Day 7: Hot Springs

Morning broke and we packed up camp. I sadly returned "the crab" to the reception even though it had been offered as a gift the previous evening. We waved goodbye to the campsite and set-off off the the local market.

I am not a fan of markets. It's not that I don't see the point of them, or that I cannot acknowledge that you can pick up some good bargains/fresh produce/original gifts, it's just that whenever Leah and I go anywhere we have to attend a market. So this occasion was no different except perhaps that this was a market of particular poor quality with a band. I say band, but maybe I should explain that it was one elderly gentleman who was almost certainly deaf and his crazed looking wife armed with keyboard. Her contribution to the music was to choose the demo backing and hit the start button whilst he sang tunelessly about when he had been younger. I sincerely hope that when he had been younger that he had been of better calibre.

From here we journeyed on to a Wildlife Reserve with real life Kangaroo's that you could hand feed and a lama and a pen full of Hoppies [Wallabies] and horses and a whole bunch of terrifying Emus. The place is built in the shape of a worm and seems to be mostly dedicated to the special species of endangered earth worm found in the region. Unfortunately we did not get the pleasure of seeing one of the 3 foot beauties as they are no longer allowed to keep them in captivity due their extremely rare status. Shame.

We then beach hopped a bit and I made Leah go for a very cold swim which wasn't nearly as cold as the swims she has made me do in Brighton. We read some of The Bone Collector as this was the story of the moment and I ate some chicken, parma local speciality which was good. We went to the look-out point and then on the secret location.

I had been told at the beginning of the week that some surprise had been planned that was to take place at the weekend. I was then banned from reading Leah's blog as it detailed the surprise and so I was pretty excited and not disappointed! I was taken to some Hot Springs and it was heaven. A very beautiful resort laid out with pools of differing heat, a plunge pool and steam room all outdoors just as the sun was going down. Perfect.

After an hour of soaking up the blissful waters of the springs we headed back into Melbourne and got cozy in Rupert for the night.

A really fantastic weekend - thanks girls!