IN THE LAND OF OZ
Ex-pat Canadians now back home share their remarkable travels ‘down under’
My husband Tim and I have recently returned to Canada after living in Christchurch, New Zealand, for three years. While there, it was easy to hop across the Ditch, or Pond—as the locals on both sides of the Tasman Sea say—and visit Australia. We loved returning to Oz, since we both had spent a lot of time there in our younger years.
When travelling, we like to focus on the wildlife and natural wonders of the area and David Fleay Wildlife Park didn’t disappoint. That’s where we caught a glimpse of the cutest baby koala by patiently outlasting the other visitors.
The time dierence between New Zealand and Queensland, Australia, meant that we were waking up before 5 a.m. every morning. While spending a few days out in the country, our early rising provided opportunities to photograph a lot of colourful birds, as well as the resident mob of kangaroos, in the golden hour. One morning, a little joey even sneaked a peek out of Mom’s pouch, and one afternoon we came upon two big boomers (male kangaroos) having
a boxing match. Their short arms flailed around, sometimes connecting, before they rocked back on their tails to engage their powerful hind legs.
Back on the coast, we stayed beside Currumbin Creek and each morning we would walk through a large rookery of fruit bats over to a park that seemingly became our own private bird sanctuary. The colours and squawks of the many types of parrots started our day o just right. We even saw a smooth (a.k.a. short-tailed) stingray glide by in the creek.
The only type of wildlife I didn’t want to see were the snakes and, well okay, the spiders. Yuck to both! In my previous time spent in the outback of Australia, I had heard many stories about moving vehicles picking up hitchhikers of the snake variety in their vehicle’s undercarriage. They can remain hidden for days and slither out unbeknownst to the driver.
Tim obviously hadn’t heard these stories because when we came across a large and very poisonous Eastern brown snake crossing the road, he screeched to a sudden stop right over top of it, not wanting to hurt it. I frantically yelled, “Back up! Back up!” When he did, the snake was gone—vanished in seconds, who knows where! I spent the rest of that day with my feet up on the seat. I missed much of the scenery since I studiously kept vigil on the front panels to make sure nothing moved. Tim thought I was silly until he pulled over near a country house to have a quick look and a man agreed, from a distance, that my information was correct. Now both of us were quite
nervous, which was evident by how quickly we leapt from the car when exiting. When we mentioned the episode to Tim’s cousin that evening, she asked Tim to remove the car from the garage and park it out on the street. We didn’t hear any screams from the neighbourhood, so hopefully we didn’t bring a country snake to the city.
It goes without saying that we enjoyed many beautiful beach walks and swims; the sound of crashing waves never gets old, unless it’s a large one crashing down on your head, of course. Another gem of our visit was the Arthur Freeman Lookout, a little side-of-the road stop oering a beautiful view of Currumbin Valley. The live music and blooming jacaranda and poinsettia trees made it all the more enjoyable. Sailing up to and exploring South Stradbroke Island was a treat, but we learned an important lesson. Always bring shoes when walking through the mangroves. They hurt!
Of course, we ended our visit with another walk in “our” bird sanctuary and I finally got a decent photo of a kookaburra. When looking at the photos that evening, Tim noticed that the thing dangling from its mouth was a baby snake. Realizing that I had confidently strolled through the same grass where a mom and dad snake lived made leaving a little easier. Hopping back across the Ditch to New Zealand, where there are no dangerous animals just waddling penguins, seemed choice…as the Kiwis say. n