Neerim, Victoria

Well it has been 2 weeks since my last blog, and about 17 days since we left New Zealand. Right before we left for the South Island we had a house/farm sit confirmed in Neerim, Victoria. Since we already were planning on being in Victoria for alot of November, we were very happy to have a 16 day house/pet sit.

Well today is our last day and we are happy to be out of here. The homeowner lives on an acreage and has quite a few animals. 5 horses (which are darling - 2 geldings, 3 mares), 2 dogs, 3 cats, 2 chooks, 1 guinea pig, 1 cockatiel bird. Plus a cow, but she required no work, she had a whole huge field to herself.

We did like the location of the place, only 80 minutes from Melbourne or the beach. When we first arrived we were quite dissapointed at how cool the weather was. It was windy, rainy and cloudy for over 3 days. A high of about 15.

We went to Melbourne for the first time that week and checked out the Old Melbourne Gaol. It was such a neat experience. One of the most interesting museums we have been too. We took a number of photos. We also checked out some of Melbourne downtown.

The first weekend was our 9 month anniversary and a beautiful sunny day and we went to Phillip Island. It was a busy day there and a great beach. Unfortantly we didn't bring our swimsuits to get full body color and we also didn't wear sunscreen. We both had shoulder, arm and knee burns. Thankfully not to bad though.

The next week was lovely weather. We went to Melbourne again and checked out the downtown, the older buildings and shops.

We also went to a beach in Inverloch. It was a quiet day since it was during the week and nice and warm. This time we had sunscreen on and got a nice comfortable tan.

The animals here at the home have been interesting. The dogs Cash and Annie are complete opposites. Cash is a 12 month German Shepard and very hyper. However he is quite intelligent and listens pretty well. Annie is 13 yrs old and very calm. However I don't if she has ever been trained. She doesn't seem to know any commands.

The 2 outdoor cats are fine, obviously very low maintanice. The one indoor cat Kimba, has been a complete headache. Though we change his litter box every 2 days, he has a kidney problem and urinates alot. Whether his box hasn't been dry enough or he's just wanted to be a pain he has peed in the house over 10 times. So annoying and smelly! Andreas and I have deceided we will NEVER have a cat! They are cute at times but the hair is just too much.

The 5 horses are very beautiful. My favorites are Cocoa, Raz, Clancy. Though I really like Zeph too, but just this last day he has been acting so scared and spooked of us. We need to take the rug off him, as the weather has gotten warmer but it's dragged too low and we think that's what's making him scared.

We went to Melbourne again on Sunday and went to the Victoria Art Gallery (it was great!), Victoria and King's Domain gardens and visited the Remembrance Shrine which was in the gardens. Great learning opportunties!

Today Cash attacked the old chook. He was already defeathering her when we noticed. I was so upset to see him doing that. Poor chook barely moved when Andy picked her up and carried her to the coop. Just a little cackle. She was not bleeding and we have checked her throughout the day and she is still breathing. Though moving very little. We are not thrilled to have to tell the owner this :(

Now we will be off to Castlemaine to visit Ronnie and Bibi and family!