Koala

Tonight I saw my first wild koala! We were walking at "Crystal Waters" which is a park near our house and a woman and her daughter stopped to say that there was a koala down the path a bit in a tree. She said it was the first one she had seen around in a long time. So exciting!! The Koala was actually rather awake and watched us as we looked up at it. It was probably mid-sized and had a nice, silky-looking coat. We watched for a couple of minutes before continuing on our way. Unfortunately the koalas in South Queensland are threatened due to habitat loss, traffic, dogs and chlamydia. I think this is why this is the first one I have seen. I hope it makes it back to it's home without any incidents with traffic or dogs.

Birthday Hike

Spent my birthday hiking in the Binna Burra section of the Lamington National Park here in Queensland. It was a beautiful day. I even got to get under a waterfall!

the view

on top of Surprise Rock

Got underneath this waterfall

Crayfish!

Waterfall

Falling from the Sky

Today I went sky diving for the first time. (An early birthday present to myself) I did a static line jump which means I jumped out of the plane by myself and my parachute was deployed by a line attached to the plane. I jumped out at 3,500 ft. I wasn't completely happy with my take off or landing. My jammed finger makes it hard to grip and to get out of the plane you are supposed to hang off the strut for a moment before letting go. I wasn't able to hang for more than a couple of seconds because of my hand. As for the landing, I didn't do the release fast enough so I awkwardly rolled. But it is okay. I can now say that I have done it. I'd love to do more but it's expensive. Paul got some footage so I will post it once we get it off  the camera.

RIP Rufus

My precious baby Rufus died a couple days ago. Even though it was not entirely unexpected, it was really hard to be so far away.  He was such a sweet, funny kitty. I am going to miss him.

Lizards And Leeches. . . Oh My

Jolly's Lookout

Paul had last Tuesday off and we drove to D’Aguilar National Park which is just west of Brisbane. Paul wanted to do some walking in the rain forest. It had rained a bit in the morning but Paul said that it would make the forest nice and cool. We drove to Jolly's Lookout. Here is what the D’Aguilar National Park has to say about Jolly's Lookout:
         Named after Brisbane's first Lord Mayor, William Jolly, this lookout offers expansive
          views of Moreton Island, Samford Valley and the Glass House Mountains. The Mayor
          was so taken with the view that he agreed to build a road to the lookout for better access

From the lookout we headed out on the Thylogale walking track which takes you through subtropical rainforest.

Thylogale Walking Track

The first ten minutes were quite lovely. The forest was damp and cool, a nice change from the hot sun of the morning. Everything was lush and glistening from the recent rain. And then Paul told me to look at my feet. I looked down to see these inch-worm like creatures crawling up my shoes and ankles. Some were steadily heading to the bare skin above my socks. Others were trying to descend through the mesh of my shoes. The closer I looked the more I saw. And what were these creatures? Land Leeches.

Upon discovering there were critters crawling up my legs so they could suck my blood

Yes, dear readers it seems it is not enough for Australia to have snakes, spiders and jelly fish that can poison you (not that I have seen any. . .yet) and crocodiles that will devour you. Australia is also home to blood sucking leeches that live on land. The land leeches commonly reside in the rainforest underbrush in damp areas. And after a rain they are very hard to avoid. The leeches have suckers on both ends. Usually I would get one end unstuck and then it would suction on to my fingers. I wasn't as talented at flinging them as Paul seemed to be.

Leech on my ankle and a couple on the shoes if you look closely

Once I had divested my self of the first batch, I continued along carefully avoiding brushing up against any leaves or branches. It didn't make a difference. A short while later I check my ankles and once again there were leeches looking for their next meal.

a drier part of the forest

The rest of the walk had a periodically stopping and swiping off leeches. Luckily there were sections of the trail that went through drier forest and the leeches were not as prevalent. The only other wildlife we saw was a skink. I managed to get a picture.

Skink

We decided not to return to the car via the trail because of the leeches. Instead we walked back the road which was leech free. Surprisingly I managed to avoid being actually bitten. Paul wasn't as lucky and he had two bite marks on his ankles. Next time we go to the rainforest I am wearing pants and long socks. 

a beautiful gnarled tree trunk

Jammed Finger

I attempted to walk Paul's dog on Wednesday while we were at his parents. I made it almost across the street before she wrapped the leash around my legs and I fell face first into the gutter. It was really embarrassing. It was an ungraceful fall, my legs went right out from underneath me.I bloodied my left knee, scrapped my right knee and elbow, and jammed my left index finger. The finger immediately swelled up and  it was difficult to bend and straighten. I think I scared Paul and his father. They came running across the street. Another pedestrian even stopped to ask if I was okay. I did the typical dancer shake it off thing. I jumped up, looked at the knee and shrugged, "I'm fine.  I'm fine.  I'm okay. . . oh shit my finger."  So instead of continuing the walk, we went back to the house to put on my finger. There was debate of a doctor visit but we figured since I could move it, it wasn't broken

The photo shows how it looked yesterday. It was that bruised even with all the icing and arnica that I slathered on it. It is no longer as bruised looking because I went to bikram this evening and it seems the yoga and the heat flushed some of the bruising out. So it is getting better.

Wombats

Wombats!

Today I accomplished a milestone on my Australian animal list. I got to see wombats! Only two because they were in a nature park but I have been wanting to see one since my dad showed me pictures from his Australian trip. Wombats are burrowing marsupials with strong legs for digging and a backwards pouch to prevent dirt from entering. They are quite large and can weigh upwards of 70 pounds. The two I saw were sleeping but they were still incredibly adorable. I wish there was one that lived in our backyard. 

a sleeping wombat 

Paul had needed to stop by his parent's house in Ipswich and so we stopped at the Ipswich Nature Center in Queens Park. It was surprisingly good for being a free entry. There was a huge lace monitor, wallabies, kangaroos, bilbies, emus,  bandicoots and a couple other animals. It was sweltering hot so most creatures were dozing in the shade. Unfortunately I had forgotten to charge my camera battery so I had to use the iphone instead. The park is really close to Paul's parents so maybe we will go again when my camera is charged.

kangaroos 

Driving lessons

I drove for the first time since arriving in Australia. The most frustrating part? I kept turning on the windshield wipers when I wanted to turn.  It was all a bit overwhelming. But I did manage not to hit anything or damage the car. Interestingly enough it was the second manual car I have ever driven and the stick shift felt really different, not to mention that I was using my left hand to shift rather than my right.  We drove around a residential area which meant that I didn't have to contend with that much traffic and I could go as slow as I wanted. It is still a bit disorienting to turn right and the roundabouts make me nervous but I think with a couple of more practices I will be able to actually drive. I think if I drove more in the states,  I wouldn't be so uncomfortable now. However, I have to get comfortable because otherwise I am doomed to be stuck in suburbia and I don't want to be stuck.

Suzie Homemaker part 1

Ziegenfusz Road, our house

Standing at the front door. Living room on right, garage door on left

Garage. 

Living Room.  To the left is the former formal dinning room

former formal dinning room. . .it gets the best cross breeze and is close to the air conditioner. Kitchen  is to the left.

Kitchen and internet hub

Kitchen and dinning area. Door to patio and backyard.

view down hall way. There are two bedrooms on the left and one on the right. At the end of the hallway is the master bedroom.

first bedroom on left. Note the icky poly cotton sheets 

second bedroom on left. looking towards the hallway

bedroom on right. It looks out on to the patio

Main bathroom. Toiler is seperate

View from hallway.Doorways left to right: toilet, bathroom, & master bedroom

Master Bedroom. Door to patiio.

en suite bathroom/toilet

Covered Patio

View from the yard

Patio and back yard with drying rack

So who is coming to visit? As you can see we have lots and lots of space.

A Couple of Photos from Coolangatta

Kirra

Beach across the street

View from the Condo

Where we stayed

Sheet Snob

Upon arrival to Australia I found the new sheets that had been bought were, horror of horrors, poly-cotton. And not just poly-cotton, they were 140 thread count poly-cotton. Miserable. But only one night was spent on them before heading to Coolangatta where there were lovely cotton sheets. Naively I thought that finding 100% cotton sheets would be easy and resolved to track some down after our Gold Coast holiday.

My first attempt was at  Target. Target has relatively inexpensive cotton sheets in the States and I assumed I would find it to be the same here. Wrong. There were multiple sets and colors but the vast majority were poly-cotton and the the cotton the did have was a 500 count $150 set. Not exactly in my price range.The next store I looked only had poly-cotton, as did the next. Discouraged and faced with another night on scratchy, clammy sheets, I took to the interwebs and found an ikea close by with affordable cotton sheets. Didn't particularly want to patronize a large shopping chain, but I was desperate.  I spent another night on the icky sheets and the next day we went and braved the Sunday crowd at Ikea to purchase my lovely new 100% cotton sheets. I slept much better last night ( admittedly the sheets were a little damp from the wash but they were still heavenly).

I know I am sheet snob and said as much to my mother. She acknowledged that she raised me to be that way.  But I am realizing as we acquire things for the house that I am just a snob. I much prefer metal and glass over plastic. I want cast iron pans not teflon coated ones. I have been fortunate enough to find places to live where my housemates have similar preferences, but here it seems people aren't as aware about the leaching of plastics. So, I am trying to be tolerant and I am keeping an eye out for any garage sales that have some glass containers.

Accomplished:

Saw kangaroos Sawm in the ocean Walked on the squeaky sand Stood in both Queensland and New South Wales. * I plan to write more once I return from our holiday on the gold coast. I left my computer in Thornlands so all I have for Internet access is paul's iPhone which is annoying to type on.

First Impressions

It's hot, as in I'm melting and don't want to be wearing any clothes hot.

Turning right in a car is now rather scary due to the fact that Australia drives on the other (wrong) side of the road.

The sun is intense.

I need to start taking pictures. Australia has some great road signs.

I haven't seen a kangaroo, yet.

I have seen a cane toad (invasive) and a tree frog (native).

The house I am  living in is quite large, especially since it is mostly empty.

Even though it was embarrassing to have so much luggage, I am glad I packed all those dresses.

I am looking forward to the Gold Coast (tomorrow) where I will be running around in my bikini and not much else.

Ready or Not

Currently in Anchorage on my way towards Australia. I am hoping I didn't forget anything. My luggage weighs 50lbs exactly. I have a plethora of dresses, eight pairs of street shoes, four pairs of pointe shoes, ballet clothes and other assorted articles of clothing. I also have my passport, my e-ticket for Air Pacific, my bank statements showing over $6000 USD in the bank, my drivers license, and my health insurance card. I have my computer, my camera, and a backpack/shoulder bag. I definitely did not pack light for this trip. My excuse is that I will have a home base and I will be there for at least three months. Can't believe I am actually on my way. I hope everything goes smoothly.

mmm...crab

I survived the tanner season. It actually wasn't that bad. The gods and goddesses of the thrift stores bestowed upon me a set of military puffy layers that were super warm. While fishing I only wore them and two thermal shirts beneath my rain gear and I stayed warm. Not nearly as bad as I thought it might be.

I actually really enjoyed crabbing once we were out on the water. I was able to move around enough as not to freeze. The cold meant the bait didn't smell too strongly and since the crab was kept alive my rain gear didn't get all gross. Since I was the third crewman I was mostly in charge of measuring the crab and determining the total count for each pot.  Not that physically difficult but my back did get tired of crouching over the tote and my knees ended up bruised from kneeling on  the deck. Next time I am bringing knee pads. And the best part of all was that we were on the crab and I made a good chunk of money.

Glutton for Punishment?

Once upon a time I decided to go tanner crabbing. I figured since I was long lining halibut in the summers I might as well be able to say I'd gone crabbing too. Tanner season is in  January and that particular year it was cold and clear. I had gone along as the spare hand and I spent most of the time inside the cabin next to the stove trying to warm up. It wasn't that the work was hard, it was just cold. I  have never been so fucking cold in my life. On our return to town I threw in the towel and thought never again. I think if it had been more physically difficult I might have kept at it but with it being cold I decided not for me.

Well guess what I am doing? Yes, I am tanner crabbing and once again it has been a cold and clear January. I am going to freeze, actually I have already been freezing. All day working on the back deck rigging pots was miserable. I am hitting the thrift stores tomorrow for more warm jackets and snow pants. My three pairs of fleece legging underneath carhartts didn't quite cut it, nor did the two jackets, one sweater, two thermal shirts, and fleece lined sports bra. One would think that I would have been decently warm and one would be wrong. I think it is the lack of moving around. I've never been good at staying warm when not walking which is part of the reason I don't like to stop and eat while hiking. I am hoping to find a down jacket and a down vest and snowpants.

So why I am doing this? I think on some level I am just a glutton for punishment and I want the bragging rights for afterwards. There is nothing better than being down south and telling someone that you commercial fish. Reactions are always priceless.  And then there is the financial aspect.  I am only in town till the end of the month and finding short term work here is hard. By going fishing I will be able to hang with my dad and I ended up really missing him last summer when I did the Bristol Bay season.  And I have found a third reason. By freezing now the Australian summer is going to feel really really good. Actually I think the image of myself lying in the sun on the Gold Coast was the only thing that got me through the last hour of work today.