Ramblin' Sheila reporting from the road

I started the morning at the Australia Antartic Station. It is from here they stage all Australian expeditions to Antarctica. They have a small but interesting exhibit, and I had a spot of tea, while watching the informative DVD. They also had a stuffed emperor penguin, which they encourage you to touch. The outer feathers are very stiff, similar to straw, but underneath is a heavy coat of down. Their wings are reptilian-like, with the feathers being more like scales. Now that I've seen them up close, I'm thinking it may have been emperor penguins I saw at the 12 Apostles.

I left the exhibit and headed to the Cadbury Factory. They had an opening on their 11am tour, and I bought the ticket immediately. I had read in a travel book, "don't miss this Willy Wonka-like tour..." Oh how right they were. There weren't any oompa loompas, but the rest was surreal. Huge vats of chocolate churned by obscure looking machines, boxes sealed by robotic arms, chocolate powder rolling its way to the vats on conveyer belts. It was awesome. I had a chance to sneak some bottled concoction, but I didn't. I heard a guy named Charlie and his grandpa got in big trouble for doing that. Unfortunately, they stopped giving samples during the tour, so now you have to wait until the end to get your free treats. It was worth the wait. Then, they let you shop in the factory store, which you can only enter, if you have been on a tour. I went wild! I don't know how much will make it home, but you'll be able to tell from my size! My tour guide was Shirley, and she had worked at the factory about 30 years. I suspect Shirley smokes a bit and has a nip once in a while. She was delightful, but I didn't get any of her jokes, although the Australians laughed. She answered my questions about the difference between chocolates: milk, dark, and white. Did you know that white chocolate is not chocolate at all. I guess I never noticed because I was too busy eating it! Dark chocolate has less milk and sugar than milk chocolate. So there you have it. Did you know all the Cadbury eggs, for Easter, are made at one plant that operates 11 months out of the year? Did you know Australians eat more sweets per capita than any other nationality? And did you know the chocolate bars here taste different than the ones in England? And it's not just different cows. They use sugar beets in England and use refined sugar in Australia.

I had lunch at a pub recommended to me by Jeannie and her friends. I ordered the fish basket, thinking it was a little pricey. Holy catfish! I got so much food, I hardly put a dent in it. I identified shrimp and calamari, but the other 3 items were unfamiliar to me; however, I can eat anything if it's deep fried.

I finished up the day with some shopping and some laundry. I'll be meeting Jeannie and her friends again tonight to hang out and chat. I leave early tomorrow for Sydney. Hopefully, I can find Nemo.Read more