February 10 was an exciting day for us - our son Evan arrived to visit us in Australia and we purchased a car! It was fantastic to see Evan again and he acclimatized to life in Melbourne with haste and no jetlag! Check with him in person or on Facebook to get his version of the time spent with us in Melbourne! The second evening with Evan saw us take in the Melbourne theatre production of the Canadian play, the "Drowsy Chaperone". Evan had just worked on that same show in Winnipeg, so he had made arrangements for us to go backstage to meet the writer of the play and some of the cast and crew. Unfortunately we did not get to meet Geoffrey Rush in person!!
On the weekend, we inaugurated our car with a trip down to South Gippsland. It was an exciting weekend of activities that had been planned for the teachers on exchange in our state of Victoria. Six members of our ITF group (International Teaching Fellows, as we are affectionately called) were able to attend, along with some family members, including Evan. It was clear that a great deal of planning and organization had gone into the billeting and events that were offered. The trip to the Koala Reserve on Phillip Island, spotting sting rays in the harbour at San Remo, snorkling out to the reef, and a magnificent beach walk in Bunurong Park were all highlights. Friday evening we enjoyed a short social. Saturday morning we met in Inverloch, did a quick walk through a marine museum with a huge shell display, then boarded the bus to one of the local beaches to participate in a guessing game of marine flotsam and jetsam. Happy to report that the Klassen gang won second prize! The rock formations here were amazing, most noticeably the Eagle's Nest Rock. We then headed to Phillip Island to the Koala reserve and spotted many koalas in a very natural habitat. It was a cool day, and the koalas were noticeably more active than when we had seen them previously. Lunch was a picnic in San Remo. We then headed to the 7 km. walk along the beach cliffs of Bunurong Coastal Park. After a drink at the end of the hike we headed back to Inverloch for a great dinner and social time. Sunday morning we headed to Flat Rocks to snorkel. Although it was a bit windy and certainly wavy in the ocean, we were able to see the rock formations, and spy some representative fish, if few in number!
After a delicious lunch together with the group, the Klassen gang headed out toward Phillip Island for some adventures of their own. First stop was a chocolate factory. Second stop was Churchill Island, a natural heritage farm, where we were able to take a scenic walk around the entire Island and see some very unusual moonah trees. We next tried out the wines at the Purple Hen Winery. A little drive further we visited the Nobbies, rock formations with an extensive boardwalk system taking us to view the majestic south coast of Phillip Island. Many a ship has run aground on the jagged rocks. Evan also got his first sighting of wallabies here, a close encounter of the thrilling kind! We rounded off the weekend by going to see the fairy penguins once again. This time we had our own naturalist to explain the phenomenon for us and take us up close and personal to the penguins. They never cease to amaze! We headed home to Melbourne late at night, happy but tired after a fabulous weekend! 
Nice that Evan was able to visit!! Great to have his theatre connections!!
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