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.