entry 2

It's 3:30 am and I am up because we have to catch the train by 5:30 am to Geelong. From there we are headed to Lorne for a couple days of yoga, hiking, and/or surfing with other Deakin students. I witnessed the beauty of God's creation yesterday as we took a hike along the ocean. We began at Logan's Beach, a nice big beach, crossed a footbridge over a lagoon type area, and made our way down the coast on walking paths. We "offroaded" a few times, my friends being more brave than myself, down the erosional cliffs. Powerful bright blue and aqua waves crashed on the massive orange rocks like scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean.. (You will have to picture this old-style because I forgot my camera this time). Visually novel plants spread under our feet and over our heads; green and lush. I will have to look up some of these...

We made our way to Thunder Point, a common lookout area for hikers and bikers, and managed to get a group photo as the strong wind greeted us with faint showers of sea spray. Aside from birds, and a whale corpse, not much animal wildlife graced us with its presence; probably a wee-bit cold yet... We were informed that the slowly decomposing whale had been dead for approximately a year now. There was some confusion about the species, but the long, wing-like pectoral fin gave it away. Definitely a young humpback. I am not sure if there are a population of humpbacks that winter in southern Australia, but I will do a little research. I am "hypothesizing" that a calf became separated from it's mother; a tragedy, but the way nature rolls. The ground around the whale was covered in beautiful seashells; some shiny, iridescent ones from scallops, I was told, and many hermit-crab-looking ones; a crunchy mat of whites, purples, greens, and blues. The vertebrae bones were probably shy of a foot in diameter and about half as thick. Although I feel quite familiar with whales, encountering them always knocks the chair out from under me. Like running into a celebrity... of the sea.

 It is hard to say how many miles we covered in the day since I never checked my watch. It was a good hike and I definitely plan on returning. Our group split, as some went on a bit further. Half of us grabbed some grub at a charcoal chicken place downtown. The restaurant was set up fast-food style, but the staff (an older man and woman) and food, was warm and welcoming. I've been eating more meat so far, only following the general consensus. Of course I have salad makings and Greek yogurt in the fridge ;) I need to show you a picture of the carrots I'm eating...