Parrots, April, Jervis Bay

At Greenpatch campground we enjoyed the forest and a campfire. We had the place to ourselves for the most part, it's a chilly time of year here now.

A short distance from our camp sites towards the beach we found a mob of kangaroos grazing in the morning. They weren't afraid of us. The signs said not to feed the animals and illustrated this with a cartoon of a fella being chased by a pack of various hungry animals.

As we ate breakfast and did schoolwork at the picnic table many birds gathered around: king parrots, crimson rosellas, ducks, and crows with yellow eyes. Look for the crow in the photo of Kyra with the king parrot. Dad wasn't sure what landed on his head but he knew it needed to be photographed. A magpie (a large black and white bird like a crow) flew right into Mom and Dad's van to get a crumb.

As I tidied up the firewood before leaving, a very large spider surprised me. It was the largest spider I've ever seen besides tarantulas in a cage. Later research leads me to believe it was a wolf spider, it's body like 2 quarters, and eyes I could see clearly from 5 feet away (my height). Wolf spiders are not dangerous. Scary though.

In the evening a few possums and a long-nosed bandicoot hung around. The bandicoot squeaked, and hopped like a rabbit. Very cute.

Grammy and Boppy, April

We picked up Roy and Gertrude (aka, mom and dad / Grammy and Boppy) at the Sydney airport on April 23rd. They spent a few days valiantly fighting jet lag at chez Jim, Canberra. One morning we visited the Canberra Botanical Gardens where we tried to look like Joseph Banks, spotted a well camouflaged water dragon (try to see him in the 3rd photo between Dad and Kyra), and enjoyed the parrots and plants.

Camping with Jim, Paul, Karrie, Duff and Moe

We spent 3 nights at a campground in Rutherglen, Victoria with Jim and his friends Paul and Karrie, and their dogs Duff and Moe.
Dozens of sulpher crested cockatoos screeched in the trees, giving us early morning wake up calls. They are wonderful in spite of the noise.

We visited several local wineries, Jim and Kyra are running in the vines of one, and the girls loved playing with and walking the dogs.

Paul and Karrie recently purchased a caravan and this was only their second trip out. The kids set up their tent, they prefer that to a fancy motorhome or caravan.

We had a friend in the tree above us at night, a possum. We thought he was really cute until he decorated the kid's tent with his pee and poo. Ewww.

The wolf spider was in the washroom. If you enlarge the photo you'll see something interesting all over her back.

Mercedes spent most of her playground hours in the spinning green cup, just like the spinning tea cup ride at the fair. I watched a man and his pre-teen son try it out. The man spun it really fast and suddenly his son flew out out of the cup, landing about 3 meters away in a heap on the ground. I quickly remembered the emergency number for Australia (000), but then the boy got up laughing. Whew. I wish I'd had the video camera running for that one. We don't have playground toys like this in Canada.

It was a good time, thanks Jim, Paul, and Karrie. Oh, and Duff and Moe of course. Woof.

Extra Pics

Just before getting to Jim's in Canberra, again, we stopped at this lovely camp site by a river with wide, flat rocks and grazing cows on it's opposite bank. Near us were 2 other campers, a nice older couple, and a family with a sweet baby and this cute little fella who loved to play with the girls and 'drive' our van.

I can't remember where we saw this bug but I wanted to include it because it was like a jewel and the kids said it was a stink bug. A pretty, stinky bug.

Kyra's 9th Birthday

For Kyra's birthday we spent the day at Dubbo zoo, in Dubbo. The zoo is laid out in a 6 km loop that you can walk, drive, or bicycle around. We took our house around, stopping to wander amongst the animals. Many of the fences around the animals were dug down in a trench so they didn't obscure your view.

Kyra had wanted a camera for a long time and was very excited to open one in the morning and then have a whole zoo to photograph. That is a black swan behind her, they are very common all over Australia. At lunch time Kyra was busy feeding and photographing a bunch of Apostle birds (crow-like scavengers often in groups of 12) so Mercedes helped us decorate the van with balloons and light the cake candles. Surprise!

The tortoises were great, especially this one that watched us as much as we watched him or her. We could reach over and rub her shell and she would look us at us, slowly, to show she could feel it. What a neat, ancient creature. We got to feed the giraffes carrots. As you can see their tongues are long, curling around the carrot to pull it away. They would run around and knock eachother with their heads, all of the action looked like slow motion with their long limbs. Another favourite was the family of Siamang apes (or monkeys?). We'd never heard of them before. They ran and swung on ropes, and whooped and hollered so you could hear them from far away. They put on quite a show.

Lightening Ridge, April 4-5

As we headed inland towards Lightening Ridge, we passed through some hilly, wooded lands where the air was quite cool and the leaves were beginning to change colors. We passed through Glen Innis, stayed the night in Jackadgery, and camped at Cranky Rock recreation reserve where we saw some kangaroos and chatted with a pet cockatoo named Frank. At this reserve we spotted a tawny frogmouth in a tree, a night bird. Very cool.

At Lightening Ridge, a dusty, hot opal mining town, the woman at the information centre set us up with her man, George, who led us to their private land beside the town's dusty golf course where we could try for some crayfish and search for bits of opal in the piles of rocks dumped off by the miners. We didn't catch any crayfish, but we found some lovely bits of opal. George has a tiny, old dog he carries with him, whose name is Costa, as in cost a lot of money.

We also took a break at the town's hot springs: a concrete pool the springs flow into from 1 km. underground, a hot temperature you couldn't sit in for long. It's a popular spot for locals and travellers. It's open 24/7 and free, with showers and washrooms.

April 2008. Caterpillars

We just thought this was really interesting. At a roadside camping/rest area Kevin saw the caretaker watching something. The first picture is the leader, then behind her, nose to tail, is the long line of followers, dozens in number, all moving together. Their destination is the pile of caterpillars you see in the 3rd picture. They were piled and squirming at the base of a small tree. Each one is as long as your pinky finger.

One More Picture for March.

We found this pretty girl at a river side camping area near Moura. Her web was in a lemon tree.

A Brisbane Party with Jim. March.

At the end of March we met Jim at the Brisbane airport and stayed 3 nights on the trendy Gold Coast. We surprised the girls with 3 theme parks: Sea World, Movie World, and Wet n' Wild. Jim's idea, and a great one! By the end we were all exhausted, except Jim. The first 3 photos are from Sea World, after that I left the camera home so I could keep up. It was a slow time of year so most line-ups were reasonable or not at all.

Notice Mercedes's lack of front teeth. She lost a top front one the morning we picked up Jim. She was also just tall enough to go on the rides Kyra could go on. (One less cm and there would have been tears).

At Sea World we loved the polar bear and the roller coaster. How many times did we go on that? Kevin gave up after 2 and took pictures instead.

At Movie World the kid's favourites were the Bat Man ride which shot you straight up in the air and dropped you, and the Scooby Doo ride and coaster. The Superman roller coaster was only for tall people (I barely reached the marker!) so we took turns going on it while the girls declared hight restrictions unfair. It was awesome!

At our campground Jim slept in the tent we'd bought for the girls. He had a little green frog friend the whole weekend, hanging out between the fly and the tent roof. When we took the tent down he put the frog on the window of the van. It hung out for awhile, then the girls took him to a cool, shady garden.

What a fun, crazy weekend. Thanks Jim!

Easter in March

From Fletcher Creek we headed further south and spent the Easter weekend at Bedford Wier, a man-made muddy river/lake created from damming. The banks were crowded with holidayers and waterskiiers. Farther up we found a nice spot under some trees with nice neighbours: Sandy and Stan who'd raised 5 kids and were now training their little dog Gem not to bark by spraying her with water. It seemed to be working.

A short walk away was the dam and a clear shallow river where we caught crayfish, ghost shrimp and eel-tailed catfish, and cooled off. It was a popular fishing area. On Easter morning eggs were hidden all around the van. It was chocolate for breakfast!

On the 3rd day the girls and I were happily exploring the island in the river you see above when Kevin saw a yellow and black striped snake swimming in the river farther up. We quickly exited the area. It was time to move on anyway as we were planning to meet Jim in Brisbane the next weekend.

Fletcher Creek, March

As we headed south, driving an inland road towards Charter's Towers (a nice town an hour in from the coast), we discovered Fletcher Creek, a roadside camping area on a beautiful creek. A man told us people camp for months on it's banks, catching crayfish and relaxing. He had been coming there for years with his wife and was now there waiting for his daughter to arrive so they could sprinkle his wife's ashes at the river, where she'd wanted them. On a lighter note, he advised us to buy meaty bites dog food with rice, to bait our crayfish traps.

We picked a spot upstream from everyone, near a couple with a jack russel terrier named Mitzi who barked at us ferociously until she decided we were ok. We stayed for 2 nights and had a great time.

Our traps caught dozens of crayfish each time. We threw most of them back but cooked up a few. The girls were dramatic and teary the first time we cooked them, begging for the crustacean's lives. They felt a little better about it when Kevin said he'd just cook the boys.

We cooked about ten and made the girls try them (not without a fight). Kyra maintains she does not like them, but Mercedes loves them! The next day she helped Kevin pop a few into the boiling water on the fire. She said to him 'They're gonna be lookin' down at you and cursin' you.' Kevin said, 'what about you? You're cooking them too.' She replied 'Yeah, but I'm just a little kid.' You've got to love the logic.

Both girls loved to check the traps, pulling them out of the river first thing in the morning and throughout the day by a long rope and tossing them back. They got good at picking the crayfish up without getting pinched. They even created games with them, naming some, and sorting the small ones out from the big ones to protect them, catching the escapees, and then setting them all free to the river.

I taught the girls how to build a small fire. Kyra was especially enthusiastic and spent many hours with the project. We had a few great campfires in the evenings and enjoyed the quiet. The camp site doesn't look like much in the photo but this stop was a highlight of our travels. It's interesting what moments stick with you as you move on.

Trying to go North, March

We left Mission Beach after being stuck an extra night because of flooded roads. We were getting very soggy by now but were hoping to continue north. We just love the tropical jungles with it's night sounds and tree frogs. From Innisfail we turned inland to visit more waterfalls and rainforest. A woman at an information centre in Milanda suggested we go for a swim at Lake Eachem. It was a beautiful lake that could have been in Nova Scotia, except the water was quite clear and the surrounding forest was tropical. We had a great swim, jumping from a concrete structure into deep water. You could see the fish.

The next morning at a campground in Yungaburra (I love the names of places here), we made the decision to give up going north, and go south to dry out. The rain just wouldn't quit. On the way out of 'the wet' we stopped to see a giant curtain fig: a strangling fig tree whose host tree fell but caught on another tree, so the fig continued to grow, it's roots hanging in a curtain.

I had to add this picture of the cockatoos drinking beside our campsite in Darwin. They're such neat birds.

More Waterfalls and a Turkey, March

From Wallaman Falls we revisited Mission Beach, a tiny tropical town. We stayed at the council campground again and the man that ran it recognized us. It was pretty full but he worked to find us a spot. It was quite a nice feeling to be welcomed back by someone to a place we knew already, after newness everyday for months. We stayed for 4 or 5 nights, meeting the neighbours around us who'd been living there for several months each. It rained a lot, but we got out to see the sights of the area, visiting more waterfalls and freshwater swimming holes. We got back to one of our favourites: Aligator's Nest, a place you need to ask the locals about to find. This time the road was flooded up to the knees before the park. We parked, waded across and walked to the swimming spot. It was much deeper but just as wonderful to swim in. On the way back the girls had a swim on the road!

The turkey you see above is a brush turkey. They're very common in Queensland and I had to include a picture of this comical bird. They always look shocked and amazed.

Wallaman Falls, March 16-17

Wallaman Falls, Australia's highest sheer drop waterfall, plunging 268m to the river below. It was quite a breath taking sight with the noise and the rainbows in it's mist.

On our drive up the mountain towards the falls, a huge goanna was on the road in front of us after we came around a sharp bend. It ran off, but instead of disappearing into the bushes as they usually do, it climbed a tree, giving us a great view and photo opportunity. It was most likely a Perentie monitor, Australia's largest goannas growing up to 2m long, or more. They lay their eggs in termite mounds where the activity of the termites keeps the eggs warm. Just an interesting little fact.

We camped at the nearby campsites. We were the only ones there until evening when another van showed up. We took a forest walk to a river. On the large smooth rocks we saw tadpoles and tiny toads in and around the pools. In the river we spotted long necked turtles. Then Kyra saw something we'd been looking for: a crayfish. After some searching we found it again and Kevin caught it for a picture.

In the morning, Kevin made us pancakes. We had a wonderful time here.

Townsville Again, March

Back on the east coast in Queensland our first stop was Townsville. We had a great time at the foreshore, the well-developed green space on the water that every city and town in Australia has. If the town is away from the water their park is on a river or lake, or just in the town. All of them have free gas barbeques, playgrounds, washrooms and picnic tables, almost without fail. It's a wonderful fixture here in Australia. The foreshore in Townsville runs for kilometers along the ocean, with a giant salt water swimming pool, barbeques and playgrounds dotting the paths, and a huge water fun park for kids, like a giant playground but with water pouring and squirting and dumping out all over. All of this is free. In the picture of the water park I think our kids are under the waterfall.

At the Townsville aquarium we had a great time. One of our favourite creatures to see are the leafy sea dragons, sea horses covered in appendages that look exactly like seaweed. If you've never seen one they're worth a look on the internet. The photos of Mercedes caught in the giant fish and my kids: the snail and Nemo, were taken at the aquarium.

The black cockatoo was hanging around the foreshore along with some of it's mates. They were quite tame. This one is the female red tail. They're great parrots, screeching and waddling around. We never knew a black cockatoo existed until we came to Australia. We found the tiny lizard on the sidewalk and Kyra got it to run up her arm. They're very delicate and quick.