The combination of granite outcrops, large hills and white sand beaches made for some stunning scenery, in spite of the overcast weather. Since this is the common weather theme of the area, that means that the parks are less crowded and more accessible during the winter months, leaving me plenty of space on my own beaches. I first stopped at the pleasant Whiskey Beach, surrounded by large, reddish boulders on each side and a flat, white beach and pounding, light blue waves in between. Just a few kilometers down the road was the next beach, Squeaky Beach, named for the squeaking sound caused by the tiny granite particulates in the sand. This was fun, though I'd actually experienced the same phenomenon in Sydney at Bondi Beach. The bright white sand of Squeaky Beach made me think that this place would be stunning and deservedly packed during the summer months of heat and full sunlight. As the night drew near, the air was getting cooler, and I knew that I had to find a spot before dark. Luckily, being in a national park, there were quite a few spots, so I just pulled into one of the campsites and had little to do, other than eat a few snacks before setting up the bed and pulling down the curtains and shade for the night. The next morning, I was also treated to a nice warm shower, thanks to the restrooms nearby. I payed for my stay on the way out, which ended up being more expensive than I thought, especially for a national park, though it was still only about $14 for the day use and camping fees. Also, as I was packing up my clothes and getting ready to get in the car, I heard some commotion just above my head. As I looked up, a bright, deep red bird with navy blue wings had flown in and perched itself on my open door, apparently expecting some sort of food handout. Just a minute or two later, it gave up on me and my stinginess, but I got a nice view of the colorful bird.
From the Prom, as it is affectionately known, I headed North up the East coast, beginning my long trip up to the tip of the NE coast. I passed through a few thick eucalyptus forests and made some good progress before realizing that I once again was going to have to spend the night in the middle of nowhere. Utilizing a book/map that every traveler raves about, I found a deserted rest area off the side of this isolated road and made my way in the pitch black down the tiny dirt road that reminded me of those roads through the trees in Crocodile Dundee. In the clearing, there was one other car, but I couldn't tell what or where anything was, so I pulled into a decently flat spot and soon fell asleep. Throughout the night, I heard raindrops on the roof and hoped that there was nothing too close by in the unknown, unseen wilderness all around. When I awoke, I pulled down the shades and opened the doors to find myself in a towering grove of eucalyptus trees, their bright white trunks shining with the earliest hints of the morning light, breaking its way through the mist that hovered around the light green canopy. The sunbursts and occasional fog that made their way through the thick forests provided some excellent scenery for my morning drive. I went through another tiny town before an extremely brief stop at Croajingolong National Park, which proved to be exactly the same scenery as what I'd seen on the main road, so I headed back up and decided to continue making progress, as I have a very long way to go before the end of this roadtrip.
Halfway through the day, I passed another small sign indicating a wildlife park, and, again, I couldn't resist. I debated for a while and eventually turned around and went back. The park wasn't as big as the others, especially because they are renovating many of the displays, so it mostly consisted of some kangaroos, echidnas (including a cute baby), two koalas, some dingoes and some other birds. I made my way around the tiny park, feeding a few of the brave kangaroos and watching the spiky, baby echidna meander around its cage, looking like a black and white ball of spikes with a long pointy nose used for digging up bugs and ants in the ground. Soon, the bells of the tiny train were ringing, so the few other guests and I made our way back to the start of the park for a quick tour on the 3 car train that basically appeared to be a modified riding lawn mower. Within minutes, we had made it all the way around the park, and then we circled back around to the koala exhibit where we were met by two of the workers who actually let us in, as there weren't many of us. The group consisted of myself, two Australian mothers about 40 years of age, though trying to dress way younger and more hip, and their daughters and/or friends who were three thirteen or fourteen year old girls that were also trying their hardest to look as cool and trendy as possible. Right as the rangers opened the gate, the young girls ran towards the koalas with no regards for the animals, immediately patting them on the head and taking pictures right in their faces while the workers patiently gave us a few tips about not scaring the animals or touching their heads and not petting the one that doesn't really like people, though the girls hardly heard any of that. The koala was amazingly calm, though, and the ranger got it down and walked amongst us, letting us get close up pictures and rub the thick, woolly fur on its back while she explained a bit about the drowsy animals. They sleep around 20 hours a day, as they receive so little nutrition and energy from the eucalyptus leaves that make up their exclusive diet. They even get water from the leaves, so they often don't leave a tree for days at a time, sleeping and eating in the same perch. Koala is actually an Aboriginal word that means 'no drink.' See, I'm still learning? I've just traded random animal facts for the expected values, moment generating functions, conditional probabilities and credibility factors. Anyway, we got to meet the koalas for a while before moving on to the echidnas, which have a soft, furry underside, as opposed to their thick spikes on the top that helps them safely burrow away from predators.
Even more exciting was the reptile box, though. A huge container carried some native lizards and the big attraction, the huge diamond python. This snake was over six feet long, and parts of it were as wide as my arm (my forearm, not my bulging biceps, of course). The handler played with the snake and draped it over her neck and shoulders as she walked around and allowed us to touch the smooth scales of the massive serpent. Then, she came out of the enclosure and gave each of us a chance to hold the snake. The girls were actually, surprisingly excited about the prospect, though they did let out a few squeals as the snake moved around and slithered through their arms. Again, they weren't quite aware of the animal, and the handler had to jump in a few times and grab the snake just before the girls let it fall to the ground when they ran away from it or ducked out from underneath it, just as it was resting on their shoulders. I also had my chance, and the heavy snake was luckily very calm and slowly made its way around my neck and arms, enjoying the warmth of our skin on its cold blooded body. After the wildlife exhibit, I wanted to make it up to Canberra, so I had to get going. I got stuck in a long conversation with one of the mothers, but I soon freed myself and hit the road.
Canberra, the capital of Australia, was a purposefully created city, about halfway between the two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney. This means that it's basically in the middle of nowhere, so I headed inland along one of the country roads, passing through some scenic eucalyptus forests and farmlands, hoping to make it to the city before the early setting sun. Passing through a few tiny towns, I stopped for some disappointing Chinese food and realized that the sun was setting far too quickly for me to make it into town. Needing to catch up on a few hours of internet, I figured I could just spend some time at an internet cafe, find some cheap gas and leave town to find a spot to sleep on the road, then come back in the morning. As I finally neared the town, the night had completely enveloped the town and surrounding roads, leaving me to find my way through the deserted streets of the city. I found the one internet cafe, which was surprisingly more expensive than some of the small towns, and I also was surprised to see that gas was much more expensive than I thought, so I tried to hold out for a cheaper station to appear in the distance. I spent a few hours catching up on a few things online, and I soon found that it was after midnight, so I decided to find a place to stay for the night, temporarily thinking about staying in the parking lot in the middle of the city but deciding that it wouldn't be the safest or quietest option.
So, I headed up the highway, leaving town and hoping for a rest area and a gas station. A few miles outside of town, I realized that the gas tank was very, very low, so I hoped for a stop and saw a sign for petrol, but the turnoff seemed to lead into complete darkness and no sign of civilization, so I turned around and headed back for the main road, knowing that I didn't have fuel to waste, and if there were a gas station, it would probably be closed at this time of night. So, I coasted down the hills and slowly made my way back up, hoping to use as little fuel as possible as I surveyed every nook and cranny in the side of the road, looking for a place to park. Just as I exited the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), I found a rest area, right by the highway, that would work. The night was far from restful with loud trucks passing by and waking me up at all hours, so I only had about five hours of sleep before heading back in town for some daylight and hopefully not running out of gas. I eventually did find a working gas station just in time, filled up the van and made my way into the nondescript city. As described, it has a few nice buildings but it lacks much character or anything really noteworthy. In fact, I didn't even take one picture in the area, so that should tell you something. One good point, though: The Pancake Parlour, an underground restaurant with some huge, "lovely" pancakes that were the perfect breakfast/lunch combo. Anyway, it's back to the coast and eventually the Blue Mountains in the next few days for me...
(Squeaky Beach in the morning light.)
(A typical overlook in Wilson's Promontory NP...I believe this one was Norman's Overlook)
(A shot of the gum trees/eucalytpus along the roads to Croajingolong)
(Bruce the resident koala and the one that we were allowed to pet)
(Bruce on the left and Susie on the right, waiting for the new leaves to be brought in)
(Extreme closeup of Bruce)
(Me holding Penelope, the six and a half foot diamond python) 
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