Bird Watching

I enjoy watching the birds that come to our feeders. We get more interesting birds here than we did at the old house. We have a greater variety of trees here, so that's probably the reason why the variety of birds is greater, too. 

That's a Baltimore oriole on the left. He usually arrives around May 10, and I always put out a half orange to entice him to visit us. He also likes my homemade suet cakes, which is what he is enjoying in this photo.

I hadn't seen an Indigo Bunting in several years, but last year this one spent two or three days with us. Here he's roosting on the squirrel feeder arm, in the rain.

I was shocked to see this Pileated Woodpecker at the feeder one day last June. We've seen pileated woodpeckers only rarely, and until this one showed up, we'd seen them only in the woods. He hung around for a couple of days, too. He's a huge bird, as you can see by the proportion of the feeder cage in comparison with him.

I love the rose-breasted grosbeaks. This is a male; as with all bird species, the male is much prettier than the female. 

Just yesterday I spotted this Eastern Bluebird on the feeder outside the kitchen window. It was a thrill to see him, because bluebirds are shy birds, and they went through several years of being all but extinct  in Maine. I hope he and his Mrs. build a nest nearby. They like large, open spaces for nesting. When I sent this photo to Roberta yesterday, she thought he was made of plastic. He's a real bird, I guarantee it. He can't help it that he's so darned beautiful!

Finally, my cardinals. I love the cardinals, too. I had never seen one until we moved to this house almost ten years ago. They stick around all year, but they disappear for sometimes a month at a time. I've seen the male bring his young son to the feeder twice.

I put out the hummingbird feeder yesterday. The earliest I've ever seen one arrive in the spring is April 26. They typically arrive around Mother's Day, as do the Baltimore Orioles. If you plan to put out a hummingbird feeder, you should boil 2 c. water and add to it 1/2 c. sugar. Do not add food coloring. Fill the feeder only 1/4 full. Empty the feeder and refill it at least once a week. Do not allow the food to stay in the feeder for more than a week between cleanings, because harmful mold will develop, and this can kill the hummers. During hot, humid weather, I change the feeder every two or three days. To wash the feeder, use a solution of hot water and white vinegar, or hot water and household bleach. Rinse thoroughly. Do not use soap to clean a hummer feeder, for the soap film can be harmful to the birds.

Aborigines & Koala Photo Shoots

My nifty new scanner arrived today, and I just finished setting it up, so I'm finally able to scan these two photos to add to my blog. (I discovered my old scanner was not compatible with my new computer, so I've been high and dry for the past week, waiting for the new scanner/printer/copier to arrive. Now I'm happily back in business.)

The first photo was taken at the Aboriginal Cultural Park, in Cairns, where we enjoyed the fire lighting ceremony, the didgeridoo, and a huge buffet (again, with Pavlova).

This second photo is self-explanatory: the sweet little koala and me, taken in Kuranda, which we accessed by means of the Kuranda Scenic Railway, traveling into the mountains out of Cairns. In Kuranda we made a bee-line to the Koala Gardens so I could hold a koala in my arms. 

Happy Earth Day, one day late

Check out this site for clever, inexpensive,  environment-friendly, and on-hand cleaners.

Looks like we got out of Dodge just in time

Sydney, Australia, has had 11 days of rain in a row. According to the article, though, this is no where near the record of 24 consecutive rainy days in 1893. I'm glad the rains held off until we got out of town. Parts of Australia and New Zealand are in a significant drought, so I'm sure the rain is welcomed.

I still have a few more photos of AU and NZ to post. It's just a matter of getting to it. I'll do it soon.

Pavlova! Update and Failed Taste Test

The Pavlova was a hit, judging from the serving plate not more than ten minutes after the dessert was brought to the table. I'd share the recipe from our New Zealand friend, but Barbara didn't give me permission to post it on the web, so I'm not comfortable doing that. I've provided a link to a similar recipe, though. 

The Vegemite taste test, however, did not fare as well, if facial expressions can be trusted.

I've read that many Aussies pack a jar of Vegemite in their luggage before traveling, for fear it might not be available in the foreign country. 

And our travel guide, a native Aussie, loves the stuff. 

Each to his own, I guess.

Pavlova!

If you've been following my posts from early on, you'll remember the evening we had dinner with a couple in Queenstown, New Zealand, and "Pavlova" was our dessert.

Pavlova is the national dessert of both New Zealand and Australia, and each country claims hers is the better.

I liked every Pavlova I ate during the trip, and I've got the pounds to prove it.

Pavlova is named after a famous Russian dancer who, apparently, loved this dessert while Down Under.

It's actually not a cake, although it might look like one. It's beaten egg whites with sugar, vanilla, and vinegar thrown in, baked and cooled thoroughly in the oven, then topped with whipped cream. Sounds strange, doesn't it? But it's actually a delicious and very special treat, served in Kiwi and Aussie homes on birthdays, Christmas, etc. And the Kiwis and Aussies love to serve it to visitors.

Barbara, in Queenstown, was kind enough to share her recipe with me, so today I made my first Pavlova to serve as a birthday "cake" this evening. I had Ken pick up some kiwis at the supermarket this morning, but any fresh fruit would do as a topping. I felt kiwis were the most appropriate.

We'll see what our guests think of it.

Treasures from Our Trip

These are my precious souvenirs of New Zealand and Australia. I love to knit, so one of my main goals in going Down Under was to bring home some luscious New Zealand yarns.

That proved to be harder than I'd expected. Knitting is not as popular there as it is here in the States. I talked with a girl at a yarn shop in Queenstown, NZ, and she said she has read of the popularity of knitting in the States, and has heard of our beautiful yarn shops and knitting cafés, but the craze hasn't found its way there yet. This surprised me a little, given the fields full of sheep that we spotted during our drive from Auckland south and on to the South Island. I guess most of the wool is shipped overseas to be made into suits.

But I did find a few yarn shops, and I snagged what I could in the little time I had to browse. At the Agrodome  in Rotorua, NZ, I got four skeins of merino sock yarn. In Queenstown I purchased four skeins of worsted for various projects. My pride and joy, however, is the three hanks of handpainted wool from Tapestry Craft in Sydney.

For months before our trip, I'd been reading daily the blog of a girl who works at Tapestry. I'd hoped to meet her while in Sydney, but she changed jobs a week before we left for Down Under. I was still determined to visit the shop, though.

Once we got to Sydney, and I saw how large the city is, my hopes dwindled. What were the chances I'd have time to find this shop? It was probably located way on the other side of the city.

I took its name to the desk clerk at our hotel, and she kindly did a google search for me. She located the shop at 50 York St. She assured me it wasn't all that far: "just walk through the park, take a right, and you'll be on York St. It's a long street, though...." As it turned out, she could have said, simply, "It's the next street over, parallel to this one."

After our Blue Mountain Tour, which brought us back to the hotel at 4:00 p.m., Ken (who knew how much visiting this shop meant to me) suggested we try to find Tapestry. After turning right and realizing we should've turned left, and after finding the sign for the shop but no shop itself ("The shop is actually in the next block," the kind stranger told me with a shrug of her shoulders.") we trekked on a finally found the shop. (I'm still wondering about that sign with no actual shop nearby.)

The entire basement of Tapestry is full of luscious yarns, but I wanted only New Zealand yarn; French or Italian or British I can buy at home, for heaven's sake. And I wanted worsted weight, to knit myself a sweater as a reminder of our trip.

I scooped up three hanks of handpainted 100% wool in my favorite color combination, threw down my trusty credit card, signed the slip, and happily left the store. 

Mission accomplished.

Queenstown, NZ steamboat to Walter Peak Station

One of our evenings in Queenstown, New Zealand, we took the steamboat Earnslaw across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak Station, where we had a delicious buffet in the inn pictured below. I think that photo of the inn is so beautiful that it doesn't even look real. Perfect lighting conditions that evening, I guess

Our tour guide, Jennie, explained the difference among a farm, a property, and a station. (I remember reading of "sheep stations" in Colleen McCullough's novels and wondered how a station was different from a sheep farm.) Anyway, a farm is under 1,000 acres; a property is up to 10,000 acres; and a station is over 10,000 acres. One of the hosts at the outback barbecue in Alice Springs, Australia, told of a farmer (station owner) who discovered that he had 20,000 more head of sheep than he'd originally thought. I guess when one has a 10,000+ acre station, it would be easy to lose count of the number of animals on it.

Lorikeets and snoozing fruit bats

I can't claim credit for these three excellent photos; they were sent to me by another member of our tour group, D. Green. All photos were taken in Cairns, Australia.

The first here is a close up of fruit bats as they snooze during daylight.  Apparently it's not a good idea to park one's car beneath the trees where the bats sleep, because ...well, because.

And here are the beautiful lorikeets. Wouldn't these be fun to see at our bird feeders? 

Australia's Beauty, Part II

The crimson rosella parrot. We saw several of these beauties at the Jemby Rinja Eco Lodge in the Blue Mountains, outside of Sydney.

Two photos of the rich rainforest foliage in the mountains outside of Cairns, taken the day we rode the train up to Kuranda then took the skyrail back down the mountain.

Australia's Beauty, Part I

Sturt's Desert Pea, which I spotted while in Alice Springs.

A closer look at Ayer's Rock, or Uluru. We hiked quite far into this canyon. "Uluru" is its original, aboriginal name. It is owned by the aborigines, and several sites at the rock cannot be photographed because they are sacred sites to the aboriginal culture.

Another view of Uluru.

Young Joseph and Mama

Here's Joey, the same one in the previous photos, once he finally tumbled out o' the pouch. Cute little duffer, isn't he?

Snoozing Koala and Teenaged Joey

This photo of the koala is another of my favorite photos from Australia. I took it at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. Since koalas are nocturnal creatures,  they sleep during the day, even when they have hundreds of admirers filing by, apparently. This photo is now my screen saver. This isn't the koala I held; that one was a little girl.

Koalas aren't bears, by the way, although most of us have been taught to call them "koala bears." The zoo guide was careful to make this point, explaining that koalas are marsupials, like kangaroos. They, too, have a pouch for carrying their immature newborns.

Back to kangaroos for a minute: Our tour guide in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney said kangaroos are a tad unfeeling when they decide Junior needs to give up the pouch and get his own apartment, as it were. The mother kangaroo simply closes up shop by tightening her pouch so Joey can't get into it any more. She does this without warning, so Joey is perplexed and heartbroken for a few days, then he packs up his ditty bag and begins life on his own. Mom, meanwhile, gets the current embryo in her womb to speed up its development so it can occupy the pouch soon. Apparently female kangaroos like to be kept barefoot and pregnant.

In this photo you can see that young Joseph is obviously getting too big for the pouch and should be ashamed of himself for using it still. I guess we're all guilty of taking the bus rather than walking, given the opportunity, though.

Manhattan Beach, California

We're home now, safe and sound, and that's always a good thing. The only glitch in the long journey back to Maine occurred at Washington-Dulles on Friday night: Our flight to Maine, which was supposed to leave at 10:45, was delayed until 12:30 a.m., due to bad storms in the Northeast. That meant we got to Portland at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, and I had a meeting that I couldn't miss at 9:30 a.m. that same day. The alarm went off three hours after I got into bed and I made it to the meeting, albeit not bright eyed and bushy-tailed.

Now Ken and I are trying to get our sleep patterns in sync with Maine, although our bodies seem to think we're still in Australia. Patience is the key here.

But that's not what I intended to write about. Here's a photo of Manhattan Beach, CA. Pretty, huh? We enjoyed walking out to the end of the pier, walking along the esplanade, and checking out some shops. Beach volleyball seems to be a major activity in Manhattan Beach, juding from the dozens of volleyball nets lining the sands.

But the photo is not what I intended to post....I was hoping to upload a photo of our last night in Sydney, at the Waterfront Restaurant, down on Circular Quay, with Harbour Bridge and the opera house in view on a warm late-summer evening, but as usual I'm running into problems trying to upload it. I'll try again later.

I read that there's an open market one day a week on Circular Quay. Do I ever wish I'd been able to attend that; it features handcrafts, which are right up my alley. Oh, well. Next time. I do hope there's a next time.

Back in the USA

We're in Los Angeles at the moment. We arrived here at 7:00 this morning and will fly to Maine tomorrow. This is just a little stopover to help us begin adjusting to the new time zones. This afternoon we took the free trolley to Manhattan Beach, and very pretty coastal town just south of LAX. We ate a tasty Italian lunch or dinner, we're not sure which it was, but we were hungry, so we ate-at Mama D's. After eating, we walked out to the end of their pier, then along the esplanade. I found a pet store to get some treats for Molly, so she'll forgive us for taking off for three weeks and leaving her behind.

We're eager to get home now and get back into our normal routines. We brought home with us a lot of good memories of New Zealand and Australia, some souvenirs, many photos, and suitcases that look like hell-holes. Can't wait to wash, iron, and get my life back to normal.

Thank you for following us on our journey. Keep an eye out for more posts a little later.

Last day in Australia

Gosh, it's going to be hard to see this adventure end. It's been exciting from start to finish. Neither New Zealand nor Australia disappointed us in any way. When I get home, I'll post a few more blogs to wrap things up. I have more photos to share, and I have a few more topics to discuss. So bear with me, if you'd like, as I put the finishing touches on a great trip.

We went into the Blue Mountains today, but it chose to be a rainy and foggy day, so we saw very little. We still had some highlights, though: kangaroos in the wild, including a joey who tumbled out of mom's pouch and entertained us, some amazing blue and red birds, and the 2000 Sydney Olympics site.

This evening all of us went to a restaurant down on the wharf, by the opera house and harbour bridge, for a nice final meal together.

Tomorrow we fly to L.A., spend the night, then head to Maine on Friday. We can't wait to see our Molly. Silly, I know, but we love her.

Die-hard Sunbather

I love this photo so much. It says "warmth" and "sunshine" and "total relaxation." This kangaroo isn't ashamed to let the world know he loves to sunbathe, despite the UV factor.

This was taken at Taronga Zoo, where the animals have one of the best views of all, overlooking the harbour.

At the Sydney Opera House

Here we are at Sydney's Opera House. We got the grand tour, although we weren't lucky enough to attend a concert or show. We sat in both the opera hall and the concert hall, though, so we can ticked those off our bucket lists! You can see that the clouds are clearing behind us, preparing for our visit to the zoo and the harbour cruise.

Today's tours

We had a full day of touring Sydney. What a beautiful, clean city. The opera house tour was interesting; the harbour tour was beautiful; the zoo was full of cute creatures and some not so cute. I wish I could upload photos, but Blogger's giving me a hard time. Maybe tomorrow morning....

Blogger's in a snit.

Blogger isn't cooperating this evening, and I'm using up precious internet time to no avail in uploading photos of Sydney Harbour Bridge, the opera house, kangaroos and koalas, etc. Very frustrating. I'll try again later.

Sydney Opera House

Our tour of the opera house was great. Originally expected to cost $7 million and take 3 years to build, it actually cost $102 million and took 14 years to build! The cutting-edge architectural design was way ahead of its time; the builders weren't sure it actually COULD be built. The designer, who left Sydney amidst controversy before it was completed, has never come back to see the finished masterpieces.

Fruit bats and Sydney

We're now in Sydney, a city of 4 1/2 million. We haven't seen much of it yet, but it's said to be an extremely beautiful and clean city. Last night we went to the top of Sydney Tower and had a buffet dinner in their revolving restaurant. We had a 360-view of the city at night as we ate. Very dramatic.

However, to the left is not a picture of Sydney at night, but of the fruit bats in Cairns, swarming up out of the trees at 5:30 p.m. The show happens every evening and last about half an hour. It's a sight to see. There are something like 70 million fruit bats, so to see them swarm for a solid 30 minutes is amazing. And they're noisy! They begin their all-night feeding ritual, then return to the trees to sleep during full daylight, where we saw them hanging from the trees as they snoozed. Quite a sight.

Today we'll have a full-day tour of Sydney: the opera house, a zoo, a harbour cruise, etc. I can't wait to see everything here. The tour is drawing to a close way too fast!

Wallaby with little Joey in her pouch

Riding the little train to Kuranda

I held a koala in my arms!

Yesterday we took the little train up into the mountains to Kuranda, where I held a koala! The official photo of this is much better, but I'll need to scan it before I can upload it. The little  koala was cute and very sleepy. He cooperated, though. Actually, he was a she. We also saw a kangaroo with a joey in his pouch, crocs, snakes, etc. Kuranda is a pretty little village with many open markets, so we did some shopping, too. Our suitcases are bulging.

Last night we went to Ochre, a local restaurant specializing in Australian food, so that means we had emu, kangaroo, crocodile, salt water trout, etc., with Pavlova for dessert. Very elegant and, I hate to admit, tasty.

We'll fly down to Sydney today for the final days of our trip. It's sad to see it come to an end. Tonight we'll go to a revolving restaurant for dinner, and I suspect tomorrow we'll get a full tour of the city, including the opera house.

Great Barrier Reef and the Didgeridoo

I just wrote an account of yesterday at the Great Barrier Reef, then I accidentally deleted it. Shoot. To recap, it was incredible. We went by catamaran to a nearby island first, Green Island, which is about 1/2 hour from Cairns. Then we spent another hour getting to the outer reef. The snorkeling was spectacular, and I saw fish of every shape, color, and size imaginable, tons of 'em, and coral reef and other underwater life that I'd like to have studied for hours.

Pretend you can see Ken and me in this flock of snorkelers. Obviously I, for one, am not there, though, if I took this picture.

Last night we went to the aboriginal cultural center for a show and a huge buffet. We've finally heard a didgeridoo being played, and it's a sound like no other. Ken said it seems to be the aboriginis' answer to the bagpipes, and he's got a point. The instruments is made from a hollowed-out branch of a gum tree, or section of branch, hollowed out by ants. The player blows into one end and creates these mournful sounds. 

Today we're taking a train up into the mountains to a village, then we're taking the cable car back down.

This is another rushed post. Ken's waiting for me in our room so we can go to breakfast....

Photos from Alice and Ayers Rock

Although we're in Cairns (pronounced "can") this evening, here is a photo of Urulu, or Ayers Rock. In the first, we're waiting for sunset and enjoying a champagne toast.  

It was a two-hour or 2 1/2 hour flight from Ayers Rock to Cairn this afternoon. What a dramatic difference between the two places! We're out of the semi-arid desert and in the tropical rainforest. It's warm and a little humid here. There are plumeria and bougainvilla (sp?) in bloom, waves crashing on the shore, and colorful tropical birds singing. There are also crocodiles and other means of experiencing a sudden, violent death, but we're hoping to avoid the latter while seeing the former.

Tomorrow's the big, big day of the trip: We'll go out to Great Barrier Reef for sightseeing, eco-information, and snorkeling. It should be a great day. The weather forecast says clear and sunny, so we're psyched.

It's sad to see this trip drawing to a close; it's been spectacular each and every day. We do mis Molly, though, so we'll be glad to see her soon. I heard a tour member say this evening that we have only five days left before heading home.

Ayers Rock, Australia

G'day from Ayers Rock, where the morning sun is shining directly onto the computer screen here in the hotel lobby.

Yesterday morning we went to an outback location to learn more about the aboriginal culture. Many are now members of the modern way of life, but the older ones still cling to their nomadic origins, including sleeping outside, even if they have a house now, and using little water for bathing, since water is for drink and survival, not for anything frivolous.

We flew to Ayers Rock, a 40-minute flight, and took a hike at The Olgas. Then, to our surprise, a champagne and crudites welcome awaited us at a view point where we watched the sun set on Ayers Rock. Very dramatic and beautiful. Today it's a hike at Ayers Rock, then a flight to Cairn, where we'll go out onto the Great Barrier Reef in a day or two or three.

$2 for 10 minutes of internet time, so I'm sure to be shut off any second. Hi to everyone back home.

Mama and her joey

Oops. That's not joey on the left; that's the boomerang guy, who is of the George Clooney/Brad Pitt variety, if you get my drift.
II hope you can make out this photo OK. Mama's looking at us, while little joey, who looks to be old enough to feed himself now, for heaven's sake, is enjoying a swig.

G'day from Alice Springs, Australia

I wasn't going to post a blog from Alice, as they call it here, because the internet fee is another steep one, but I'm about bursting with news to tell you, so here I am.

We left Melbourne at 6:00 yesterday morning, and from all reports, we got out of Dodge in the nick of time. We haven't seen the t.v. news yet, but apparently Melbourne was hit by a violent storm and the city suffered a lot of damage.

We flew from Melbourne to Sydney, a distance of 900 km, which takes ten hours to drive,...hence, our flight of one hour. From there we headed to the geographical center of Australia, to Alice Springs, or Alice, or The Alice. It was a 3-hour flight during which we set back our watches 1 1/2 hours for Alice time. I know, the 1/2 hour is weird, but Newfoundland is 1/2 hour ahead of New Brunswick, so I guess it's not all that unusual.

Alice Springs is a semi-arid area surrounded by desert. Very different terrain and very beautiful in its own right. Our first stop was at a camel ranch to, of course, take a camel ride. Camels were brought to Australia during the frontier days of the 1800s because they're so adaptable to the conditions here, can go six months without water, etc. The camel we rode was actually comfortable, but I probably wouldn't be saying that if I'd ridden him for 12 hours rather than a few minutes.

On to the Flying Doctors headquarters, where we learned about Australia's flying doctor service, which provides prompt medical help to folks in the outback. 

Then to the old telegraph station, which was especially interesting Ken. He found a HUGE old plow, and before I knew it he was taking photos of it madly.

I forgot to mention the weather here! Clear blue sky, temperatures 33 degrees C, which translates to 96 F, if I did the math correctly. (After I've doubled the C temp, do I then add 30 or 32, Jim?) It's a very dry heat though, so quite comfortable.

We checked into the hotel around 4:00, then at 5:30 headed to the outback for a barbecue. This was an amazing experience. On the way out to the area, we looked for kangaroos. They're a nocturnal creature, as are all of Australia's animals, so you seldom see them in the daytime but they begin to emerge from the bushes as evening comes on. WE SAW SEVERAL! The first we saw was a mother who was nursing her joey. Our tour guide said it's unusual to see this. Kangaroos can have as many as three separate pregnancies "going on" at one time and if they are experiencing survival challenges (drought, etc.,) they can keep a pregnancy "in the works" for up to two years, then deliver when the conditions have improved. Once a mother is ready to deliver joey #2 (and once joey #1 is a big boy or girl), she tightens her pouch, forcing joey #1 to vacate it, and joey #2 is born. I remember reading or seeing a documentary years ago on kangaroos and being fascinated by the fact that a baby kangaroo is born the old fashioned way, then instinctively he/she climbs up the  outside of the mother's pouch, crawls inside, and resides there to nurse and keep comfy until old enough to live outside the pouch. Ain't nature amazin'?

Ok, so we rode to the outback, stopped at the barbie site, saw a demonstration of boomerang-throwing, learned a lot of fascinating facts about the aborigines and their way of life, had a delicious steak dinner (Didn't dare ask whether we were eating beef or kangaroo steak), joined in with a singalong (including Waltzing Mathilda, of course)...and suddenly the man sitting on my left turned to me (he was from the second Globus tour group who happened to be in Alice, too, and joined us for the barbecue) and said, "Where are you folks from?" I said "Maine," knowing it seems to be a rare place to come from, but he replied, "So are we." I said, "You're not," because I thought he was kidding me. He said, "We are, too! What town are you from?" I told him, and he said, "Can you believe it? We're from L, which is just up the road from us by about 10 miles. The four of us stood them dumbfounded, then of course we had a picture take for proof that these four Mainers bumped into each other in the Australian outback.

The absolute highlight of the evening, though, was sitting in the outback on a clear, balmy, star-filled night and listen to a commentary on the various stars and constellations. The Milky Way was very visible, too. The gentleman who pointed out the various stars is a walking encyclopedia. Ken said he's got to be a college professor, but I'm not sure. He's the same guy who told us all of the interesting things about aboriginal life.

Anyway, it was a magical end to the evening.

Today we'll do more touring in this area then fly to Ayers Rock, which looks like it's right next door on the map but is no doubt a few hundred miles away.

Australian beach southwest of Melbourne

Ain't it purdy? I walked into the water so I could say I've stepped a toe in the South Pacific. Oh, do I ever remember "Adventures in Paradise" with that luscious Gardner McKay. I know Roberta does, too.

Great Ocean Road Tour

The "Twelve Apostles" on the Australian shoreline.

Today was packed full of beautiful scenery. We boarded the tour bus at 7:00 and spent the next 12 hours sightseeing along the southwest coastline from Melbourne. We saw sheep grazing in green pastures, eucalptus trees, surfers, tall Norfolk Island pines, and more. Tomorrow we'll fly to Alice Springs. We have to fly to Sydney first to catch the flight to Alice Springs, so we're leaving the hotel early (6:00 a.m., for crying out loud). Tomorrow night we'll experience a barbecue in the bush. We've yet to spot a koala, and the only kangaroo we've seen is that slice of kangaroo steak on Ken's plate yesterday. I hold out hope, though.

Aussies and Kiwis both drive on the left side of the road. Meant to tell you that ages ago. 

A really disgusting Australian  and New Zealand food: Vegamite. It's made from beer malt yeast and tastes like something scraped off the bottom of one's feet. The Aussies and Kiwis start feeding it to their children soon after birth, so kids and adults think it's yummy. Yuck. Apparently it does have tremendous nutritional value and discourages children from developing a sweet tooth.

Now to empty out my suitcase, put the warmer clothes on the bottom, where I won't be needing them for the rest of the trip, and put the cooler clothes (if, in fact, I brought any) on the top.

Thanks for your comments, Cheryl. I enjoy and appreciate them.