A few hairpin turns later, we left the surfers behind.  Bypassing Melbourne for the moment, we went to the Yarra Valley which is known for wine and beer trails set in beautiful hills.  Alternating drivers and beverages, we found a great spot amongst grape vines and apple orchards to enjoy pizza and the views.  When we asked about how the breweries cropped up in wine country, we were told, “even a steakhouse should have a good vegetarian dish!”

AirB&B may again be the hero, as we’d found a house set on 40 acres by the hills with friendly golden retrievers, 3 horses, 1 cat and countless kangaroos!  The owners had rescued a few kangaroos whose moms died, and bottle fed them and let them go.  One kangaroo kept coming back and now visits with her youngster.  The family feeds them bananas and sweet potatoes to supplement their diets, and T did have a huge smile as a little roo nibbled banana from his hand. He also managed a selfie with the kangaroo!

 

Edit



We’d learned the Australian minimum wage is 16.87 Australian dollars or US$13.12, which sure beats US minimum wage at $7.25.  Maybe it’s time we bus some tables between beers to keep up with the higher prices, especially since a gallon of gas is about US$5.20 here. If only we could ride the kangaroos between vineyards.