australian wrap up . daily life photoblogging

house hunters international was here for the last 3 days filming an episode featuring our move from los angeles to australia.

melbourne decided to share some of the worst weather we have had in ages with the crew. all 3 days featured appearances by gale force winds, torrential downpours, lower than average temperatures and the occasional hailstorm. can’t really say that we moved here for the pleasant climate!

i had a great time watching gemma during the filming. she is a natural star. she wants to be on film and she charmed the crew.

while gemma can be quite shy around new people, there is something about performing that unlocks her personality. she never mugs or goes crazy, she just blooms.

yesterday we were taken to healseville sanctuary to hang out with some of the animals. i had no idea that we would be given such star treatment. what a gift it was for us to be escorted through the park and have a chance to feed the animals. it was an awesome experience.

gemma adored our guide for the hour. there seem to be some kickass women working at that zoo. i was impressed.

we met benny, the baby koala who put on a show for us while his parents took a nap in the branches above him.

we fed a young red kangaroo and clover got to watch some other kangaroos practice making more baby kangaroos in the distance. (censored for the young viewers.)

but the highlight of the day year for me was the chance to get up close and very personal with a wombat. i have a deep and kind of inappropriate love of wombats. i tend to turn into one of those idiot girls around them, but i can’t help it, they are just so cute! they look like furry little ottomans. normally they are asleep with their back to visitors and since they are fond of attacking ankles, civilians are not allowed too close. well, in the name of great reality tv, i risked life and a few limbs for a chance to go inside the wombat enclosure and feed florence. at one point, i was pretty certain she was going to have a nibble and i was going to loose a boot, but she just had a sniff and moved on. it was really an incredible experience.

of course as we were driving home, the victorian skies cleared and the sun broke free again like melbourne knew that the filming was over and her secret of being the most beautiful city would still be safe.

today it is gorgeous and sunny out and gemma would like to know when she can start filming her new show!
thank you anita (not pictured), san, dave and dean! we had a great time.