Here are some fun photos showing a wide variety of places we visited over the course of a week in Melbourne and cities around Victoria. These include the Halls Gap Zoo (a small rural zoo with quite a few animals), Horsham (small town where Ingrid's friend teaches), Grampians (beautiful national park), Geelong (city south of Melbourne with the National Wool Musem), CERES Environmental Park (with community gardens, small farms, delicious cafe, plant nursery, tons of educational displays, and much more) and some community gardens on public housing estates.

(M)(L)

Jeff and Ingrid feeding meerkats. It was fun, though they don't eat what I consider to be food!

(M)(L)

More meerkat feeding. They wouldn't let us pet them much, but they were happy to eat out of our hands.

(M)(L)

Ingrid and her friend Melissa at the Halls Gap Zoo

(M)(L)

Jeff having a discussion with a male ostrich.

(M)(L)

The view while walking up Mt. William at the Grampians.

(M)(L)

Melissa and Jeff and the steep road.

(M)(L)

Neat rock formations

(M)(L)

It really was that steep! Luckily we could drive halfway, but it was still quite a trek to the beautiful view at the top.

(M)(L)

Cue beautiful view.

(M)(L)

More cool rocks & moss

(M)(L)

Melissa also took us to the really neat Naracoorte Caves in South Australia. We visited 3 different caves and learned a lot about them, but photography was difficult, so here's just a picture of the three of us.

(M)(L)

The carpet loom at the National Wool Museum in Geelong

(M)(L)

Rugs made on-site were for sale in the gift shop.

(M)(L)

All the wool used to make the rugs.

(M)(L)

Entrance to CERES Environmental Park, Melbourne.

(M)(L)

Solar panels at CERES

(M)(L)

Reused large advertising banner as canopy.

(M)(L)

Flexible solar panels.

(M)(L)

CERES organic market.

(M)(L)

CERES seedling area.

(M)(L)

CERES mini-farm

(M)(L)

CERES plant nursery with veggies for sale.

(M)(L)

Plenty of native plants for sale!

(M)(L)

Commons area for one of Cultivating Community's community gardens with pizza oven and rain tank.

(M)(L)

Community garden growing tons of plants. They can pretty much grow year round there with the warmer climate.

(M)(L)

More of the same garden, with the plant signs designed by artists, based on some of the traditional foods grown there.

(M)(L)

Another nearby community garden, with the same framed beds. Most were gardened by refugees and immigrants.