Platypus Capital of the World!

Today we spent the day in.......

LATROBE

PLATYPUS CAPITAL

OF THE

WORLD

We found a spot to park the car on the main street of Latrobe, and then headed off to explore a little bit.

Several people    EVERYONE has told us about a store in Latrobe that we absolutely needed to see, that a trip to Latrobe.....Tasmania......or even the whole of Australia wouldn't be complete without visiting this store.

So, with a recommendation like that, how could we possibly not check it out???

Reliquaire

Reliquaire is the name of the store, and if you want to check it out more, click on the link.

This store was packed to the rafters with stuff.  You name it, they had it.

Teddy bears and dolls

science stuff

books

Tasmanian food

ornamental things for your garden

renovation items

infant & children games, clothes, etc.

fairy room

puppets

telephones

the list goes on and on!

The foyer was jammed packed with things......so was the rest of the store!!!

These life size dolls were showing a little more wrinkley skin than a normal person would care to see, but they seemed familiar.........mmmmh?

Those who have ever been to a beach in Florida......

I loved this telephone, but the price tag was a little steep very steep - over $400! Everything in the shop was pricey, but it was fun.  Samuel liked the spook corridor and stomped his way up and down to make all the scary things go off.  At the end was a mirror room that was amazing.  Sam was lost in the maze of rooms and stuff on several occassions......at these times Jim and I just prayed that we didn't hear a great crash coming from somewhere.....remember the phone cost over $400 and that was cheap.  The big kids had a good time exploring as well.  I caught glimpses of them as we passed by doorways and turned corners.

We continued down the street where the kids found a big chess board and proceeded to play a game.  Jim and I chased Sam in and out of stores and tried to convince him that taking off down the street with a chess piece that was taller than him, wasn't a good idea!

We then headed off to Graham and Dianne's for lunch and to catch-up with everyone.  Graham, Jason and Andrew were coming back from the Lakes this morning.

Everyone was there except for Andrew.  Graham and Jason suspected that Andrew and his friend may be stuck in the snow.

We had a great lunch and then talked, and talked, and talked and

...........talked some more.

Anthony, Jason, Katrina, Dianne........and........my brother, Graham - waving?

No funny business in this photo!!

So, the big kids pulled out the legos for Samuel to play with.

What is missing in this picture????

Yep, no Sam to be seen, but the big kids are hard at work!!

Well, it was time to head out again.  We had a appointment to go on a platypus encounter.

How many people does it take to put shoes on one small child???

Last time we were in Australia, we tried and tried to spot a platypus in the wild.  We did get a brief glimpse of one, but wanted to try again.

"In 10 years of conducting tours, Ron Hedditch has never failed to spot a platypus at Warrawee Forest Reserve near Latrobe. The site is so reliable that David Attenborough and documentary makers from Japan and Germany have filmed there, and the local council agreed to call Latrobe the “platypus capital of the world”. Hedditch and his brothers are the core of a Landcare group that turned a 10ha quarry site into a thriving platypus habitat by the Mersey River. Picnic and barbecue facilities are under towering white gums, and there’s an observation boardwalk. It’s free, but to guarantee sightings, go with a guide for $10 a person. You might also see wombats, tawny frogmouths and possums. "

True to their promise, we found platypus!!!

Truly a unique animal that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

A great end to a great day.

Sally-Ann