“ Just a matter of time”

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DAY 49
(Boxing Day)


It was sort of one of those days you get now and again that I hate, the day feels so dysfunctional and you just can’t be arsed to do anything.

The morning started as usual, we just sat around drinking tea and having our toast just sort of pondering what we needed to do today if anything. One thing I really wanted to do was wash the truck, so it was good to go when we got away on Monday. The sun was bright and the day probably 26-28 degree’s so it was more than warm enough.

Caroline had made an impact on her small pile of Ironing; when she got the Ironing board out, I thought she was off surfing.

The whole day was just sort of uneventful except for the dog having her funny 5 minutes, every 5 minutes and us constantly tidying the house, from the devastation she leaves behind! The good news is her rubber rugby ball is now an EX-Rugby ball, and all that remains is remnants of chewed rubber that will just required being swept up and put in the bin.

Her destructive passion is now focused on my little pony, a flip-flop and a care bear that are now hiding under the sofa for protection.

She was in and out of the house all afternoon and as the sun was so hot we both felt sapped of energy.

I was dipping in and out of my book, and at four o’clock I just had to go and wash the truck, as it was burning in to my soul.

As this house sits on around an acre of land I could drive the truck down the side to the gates that are adjacent to the rear decking, Caroline and Nala played on the decking whilst I was happy to be productive (note from Caroline: remember that I did a big pile of ironing this morning while someone else was languishing around reading?)

Strangely enough, Faye said Nala likes the hose, somehow I get the impression that she doesn’t and now mistrusts me, I wonder why?

We had decided to go out for a koala walk this evening without puppychops, as this is the last thing you want to take with you if you try to see Koala’s.

Caroline felt terribly guilty about leaving Nala behind while we went for a walk, especially as we had not taken her for a walk today. Dogs seem to manage that look of ‘what? You are leaving me behind’ guilt trip!

We headed off at about 6.45, a little bit later than we wanted but it did not matter if it was getting dark as it is still the best time to look for koala’s. We drove down Lemon Tree Passage so that we could walk around Tilligerry, parking in a slightly different place just for ease of access.

The sun over Port Stephens was getting low and the scenery was amazing.

Just about 5 minutes into our walk Caroline saw a group of people chatting, that is usually a good sign, however this is Christmas and there are a number of houses along the front that have plenty of family groups gathered for the Christmas break.

This one lady looked at Caroline and saw the camera, then said “if you are looking for Koala’s there is one up that tree” and pointed to the tree in front of her. We stopped and turned and there it was, a solitary Koala sat in the tree wide-awake and very alert. The lady said that it had been there all day and was probably looking to move to a different tree but would not move while their dog was around.

We got chatting and Caroline took several pictures of the Koala to prove that we had seen one. We were both beginning to think that they did not really exist and that the only explanation for seeing them in a Zoo was that they were animatronics.

You may be forgiven for thinking that these beautiful creatures were slow and lumbering, with their poor diet and of course around 18 hours sleep a day, however you would be surprised at the speed of the Koala, in a moment this Koala had leapt from one tree to another and shimmied right up high in the tree to get some fresh Eucalypt leaves to chomp on.

It did not matter, we were both satisfied by then that we had seen our first wild Koala, got the photographs and met a nice family in the process.

The Lady that had engaged in conversation with us Sonya Rowcliff and her daughter Madeline (who also had a Canon camera draped around her neck), live in Avoca beach north of Sydney and were staying with family in Port Stephens.

We explained to them what we were doing and why, Sonya is Nurse, a community Midwife, they have a name for them out here but we cannot remember what they are called. Sonya has kindly given us her address and telephone number and said to contact her when we are in the area, hopefully in the New Year. Sonya said that they have a place for us stay if needed. The kindness of the Australians that we have met so far is amazing.

Sonya’s husband, David, works for Qantas and she explained that they get some good deals on flights, however with the family in tow holidays are still expensive, but every now and again they rent the house out for a couple of weeks (Sydney people love that area of the Coast) and they venture off to New Zealand and the like. David is coming up for his long service award with Qantas, they get a round the world flight in Business Class. What a fabulous award, I think it is a family ticket. The idea is great but with a family it still costs to travel, they have considered letting their house out for a longer period of time, which will help fund a long trip.

It was getting dark and we wanted to get back for some dinner and of course to see Nala. We got back at around 8.45 and put a pizza in the oven. Nala was thrilled to see us she was like a kangaroo bouncing all over the place, then when we wanted to sit down she kept bringing us toys that she wanted us to play with her.

We watched the rest of the film with Leonardo Di Caprio - Catch Me if You Can and went to bed.

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Photos

Pelican Crossing
Two Pellicans having some evening quiet.

Koala
A truly wild Koala, we both have scoured tree's to find one of these

Does My Bum....
...look big up here? They have plenty of padding on their rumps, to protect their little bottoms from sitting for 18 hours, whilst they are sleeping.

Koala
As if you didn't know. Well this is our first wild Koala.

Koala
We just could not believe our luck seeing this Wild Koala

Koala
No Really it is, Just putting plenty of photos up to make sure that you don't miss the fact that we saw this in the wild.

Same Koala
I make no apology for so many Koala photos. This one was waiting to come down the tree

Tilligerry Sunsey
On our walk back from Lemon Tree Passage