Lauren's Flat Stanley having fun in Australia!

 Flat Stanley had such a great time with this kangaroo in Australia!  I wonder if he got a ride in the kangaroo's pocket?!

Flat Stanley got to visit Mae Lee at Rivendell Farm in Pakenham Upper, Victoria, Australia.  Mae wrote this letter to us:  We were very happy to meet Flat Stanley and receive the letter from Lauren.  What makes your project so special is that my brother lives in Union, Maine! I'm originally from the United States, but moved to Australia in 2010.  I live on a beautiful farm about one hour southeast of Melbourne. The area Flat Stanley visited is called Toomuc Valley.  It is special because it is an area previously inhabited by the Wurrundjeri aboriginal people, who lived here before the European explorers came to Australia. Southeast Victoria is beautiful and green.  A nearby town called Koo Wee Rup produces most of Australia's asparagus, and we also export a lot to Asian countries.  Victoria also produces most of Australia's dairy products.  I mentioned to Flat Stanley that some of my favorite places to visit in Victoria are the Barmah National Park in the Northeast of Victoria because it has eucalyptus trees called "Red River Gums" which cockatoos, other parrots and koala bears like to nest in.  These trees can be as old as 800 years, and most are along the famous Murray River, which flows from the next State called New South Wales.  Flat Stanley also learned that Wilson's Promontory and Marlo are two of my other favorite places in Victoria.  My husband Bruce and I like to camp so we often go to East Gippsland, which is the area along the coast these places are located.  They are known for their wildlife and remote beach areas where you can walk for miles and hardly see anyone!  Of course in Australia you always have to watch out for spiders and snakes!  Some can be very dangerous.  Marlo is where the famous Snowy River empties into the sea from its start at the top of Kosciuszko National Park.  Kosciuszko is where wild brumbies live.  Brumbies are wild horses just like mustangs.  Flat Stanley met my two brumbies, Trooper and Mickey, who are in the photo.  We also have 4 other horses named Charlie, Tex, Shadow and Max.  Shadow is the only girl.  

 Sitting around the campfire (because we are opposite seasons to you), I told Flat Stanley that last month Bruce and I went on a vacation to Grampian's National Park in the northwest of Victoria.  You can see wild emus walking through the forest, and kangaroos, wallabies and many other special animals. Emus look like ostriches, only an emu is smaller and has 2 toes. The ostrich has 3 toes!  The emu is also found in ancient aboriginal rock art sites here that are as old as 22,000 years.  The emu, kangaroos, humans, footprints and other symbols were painted in red and white.  Australia is a very old continent.  Did you know we are also an island an a country??!  People were sent here from England as prisoners, but then settled the land and raised animals like sheep.  They also panned for gold.  There was a gold rush in the 1850's in Central Victoria, which is now a region called the Gold Fields.  Prospectors from all over the world came here to seek their fortune.  At one time, this area in Victoria was the leading producer of gold.  People from China migrated here to work in the gold mines.  Ned Kelly, a famous Australian "bushranger" or "outlaw" was born in Victoria. He stole horses and robbed people. His father bought their first house with money from finding gold.  Most of the active gold mines now are in Western Australia, which is a different state.  The smallest penguins in the world, known as fairy penguins, live on the south coast, and are only about 1 foot tall.  They get up early to fish and come back at sunset.  My friends and I go to watch then at least once per year because they are so adorable. Here is a picture of a fairy penguin!  Thank you to Mae Lee!