to show me Werribee Park and the Open Range Zoo. Have you ever seen a Jane Austin movie where one of her pretty yet always poor heroines is riding along in a carriage pining away for one unrequited love or another and the trees break open to view her Love's home? It is always, without a doubt the most beautiful estate imaginable. This is Werribee Park. Every Jane Austin book I have read ends happily but this was not the case for all of the inhabitants of Werribee Park. Werribee was built by two squatter brothers from Scotland. Squatter in Australia d
oesn't have the same negative connotations that it does in urban USA in fact the word is used to describe wealthy land owners who were also referred to as the Sqattocracy. Thomas Chirnside arrived in Australia with a few hundred pounds and his bible. With the help of his brother, Andrew, he built Werribee into a pastoral empire. On a trip back to Scotland, Thomas fell in love with his cousin, Mary Begbie. When he returned back to Australia his brother began to plan a trip home. Thomas asked Andrew one favor, to bring Mary to Australia any way he could so that she and Thomas could be married. Andrew brought her back alright. He brought Mary back as his wife. Even though Thomas must have been h
eart-broken he built the mansion with his brother because he wanted Mary to have a home of stature and serenity unrivalled in Victoria. Upon it's completion in 1877 Mary moved into the mansion with Andrew and their three children. Thomas lived nearby but never married. There was a ma
id projected into the laundry room that told the story of the last days of Thomas Chirnside. He killed himself in that very room finally succumbing to the deep depression he felt over his unrequited love for Mary.The descendants of Andrew and Mary didn't do so well at keeping up the fortune and Werribee Park was eventually sold to the Catholic church in 1922. The mansion was used as a monastery until 1973 when the Victorian government acquired the property and restored it to i
t's former glory. I went a bit ga-ga over the collection of Victorian clothes that were on display. There were corsets, dressing gowns, children's clothes and formal wear. No matter how many times I see costume collections it always surprises me how small the Victorian people were. The gardens were beautiful and I dragged Cheryl around taking pictures. She is due in 2 weeks so she wasn't feeling very photogenic but I told her she would thank me later. One of my very favorite pictures I have of my Mom is one where she is pregnant with me.
t's former glory. I went a bit ga-ga over the collection of Victorian clothes that were on display. There were corsets, dressing gowns, children's clothes and formal wear. No matter how many times I see costume collections it always surprises me how small the Victorian people were. The gardens were beautiful and I dragged Cheryl around taking pictures. She is due in 2 weeks so she wasn't feeling very photogenic but I told her she would thank me later. One of my very favorite pictures I have of my Mom is one where she is pregnant with me. As yo
u all know by now I love animals so we had to pop over to the Open Range Zoo. Once again Australia wins in the best zoo competition. This place was incredible and MASSIVE. The first animals we saw were Meerkats. From Timon in the Lion King to the Animal Planet show Meerkat Manor, I love the Meerkats!! I had never seen them in real life before and they are SOOO CUTE!!!! The meerkats have the same entrancing quality as an aquarium. I could have happily watched them for hours but we had to go catch the safari bus. In the safari area every attempt is made to recreate the natural environment of the animals who are never handled by keepers. This has led to happy, healthier animals and much success in the breeding department. Our zoo guide talked alot abo
ut conservation and I could tell in her voice she was really passionate about saving animals and frustrated by the damage that has been done by humans. We went past an area were the horticulture team is working to regrow native grasses. Over the past 200 years the native grasses have been reduced down to .1% drastically affecting the native wildlife. There were a few animals in the Open Range Zoo who were extinct i
n the wild. The Scimitar-Horned Oryx is one of these animals who now only exists in zoos and sanctuaries. When the oryx turns profile it looks like he only has one horn and some people believe this is the animal that started the myth of the unicorn. We saw zebras and giraffes all just wandering around over an area that was so large the whole of Melbourne Zoo could fit inside of it. The lions had to have a separate area since they would eat all the other animals but they were beautiful as lions always are. These two lady lions decided it was bath time. By far the coolest part for me 
was seeing the rhinos up close. They were so close the zoo guide got a little nervous. She kept asking Cheryl how far along she was and if she felt ok. The rhinos had wandered right into the path we were driving along so we just had to sit and wait...quietly. These animals are very sensitive to pitch. When they get irritated their tails curl up in a circle and three out of the four had curled their tails. The zoo guide said she really didn't want the rhinos to charge us so we just had to be a bit patient. It was fine with me because then I could look at these fantastic animals longer. The rhinoceros has been around since the Cenozoic era. I myself have no earthly idea when the Cenozoic era was but it was a long, long time ago. I can't think of the right words to describe these creatures but I couldn't stop smiling being so close to one with no cage or fence in between me and them. Eventually they uncurled their tales and lumbered off the road so we could drive away. I know Cheryl was relieved but I thought it would have made a pretty cool story for baby Cooper to tell if he had been born in a safari bus after a rhino charged it. Several rhinoceros species became extinct within geologically recent times, notably the Giant Unicorn and the Woolly Rhinoceros. Several more are critically endangered. Many organizations are working to save the rhino including Suzuki in Australia and http://www.savetherhino.org/.
u all know by now I love animals so we had to pop over to the Open Range Zoo. Once again Australia wins in the best zoo competition. This place was incredible and MASSIVE. The first animals we saw were Meerkats. From Timon in the Lion King to the Animal Planet show Meerkat Manor, I love the Meerkats!! I had never seen them in real life before and they are SOOO CUTE!!!! The meerkats have the same entrancing quality as an aquarium. I could have happily watched them for hours but we had to go catch the safari bus. In the safari area every attempt is made to recreate the natural environment of the animals who are never handled by keepers. This has led to happy, healthier animals and much success in the breeding department. Our zoo guide talked alot abo
ut conservation and I could tell in her voice she was really passionate about saving animals and frustrated by the damage that has been done by humans. We went past an area were the horticulture team is working to regrow native grasses. Over the past 200 years the native grasses have been reduced down to .1% drastically affecting the native wildlife. There were a few animals in the Open Range Zoo who were extinct i
n the wild. The Scimitar-Horned Oryx is one of these animals who now only exists in zoos and sanctuaries. When the oryx turns profile it looks like he only has one horn and some people believe this is the animal that started the myth of the unicorn. We saw zebras and giraffes all just wandering around over an area that was so large the whole of Melbourne Zoo could fit inside of it. The lions had to have a separate area since they would eat all the other animals but they were beautiful as lions always are. These two lady lions decided it was bath time. By far the coolest part for me 
was seeing the rhinos up close. They were so close the zoo guide got a little nervous. She kept asking Cheryl how far along she was and if she felt ok. The rhinos had wandered right into the path we were driving along so we just had to sit and wait...quietly. These animals are very sensitive to pitch. When they get irritated their tails curl up in a circle and three out of the four had curled their tails. The zoo guide said she really didn't want the rhinos to charge us so we just had to be a bit patient. It was fine with me because then I could look at these fantastic animals longer. The rhinoceros has been around since the Cenozoic era. I myself have no earthly idea when the Cenozoic era was but it was a long, long time ago. I can't think of the right words to describe these creatures but I couldn't stop smiling being so close to one with no cage or fence in between me and them. Eventually they uncurled their tales and lumbered off the road so we could drive away. I know Cheryl was relieved but I thought it would have made a pretty cool story for baby Cooper to tell if he had been born in a safari bus after a rhino charged it. Several rhinoceros species became extinct within geologically recent times, notably the Giant Unicorn and the Woolly Rhinoceros. Several more are critically endangered. Many organizations are working to save the rhino including Suzuki in Australia and http://www.savetherhino.org/. A
fter the zoo we met up with Al and Matt to go to the movies. We went to see Ratatouille and since I never saw a Pixar movie I didn't like I knew it would be good. The only bad thing was waiting the extra two months for the movie to be released. Australia usually gets movies a little bit after the US so patience is a must. I will tell you this, it was well worth the wait not only because the movie was great but because of the viewing experience. America is a country known for doing things bigger and better so why oh, why don't we have Gold Class movie theatres?? This concept screams United States of America but alas it is an ingenious Aus
tralian indulgence. I am now 100% spoiled and never want to see a movie any other way. Ahhhhh, Gold Class is glorious. There is no need for dinner and a movie because now it is dinner at the movies complete with your own lazyboy recliner. When you get there you are greeted and it's all "Madam" this and "Sir" that. You are taken to a table where if you aren't late like we were you can have a drink while you decided which items in the three cours
e meal you would like to choose. You are then ushered to your recliner (only 24 in the whole theatre) where all of your drinks and nibblies are brought to you. This is the ultimate movie treat and I absolutely loved it! I have every intention of opening one of these theatres when I get home even if it is only for my personal use.
fter the zoo we met up with Al and Matt to go to the movies. We went to see Ratatouille and since I never saw a Pixar movie I didn't like I knew it would be good. The only bad thing was waiting the extra two months for the movie to be released. Australia usually gets movies a little bit after the US so patience is a must. I will tell you this, it was well worth the wait not only because the movie was great but because of the viewing experience. America is a country known for doing things bigger and better so why oh, why don't we have Gold Class movie theatres?? This concept screams United States of America but alas it is an ingenious Aus
tralian indulgence. I am now 100% spoiled and never want to see a movie any other way. Ahhhhh, Gold Class is glorious. There is no need for dinner and a movie because now it is dinner at the movies complete with your own lazyboy recliner. When you get there you are greeted and it's all "Madam" this and "Sir" that. You are taken to a table where if you aren't late like we were you can have a drink while you decided which items in the three cours
e meal you would like to choose. You are then ushered to your recliner (only 24 in the whole theatre) where all of your drinks and nibblies are brought to you. This is the ultimate movie treat and I absolutely loved it! I have every intention of opening one of these theatres when I get home even if it is only for my personal use.
