animal moments

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well, we're nearing the end of our time in oz. just a few days left in melbourne before heading on to nz. it has in some respects gone by in a flash, mainly as we've continually kept on moving, both location wise and by cramming our days with activities and visits. i'm not for a second complaining, but it really feels like we've just scratched the surface - to say it is a vast and diverse country is a huge understatement and i can completely see how you could spend the full year here and still be wanting to see more (we'll have to come back for western australia, an area which is particularly appealing). we've always been conscious of the need to balance the dashing around with stopping and absorbing - the times when we've done that here have also been the times when we've seen the best wildlife and it's that which is has probably been the number one highlight. there's just a huge amount that's native to and found only in oz and as it's a country that is so diverse but also 'wild', every creature we've seen has also had a spectacular backdrop. so here is mytop five ozzie animal moments:

1. humpback whale mother and calf north of hamilton island in the whitsundays. it was our second morning, about 8am and we were treated to a half hour of mum and calf teaching/playing. the sight and sounds of an adult humpback breaching, spinning and collapsing back into still blue empty water only about 400m away was incredible. the sheer size and grace actually took your breath away. awesome and right place at the right time.

2. mating green turtles while sea kayaking back into horseshoe bay on magnetic. there is lots to say about this. firstly it was on our way back from what had already been a fantastic morning. we'd meet up with Steve the local ecologist and sea kayak nut set off at 8am to reach the secluded radical bay for breakfast on the beach and to learn more about the marine national park we were in - we were also pretty damn good as a kayak team and had enjoyed the physicality of being out on the waves. coming back into horseshoe bay helen was desperate for us to spot turtles who often come in to graze on the bay's bed of sea grass. Steve spotted them after half an hour and we then got about half an hour of us and them circling each other. they were enormous, 1.4m or so. they would occasionally dive down and once popped up in touching distance off the rear (do you say stern for a kayak?) of the kayak - you could see the all the colours and textures of the shell including barnicles - and i swear, the strain in the eye of the female, carrying the male for up to seven hours apparently. as soon as others in the bay spotted what we had found and came over for a closer look in their boats/jet skis, the turtles decided quite rightly that was enough and disappeared. i mention the turtles to helen now and she instantly bursts into a big grin!

3. wild koala (with joey as we discovered after 5mins) sat munching in a eucalyptus tree. we'd timed our walk up to the old ww2 fort on magnetic island for an hour or so before dusk as apparently that's the best time to spot koalas who'd otherwise spend 20hrs or so a day sleeping high up. it's a well known route for spotting them, but that didn't take away the satisfaction of finding one (well two).

4. an echidna, also on magnetic island (attracts animals apparently!). first day on a dusk walk to a look out point over picnic bay. i was paranoid of steeping on one of the local death adders who hide under sand (oz has 11 out of world's 14 most deadliest snakes) so every rustle had me jumping into helen's arms. finally we heard one that was clearly louder than a small lizard running out of our way, so we stopped and waited until we saw it. looks like a hedgehog crossed with an ant eater, unique to oz, only other monotreme (has one hole for everything) is the platypus - also an egg laying mammal. it's also virtually guaranteed to win you a game of 20 questions! (animal, veg or mineral)

5. reef tipped sharks. very small and totally harmless but when you're on your first ever scuba dive and your on the great barrier reef it is enough to get the adrenaline pumping!

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