This is where Flat Stanley and I said our final goodbyes. You can see that he travels light and should arrive home before school is out for the summer so he can see Jane and all the children and show them his new Australian duds.
Stanley wanted you to see his his Australian Manly Beach muscle shirt and Billabong shorts and flip flops. Its what he's wearing for his ride home.
Yes, he's definitely homesick, had a wonderful adventure down under at the Top End of Australia but he's ready to head back to Boston. I think he's missed all the kids in Jane's class at school.
Here he is, waiting to go to the post office, just chillin'. Bye, Bye Stanley.

Flat Stanley went with us to the wave pool in Darwin and here he is in his floater ring at the edge of the waves but the waves got bigger and bigger and he said he was a beginner swimmer and wanted to play in the kiddie pool.

So I took him to play in the fountains and he liked that much better because the water was very shallow and he knew I would watch out for him.
Here he is on the boogie board just laying around in the sun.

He liked sitting in the baby stroller but the baby came back and wanted her seat so he had to give it back to her.
He did get the giraffe towel though and he was happy. It was a good day at the pool. His trip is almost at the end and he's getting homesick so in a couple of days he will say goodbye to us and send himself home again to Boston.

Can you tell what this it? Stanley went on an elephant ride in Bali and yes, this is the equivalent of your nose. This is a very close photo of an elephant's trunk. Its really big, so big that Stanley was scared and didn't want his photo next to the big elephant trunk.
This is the elephant I rode on with Stanley but he wasn't happy riding on the elephant and I didn't want to show Stanley crying so he's not in this photo either.
The one thing Stanley liked was when the elephant's trainer gave the elephant a harmonica to play while we walked. Can you see the blue harmonica in the elephant's trunk? The elephant didn't know any good tunes though, so he just made some pretty sounds.
I think I told you in the last blog that elephants really like water and they're good swimmers (Stanley thinks that all that fat helps them to float). So we rode them into the pond and they sucked up water and blew it out their trunks.
Here we are, on our elephants, all 7 of us posing for the camera. Stanley is so small you can't even see him. Maybe that's why he was frightened to go on the elephant ride. He felt very small next to those big elephants.

Did you know that elephants like to eat carrots as much as you like to eat candy? Uncle Colby got to feed this elephant. It was pretty scary because you can see how much bigger the elephant is compared to uncle Colby and baby Samantha.
Elephants love to swim and this one bobs up and down in the deep pool just like a cork floating on the top of a pond. The side of the pool is glass so you can see how big his body is. He can swim under water too. He just has to keep his trunk above the water so he can breathe.
Stanley said I must show you this Komodo Dragon before we see the big cats because he is so much like a very large lizard or dinosaur and he's as big as a crocodile. Stanley and I watched as he walked over to a shady place in his enclosure and he lifts himself up onto his feet and his belly comes off the ground and he runs very fast if he wants to. Did you know that if a Komodo Dragon bites you the saliva in his mouth causes a terrible infection that can kill you. Ugh! Stanley said he would never get too close to one of these reptiles.
Stanley was very impressed with this big cat because its so rare in the world. Its a white tiger and has beautiful blue eyes. He lives in a lovely enclosure that is green jungle with a water hole he can swim in to keep cool.
Stanley told me this is a female lion. How does he know so much about animals when he is so young? He said the male lion has a big fat wad of fur that goes around his neck and makes him look much bigger than the female. She is a beauty though. She walked all around the bus we were riding in. There are still more animals to see in the next blog. See you next time.

We took Flat Stanley with us to Bali. The Island of Bali is a part of the country of Indonesia. Its hot and tropical there and Stanley liked it. We took Stanley to visit the Safari Animal Park there and you can see how excited he was to be there. He wanted his photo with all the animals. Can you see how Stanley is getting browner and browner from being in the sun?
He thought this zebra was a most beautiful animal with all the stripes on his body. He said the stripes looked like the zebra had gotten tattoos but I told him the zebra was born that way.
Stanley has this thing for snakes. Whenever we saw snakes he wanted to touch them and have his photo taken with them. He particularly liked this python but was too small to hold the snake by himself so Uncle Colby helped him.
This was his favorite snake because of the beautiful markings in yellow and white. He said it looked like the snake was wearing his very best dress for the day. It looked like he might be going to a special party.
When we came to the elephants who were bathing in the water hole he said he must have his photo taken with the boy who bathes the elephants. He wanted to stay and watch the elephants eat carrots from people's hands. He got all wet because the elephant he is riding in this photo filled up his trunk with water and squirted everyone. He also liked the big cats and on the next blog he will show you the tigers and cheetahs and lions. Bye for now from Bali.

We've seen so many animals it takes two blogs to get all the photos in. Halfway thru our visit Stanley got tired so he hitched a ride on Grandpa Shoes shoulders for a while. Its a pretty hot day to be out walking in the sun but with a little rest Stanley will be ready to see all the big birds.
They have a bird show at the wildlife park, just like a zoos. Guess what this bird of prey likes to eat best of all. If you guessed mice you are right. Mice are what he looks for out in the wild. He has great eyesight and can see a tiny mouse running along the ground even though he's way up in the sky.
This owl flew right over Stanley's head and Stanley started to cry. Those big eyes reminded him of last Halloween only it was scarier, but the owl wasn't even looking at Stanley. He had his eye on the mouse the trainer lady had in her hand and the owl was hungry and wanted to eat the mouse. Whew! Stanley thought the owl wanted to eat him.
This is some kind of eagle and he is sooooo big. You can see how big he is because you can see him right next to the head of the trainer lady. I bet he's really heavy too.
After the bird show was over Stanley asked for his photo to be taken next to the big eagle and the eagle didn't even mind. We all had a great day at the wildlife park. Our next trip is going to be swimming at the big swimming hole. See you next time. Cheers from Australia!

What's the scariest animal in Australia besides sharks? Of course, the crocodile. This one lives in a very big fish tank at the animal park. You can see how big he is because there is a little boy looking at him floating in his pond.

Stanley was pretty scared of the live crocodile but he liked seeing the skeleton head of a dead one. This is a different kind of crocodile from the live one in the tank. This crocodile is a freshwater crocodile. He looks different from the saltwater crocodile (the live one in the fish tank). His jaw is very narrow from side to side. He still has lots of sharp teeth and he likes to eat meat but he's more shy of humans and usually swims away if you get close to him in the wild.
Stanley really liked watching the turtle swim underwater in the fish tank. You can see how big the turtle is because he's just behind Stanley who stuck himself to the glass of the tank. (Stanley can be a real showoff).
Look at the pretty snake. He must not be a poisonous one because the girl is holding him. He has his party stripes on, all yellow and white. Stanley thinks he is some kind of python.
Stanley wants to remember the park so I took this photo for him.

Flat Stanley arrives

Next, we stopped at the library because he loves to learn about the places he visits and he found a book about himself which he loved reading and then he found a book about a shark. So we had a little chat about what kind of animals live here in Australia and especially the ones around Darwin. Later this week we will visit the Northern Territory Wildlife Park so he can see animals. I will take photos of Flat Stanley with the animals and send you another blog.

See you in a couple of days. Cheers from Australia!
I took a photo of him at the top of Australia and you can see how far away from the United States of America that is. Lots of ocean in between. He got a little worried about being so far from home but I told him there was no problem in getting him home because there are post offices here in Darwin and when he's ready to return home we will put the right address on his envelope and home he will go.
Flat Stanley wasn't sure where he was so we found a map and he climbed right up to the top and plastered himself against Australia. He's pointing toward Darwin because that's where he is visiting. He wanted to know how far away from he is so...
The day Flat Stanley arrived he'd been in the envelope for it seemed weeks and he was glad to be unfolded so I fed him warm cookies and cold milk and put him to bed.