Thursday, November 26, 2009

Brownies' Trip to Western Australia Day 2

After breakfast, we went to Caversham Wildlife Park. We had the opportunity to feed the kangaroos, take photographs with the wombat and even stroke the koalas. We were told to gently stroke the koalas with the back of our hands.





Lunch was hotdog and fries. The hotdog was very large and many of us could not finish it. Some of us kept the fries for supper.

Hotdog Lunch

Chomp Chomp!
Concentrating

Delicious!
After lunch, we visited the Mondo Nougat Factory and the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. We got to sample the nougat and chocolates before buying.

Chocolate Sampling

Grape Vines outside the Chocolate Factory
Our bus driver for the day, Mal, happened to be an ex-scout. He was quite delighted when we sang Kookaburra which is a popular Australian Girl Guides song that Boy Scouts sing too. So he sang us a few songs that he used to sing when he was a Scout. One of the songs was Waltzing Matilda. From him, we learnt that the original version of the song was written by Andrew Barton "Banjo" Patterson whose image appears on the Australian $10 note.

Click to listen to Waltzing Matilda




Image of A B "Banjo" Patterson on the Australian $10 Note
Waltzing Matilda is actually a sad song. Here are the meanings to some of the words in the song:
Swagman: A man who travels the country looking for work
Billabong: Oxbow lake
Coolibah Tree: A kind of eucalyptus tree in Australia
Billy: Can with wire handle used for boiling water to make tea
Swag: A bundle of belongings usually tied at each end and looped over the shoulder and hung diagonally acroos the back
Matilda: An affectionate term for the swagman's swag
Waltzing Matilda: To travel with a swag
Jumbuck: Sheep
Tuckerbag: A bag in which food is carried
Stockman: Farmer who breeds or raises livestock
Thoroughbred: A breed of horse
Troopers: Equivalent of modern day policemen

Shopping Time @ Harbour Town!

Mini Carousel @ Harbour Town



Ice-cream Treat


Mmm ...


What are you doing?


Harbour Town

We were tempted to fish out the coins from the wishing fountain behind us but we, the honest Brownies, have good self-control. =D


After shopping at Harbour Town, we went back to the hotel for a short rest before walking to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.

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