The first week I was here the weather was beautiful. The second week it was a little cooler, rainier, windier. The third week was a mixed bag. The last week? I think I'm being serenaded with sunshine. Maybe Australia is trying to woo me into staying here with its hot hot heat.
I've had a really nice time in the last two weeks. I've been fortunate enough to meet some really great people. Pete & I ventured to see his Aunt, Uncle and cousin where we went on a really cool bushwalk. We saw a few wild wallabies, who moved very quickly, but don't worry I still spotted one! Heaps of Magpies, adult ones and many many young ones. They seemed to be guiding us through the forest, hopping along the path and a brush turkey up in the canopy. Can you believe a turkey can climb that high? I was impressed. It seems like such an awkward bird, imagining it climbing boggles my mind a bit. Some rosella's flew above us, not enough for me to really see them. Taunting!!! There were two Kookaburra's "chilling" on a branch tucked into the woods, and of course I saw my first up close Sulphur-crested cockatoo! It was a great night, good company, delicious food (mmm pavlova) and so much birdy goodness that I couldn't help leaving with a giant smile on my face. Oh! I also got to meet the very lovely Checkers, the guinea pig who honoured Pete with a pee on his shirt. Molly, a cute and happy dog who made me feel very special with all the attention she gave me. I met their green & yellow budgie, and saw some beautiful Bourke's parakeets that they keep in an aviary in their back garden. What beautiful little birdies.
The next few days were filled with so much happiness. Pete and I went on a morning walk down by the train tracks where we saw a huge amount of birds. I guess when we aren't looking for birds on purpose that's when we see them most. We had yet to reach the train tracks when we saw five black cockatoo's with beautiful yellow patches on their cheeks and yellow tail feathers. They were in short trees, peeling bark from them. Mmm a delicious snack. Pete said that the way it goes is, you see black cockatoo's...there will be rain. Sure enough, as we continued our walk it rained, but only a little bit. We saw skink's, a small bird called a silvereye who had a perfect ring of white-silver around its eye (thus the name) and a delicate green/yellow body. Blue wren's flew around us and teased us. - In that short little walk, we saw so many beautiful birds, all so busy foraging...and looking cute.
-----
I got to meet Pete's friend Leyla who cares for young orphaned wallabies and kangaroo's. Currently she is caring for a young wallaby and young 'roo. Pippa and Barley are their names, not sure on the spelling. Pippa was the busy little wallaby, who I got to hold. I don't think I've ever held anything as lovely and exciting as Pippa who was very curious, and sweet. When I held my hand for her to sniff me she wrapped her paws (hands.) around my arm sniffing furiously. Barley, however was very intent on doing his own thing, hopping around the garden snatching delicious snacks as he went. The cats milled about, seeming uninterested in the two hopping critters that were nestled around them. It was nice to get some kitty snuggles. It was so heart-warming to see and hear about what Leyla does. We had delicious Russian Caravan tea, cookies and shared interesting stories. I think you should all know that I had just spent a night in a tiny piece of heaven.
Since that night you have since seen evidence of our most recent adventures. We got to house sit near Sydney. Lots of beautiful beaches, birds and other critters. We spent a lot of time bird hunting, walking and eating. All very good things. We were in a perfect spot. About a 7 minute walk to the beach, 10 minutes to get to the shops, and 10 minutes or less in every direction to reach bushwalks. From a lookout high on a hill we could see the very tips of the tallest buildings in Sydney. It was a really fun week. Lots of roasting in sunshine, seeing birds we had yet to see and even some cool mammals(hint, hint : bandicoots and possums). The wren's, swallows, lorikeets and sulphur-crested cockatoo's were very active in this area. A Sea-Eagle flew over our heads and creatively tried to poop on us. It was a beautiful bird. But we also saw variegated wren's catching bug after bug for their nest full of babies. We couldn't unfortunately get close enough to see the babies but we witnessed the retireval of countless bugs for their hungry mouths. You could also hear their hungry cries. We sat and had lunch with some munching Sulphur's one day. We had chicken and roasted vegetable goodness, while they had their greenery. One morning we got up to see sunrise and walked along the waterfront boardwalk/bushwalk/path which led from one beach to the other. All the birds we had hunted to see other days were out and about clear as day, so easy to spot in the morning light. I guess the saying, the early bird catches the worm holds great truth. We had breakfast at a cute beachside cafe, bacon eggy deliciousness. Then we headed back up the path where we saw two, maybe three whales out in the ocean. It was beautiful, I can't imagine a better way to start the day. Lots of whale tails, and a few belly shots.
The strip of shops were really quaint, we tried Thai food, Indian food and roast chickeny goodness. We also got some scrumptious gelato and I tried a weis bar. I WISH WE HAD THESE IN CANADA! Mango + ice cream bar. Mmmm. The first one I tried had macadamia nuts in it. It was scrumptious.
Still lots more updates to come. In the last few days we've gone for two great walks with Jenny, Bernie and Pat( Pete's Aunt, Uncle and cousin). One to a lighthouse the other to some wetlands for some bird spotting and a night bushwalk with some Aussie McDonalds to finish it off. More details soon!
Can't believe how fast time is going by! So much to see, so little time.
