Wild OZ

Wild Oz

We have driven the east coast of Australia and the Southeastern Coast. We have missed quite a lot of areas that we were hoping to hit (the rain forest, the outback, Ayers Rock, the west coast and the north coast), but still have seen a very diverse country.

Flora – Leaving Sydney, we drove through large forests of Eucalyptus trees (gum trees). If it’s not farmland, it is covered with these forests. Very different from what we are used to. In the south, the forests had quite large trees with a little underbrush. In the north the forests had smaller trees and a lot more undergrowth. Over the last ten years Australia has gotten drier and as a result has faced a lot of wild fires. We saw several burning during our trip. What I found interesting was that the fires burn through and everything looks dead, but anywhere the fires were at least a year old, the trees have sprouted new leaves and branches. The fires will scorch them, burn off all the leaves and kill most of the limbs, but the main trunk of the tree rejuvenates in a year. As for farm land, we saw the spectrum from pastures for grazing cows and sheep (in the South) to sugar cane, pineapple fields and mangos (in the North).

Fauna – Everyone’s favorite, the animals. We have seen all kinds of animals since we got here. In Sydney, every night at dusk, the flying foxes (big bats) leave the botanical gardens and fly about. It gives you the impression you are staying in Gotham city. We didn’t manage to see any Koalas in the wild, but we did see them in the zoo. We certainly looked for them, but they sleep all day in the trees making it difficult to spot them.

All throughout the country, we have seen a number of different kinds of kangaroos and wallabies. They are always fun to watch. At one of the camps we stayed at, the kangaroos came out in the evening. Tim and Jess were walking to the car when they spotted a baby. Jess got within a few feet, then the mom came bouncing through to say “not so close to my baby!” The next day when we were leaving, we came upon six kangaroos by the road. They were not bothered by our presence, so Karen and I got out and took a bunch of photos.

One of my favorite things down under is the birds. One day, we had to stop for a flock of Emu’s to cross the road. They do have pigeons (punk rock version with a Mohawk), but they are not that common. What is common is all types of parrots and cockatoos. Birds that we only see in pet shops at home, fly around everywhere here. Our normal wake up call was from the parrots first thing in the morning. They tend to be quite loud. In the botanical gardens in Sydney, the white Cockatoos are friendly and will fly up and land on you looking for food. While we were camping in the bush, a group of parrots figured out we were suckers and would hang out on our tent every morning and evening looking for a handout. One of my favorite birds was the long beaks (our name for them). They are white with long legs and long curved black beaks. They walk a bit like big bird. I can’t help but smile when I them walk or run. They are everywhere throughout Australia. Finally, for Dick (Karens Dad), we ran into groups of ugly girls (Guinea Hens for the rest of you) many of the different places we stayed. It reminded us of our time at Grandpa’s.

Jessica was always on the lookout for reptiles and amphibians. At one of the caravan parks (the worst one we stayed at), Jessica found frogs. They had taken over the bathrooms. Jessie came out and warned us to look before going to the bathroom and not to flush without checking for her green frog friends. The next morning, I shared my shower with two frogs. At the same place, the owner came around to show Jess some of the poisonous cane toads. They have turned into a complete menace and everyone tries to kill them when they see them.

~ Jeff ~