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We arrived at Port Melbourne about 7:45 am and the ship was cleared at 9am, so we grabbed a quick protein breakfast at the buffet and headed out for our excursion at 9:15. It was scheduled for 8 1/2 hours in length and we just made it back a little before 6pm. Since we had a two-day stay in Melbourne, there was no problem with missing the ship. We went by coach for about 18 miles through the suburbs and got off in Belgrave to board the Puffing Billy, a rehabbed narrow gauge steam/diesel (depending on fire conditions) train to ride to Menzies Creek. Puffing Billy was mothballed years ago and then revived by volunteers who finally got some assistance from the government of Victoria. (Australia is made up of 6 states and 2 territories. Sydney is in the state of New South Wales and Melbourne is in the state of Victoria.) The ride to Menzies Creek is about 1/2 hour and a smelly, harsh ride at that, with narrow wooden benches for seats. The scenery is attractive with lots of ferns and eucalypts. At Menzies Creek we rejoined the coach and drove through to the Yarra Valley, one of the wine regions in Australia. We stopped at Rochford Winery, where we tasted 3 of their wines and were provided a lunch, with a selection from 4 entrees. After lunch we drove across the Great Dividing Range to the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary, where we had 1 1/2 hours to wander on our own with maps for direction. Healesville's main objective is to study and try to bring back native species near extinction. We saw kangaroos and koalas of course, but also echidnas (a porcupine type animal which is many 1000s of years old), emus, ibis, rock wallabies (we saw 3 of only 20 still in existnce), wombats, the platypus, hanging grey foxes (huge bat-like animals), Tasmanian Devils, and a number of nearly extinct birds and other mammals in breeding programs. We met Dudley, the bearded dragon, which was the only animal we could actually touch as he was with a staff member and actually loves the attention.

Our ride back to the ship included a tour around Melbourne and a stop at the Anzac Memorial, where our timing was perfect for the flag-lowering ceremony and the sounding of the bugles, a pretty emotional event.

We got back to the pier in time to stand in the security line for 20 minutes to get back on the ship. No food stuffs or bottled water get through security and they did the whole TSA thing. Australia is very security and safety conscious. They have to check Ids on the bus before we can even get onto the pier. Across the pier is the berth for the overnight express ferry to Tasmania and it was loading with sports cars, motorcycles, campers and trailers as we watched from our deck.

Dinner was at Red Ginger, where we saw Wairunnee, the Thai matire-d' we made friends with last year. She had even invited us to a party with the crew. She had been at home for 2 1/2 months and had just boarded when we did. She told us we could eat there even without a reservation as we are "family." That's why we like Oceania! Rob had his favorite duck and watermelon salad and Daryl had lobster pad thai. Another great but rich meal!