Mr Smart so much is that he is so kind to animals.  Even though he doesn't really love big spiders, he still won't ever hurt them.  This spider was going around and around, getting closer and closer to the middle of his web.  He was nearly finished and ready for fly-catching in the evening.

  It was a lovely walk around the island and we headed back over the causeway in the sunshine, on a much more crowded tram!  We wanted to do a few little things before we headed back to Granite Island in the evening for our night time penguin tour!

  When we got back to Victor Harbor, Jess noticed a pair of camels on the beach.  I was pretty hesitant, and Mr Smart took some convincing, but Jess could not be dissuaded. She's always wanted to learn to ride a camel, and though a camel ride is not quite learning, it's at least a step in the right direction.  I was very nervous but I went along for the ride too.  Jess and I went on a female camel called Patty and Mr Smart was ahead of us on a larger male camel called Teddy.
  It was a very funny feeling as the camels got up and down.  They get up with their back legs first so you nearly get thrown off over the front and then they sit down front legs first so it nearly happens again!  Patty was very funny, after she had sat down she wiggled her big camel-butt and Jess nearly flew off sideways!  It was a fun mini-adventure though, between penguin-based activities.

   In what seemed like no time at all, the sun was setting and it was time to walk back over the causeway to have our night time penguin tour.  While we were walking over we stopped to take pictures of the sunset and a nice lady coming the other way stopped and took a family portrait for us.

  When we got to the island, I got to see a sign that made me clap and cheer.  We had missed seeing it when we came over on the tram.

  We met our tour group for the evening at the Penguin Centre, and we got to see Joyce again as she was our guide for the night.  It was nice to get to see her again.  We did get to hear a lot of the same information as we had during the day, but we also got to hear a lot more anecdotes about Joyce's life with the penguins, which was fun.  She obviously loves us Little Blues very much.
  With the penguin colony getting so small there was a chance that we wouldn't see any wild penguins at all, but we did see one!  And Joyce showed us some of the burrows and nests that were in very very hard to reach places.  I don't think I will be so adventurous as to build my nest on a cliff face under a boardwalk!  Though that one was called 'The Penthouse' so it might be good for attracting the right kind of lady penguin one day when I'm older.  We did see other wildlife too, birds and possums.  The possums certainly weren't afraid or shy.

  After a long day of walking, Jess and Mr Smart were both very tired and very hungry.  There had not been time to eat dinner before the penguin tour and it was nearly eight o'clock by the time we had walked back over the causeway to Victor Harbor.  We went to a local Indian restaurant and had a pleasant meal together before we went home and collapsed into bed and fell asleep very quickly.
  Until tomorrow!
  Love from Pengi

Pengi Goes To The Fleurieu Peninsula. Guest Blog!

  Hi Everyone, it’s Pengi again with a big adventure, within the big adventure!
  Despite already being on a holiday, Jess and Mr Smart had planned a few days away from Adelaide in Victor Harbor.  They made sure to let me know there was plenty of room in Jess’s bag for me to come along, making this little penguin very happy!
 The trip to Victor Habor also included passing through McLaren Vale, a well known South Australian wine region.
Mr Smart is very keen on his wine and Jess is growing fond of it as well, so they were both looking forward to this part.  I’m still quite a young penguin so I can’t buy any wine myself, but they let me have sips now and again, though they are sure to watch me carefully.
  The first stop was the Shingleback winery.  It is home to the very popular Chocolate Shiraz wine.  They decided not to try that particular wine though since they have already had it many times before.  Instead they tried a few others and decided that they liked them enough to purchase some bottles.

  The next stop on the mini wine tour was Maxwell Wines, famous for its honey and mead.  Both Jess and Mr Smart tasted quite a few of their meads and found them to be delicious. They ended up buying a lot more wine there than they had planned and decided that they needn’t visit any more wineries.  Jess also had a taste of their honey and decided to buy a jar of it as well, one that had been aged to the point it had candied!

 

  After Mr Smart and Jess loaded up the car, they had a quick run through the still growing Maxwell Maze.  Jess took the left wall and Mr Smart took the right.  Jess and I beat Mr Smart out and were waiting with the camera!  Luckily none of us got lost and we were soon off to our next stop.

  We were all quite hungry at this point and decided to head to another place that Jess had been keen to take us to, Blessed Cheese.  They had a nice cheese platter for us all to share which included some nuts and fruits.  Both Jess and Mr Smart were surprised by how much they enjoyed the Adelaide Blue, a blue cheese since they generally don’t like the type.
  After finishing lunch, we all walked down to another of Jess’s favourite places, The Almond Train.  They had also sorts of wonderful treats inside, though most revolved around almonds.  They selected a few treats, some to enjoy themselves and some to give as presents.

  We were going to head back to the car and continue our journey, but it began to pour down with rain just as we left the train.  We hurried into a nearby bakery that Jess had already eyed off and settled in to wait out the storm.  Naturally while we were there we had to order their cake and coffee deal!  Mr Smart enjoyed the coffee while Jess and I shared the cake.  The stop also gave me a chance to write some of my postcards ready to send off.

  The rain soon stopped and we made our way back to the car to finish our journey.  It wasn’t too long a drive and we soon found ourselves entering Victor Harbor.  Jess’s keen eye spotted the Kleinigs Hill Lookout and we pulled in to take in the view.  There was even a pair of fixed binoculars there that I got to look through.

  Binoculars are a pretty magical device since they make everything so much bigger and look so much closer!  I could see all the way to Granite Island, which Mr Smart told me we are visiting tomorrow!
  We could have stood there all day looking at the view but decided to head in and find our new home away from home away from home!  We missed the car park on the first pass but this just gave us a chance to see some of the back streets as we drove around the block. We checked in to Room 23 at the Anchorage Seafront Hotel and did a little unpacking, after which Mr Smart decided that being driven around all day was too tiring and decided to have a nap.  This gave Jess and I a chance to wander around ourselves and we got to see a wonderful sunset across the bay. Mr Smart sure missed out!

  When we got back, Mr Smart was suitable refreshed and ready to venture out in search of dinner.  The Encounter Restaurant at Hotel Victor was chosen, partly due to Jess having found a discount coupon for it.  The pub style service had Jess and Mr Smart worried but they were soon pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food.  All the meals proved quite delicious though it was hard to pick between the lamb ribs or chicken dishes as the standout of the night.  To accompany the meal, Mr Smart tried out the West End beer, which Jess described as the South Australian version of VB.  He seemed happy enough with it and was glad to have ticked off another local specialty as done. Jess and I shared a lemon lime and bitters.
  After dinner, we picked up some supplies from the local Coles. We had forgotten that plastic bags had been banned in South Australia so we hadn’t brought our own resuable bag and had to buy one. It proved fortuitous though since we had many souvenirs to carry back by the end of the trip!
  Overall it was a very fun day but we were all ready for bed by the end.  We piled into the bed and put on some Star Trek DS9 to end the day.
  Back soon!
  Love from Pengi.

Pengi Goes To The Park. Guest Blog!

  Hello again everyone, it’s Pengi, back for another big adventure on day three of our Adelaide trip.  After two rather full days, today was going to be a bit more laid back.  Quite appropriate for a Sunday!  After sleeping in for a suitable amount of time it was time to start the day.
  First up was a trip to the local bakery for breakfast.  Jess decided that it would be nice to take Anouk for a walk as well since she was pining for Jess's Dad.  Anouk is a golden Labrador and seems to be quite friendly, though I am still nervous around her since she is so much larger than me and quite quick with chomping down on what she sees as food.  Jess has assured me that I will be quite safe.
  The bakery is very close and we were there in no time.  Once there we saw Jess's Dad, Bertie and Jess's nephew finishing up, and they agreed to walk Anouk back home while we sat down to enjoy our breakfast.  The bakery had a great selection of treats to try, even one that looked like me!

  Mr Smart had his usual morning coffee and was going to share it with me, until Jess pointed out that I should have traditional Adelaidean breakfast comprising a Kitchener Bun and Nippies ice coffee.  The bun was quite delicious but seems to be very messy to eat!

  I must admit that I had a bit of a sugar rush so we decided we would continue on our walk to the nearby park to help work off the energy.  Mr Smart and Jess have already walked to this park a couple of times so they decided to talk an alternate route to see more of the neighbourhood.  It’s full of many nice houses, and Jess explained that they follow the Germanic style of architecture due to the early settlers of Adelaide.

  On arriving at the park Mr Smart pointed out that last night’s rain still hadn’t dried up and suggested that I couldn’t go on all of them.  I tried to explain that I didn’t mind the water, I am a penguin after all, but he was quite insistent that he didn't want me catching a cold.  Luckily we did find some things that Jess was able to dry enough for me to enjoy.  First up was the swing, which was so much fun.  I wanted to go higher and higher!  Sadly the slide was deemed too wet for me.  I tried to point out that penguins slide on ice all the time, but no luck.  I did get to walk across the bride though.

  There was also a climbing rack with a chain.  It was hard work getting up, my flippers are made for swimming after all, not climbing, but it was fun trying something new.  I did want to finish it with a slide down the tube, but again, it was decided that that was too wet.

  On the other side there were letters on wheels that you could spin around to make up different words.  I wanted to make my name there but the letters weren’t in the right spot, so I had to settle for standing next to a P for Pengi!

  Soon it was time to head back.  Along the way Jess reminded me that in life it’s important to stop and smell the roses, and what better way than to stop and smell a rose!

  When we got back we found Bertie creating towers for Jess's nephew to knock down.  The towers looked so big to me and she was really nice and said I could stand on one.  It was quite a different view being up so high and I could see way farther than normal.  It certainly gave me a new perspective on the world.
 

It was quite a fun filled morning and Mr Smart thought it might be nice if I shared it was all my friends, so I setup next to Jess and set to work writing it all down. 

  Time for this little penguin to sign off, until my next big adventure!
  Love from Pengi!

Pengi's Road Trip! Guest Blog!

  Hi everyone, it’s Pengi again with another big adventure!

  It’s finally arrived!  On Friday Mr Smart, Jess, Bertie, Jess’s nephew and I started our holiday to Adelaide!  I am so excited!  Even though Jess assured me that I would be coming and I wouldn’t be left behind, I wanted to make sure, so I spent the night sleeping in Jess's handbag.

  In the morning Bertie, Jess, Jess’s nephew and I jumped in the car and headed over to pick Mr Smart up.  Once there I heard some grumblings about how much luggage was being brought and how it would all fit, but they seemed to manage it all, and all five of us piled in again to start the trip.  I got to stand up on the dashboard so I could see the open road before us, and it was so exciting to see everything rushing past.  It seemed like we would arrive in no time given how fast we travelled.


  It turns out that Adelaide is quite far away it would take us quite a long time to get there.  Luckily Jess has made this trip many times and had planned suitable stops along the way.  The first one was in Beaufort where I got to play in the garden.  Jess even showed me a real tree hollow which went all the way down, but I wasn’t allowed to explore it since I might get stuck.

  Not long after our stop at Beaufort we passed the Great Western Winery.  Since both Bertie and Mr Smart are big fans of wine, we stopped in for a visit.

Inside they have some great displays of the history of the winery, including this old photo of Mr West.

  The next leg of the trip was another short one as we passed by Stawell but had to stop and meet this great big fellow.  I know he appears to be the same size as me, but he was actually really huge!  This photo with Mr Smart in it probably gives you a better idea of how huge the Giant Koala was.

 
  Next up on our trip was a quick stop in Horsham for snacks and quick play in the playground at May Park.  Jess’s nephew was nice enough to take me on the stagecoach for a quick ride, though we didn’t seem to go too far.

  The snack proved timely since some of us were getting quite hungry at this point but lunch was scheduled for Bordertown, still a fair way away.  Jess did suggest that we could have lunch in Horsham instead, but we could tell that she was really looking forward to showing us Bordertown, so we ate enough to keep us going.  It didn’t take us too long to get there and we quickly found a park and crossed the bridge over the lake.

  One of the key things Jess wanted to show us on the trip was the Bordertown bakery, site of many family visits over the years.  They are famous for their pies, and even though Mr Smart doesn’t eat meat on Fridays, they had a number of suitable alternatives.  I was really excited when I saw a Tuna Mornay pie on the menu but sadly they were out by the time we arrived so I had to suffice with some vegetarian options.

  We took our meals outside to enjoy, even though it was getting quite chilly and while there, I got meet some other birds.  These were quite different from me since they fly instead of swim, but they were quite friendly.  We had a bit of a squawk while I shared some of my left overs with them, before they had to fly.

  The last thing we looked at before jumping on the road was a small enclosure of white kangaroos. Jess explained that they were still just Western Grey Kangaroos but they were a genetic strain that made them white, not that they were albino, and they are specific to just Bordertown.  How amazing nature can be!

  By this time we had been on the road quite a while, and many of us had taken naps along the way.  The excitement of the trip was starting to wear a little thin and I think we all just wanted to arrive.  That’s not to say we didn’t still have a few laughs along the way, as this video of us crossing the Murray River shows:

  The last bit of our trip was quite dark, so there wasn’t much to see.  We arrived safe and sound though but this little penguin was very ready for bed.  I trod off to bed while everyone else enjoyed dinner and a good catch up chat!

  See you all again real soon!
  Pengi