Young sprouts

Quite proud of the boys. They built their own little veggie patch in the heart of London and look how well everything is doing. With the good weather in London at the moment those strawberries will be ready for Wimbledon !

Russell

I would like to introduce you to my lovely Ozzie neighbour, Russell, crab catcher extraordinaire, organic veggie grower, prize avocado grower, wine connoisseur and bridge builder in his past. Now he is happily by my side, promising to take me out crabbing in the boat, while plying me with fresh bunches of parsley, spring greens and the BEST avocados I have ever eaten.  Each one weighs about half a kilo. In between he identifies the snakes in my garden, introduces me to his lovely gardener and takes me wine tasting. 

Russell's avo and a shop bought one !

I compete with my mandarin (tangerine) tree which is producing lots of lovely fruit. My problem is that the flying foxes love them too so every day I find the peels of the mandarins on the ground. They are good to eat but even better for juice and the taste of this mandarinada is even better than the one back home and that is saying something. 

Feeling blessed in many earthy ways with what comes out of this land, snakes, spiders and all. 

Cuddling Koalas

Well every birthday boy is entitled to a wish. My hubby's was cuddling a Koala. So off we went to the wildlife park and did exactly that but also spent a long time watching these docile, cuddly creatures and returning on several occasions as they sleep about 20 hours in every 24 hr period. We were lucky enough to watch them at their sleepiest and at their most wakeful. They are a threatened species as they have lost most of their natural habitat as more and more land gets cleared. They live in coastal regions,  islands and in woodlands - essentially where they can find certain eucalyptus trees which form their food source. 

They are not bears as they are sometimes mistakenly called, but marsupials and they produce small blind joeys who find their way to their mums pouch where they suck on her teats for about 6-7 months before venturing out. The eat a kilo of gum leaves a day which must be pretty tasteless and hard to digest so perhaps that explains why they are so sleepy trying to digest this unpalatable food. 

They love their gum trees and return to the same ones. Very much creatures of comfort and habit. Sadly they do also carry chlamydia which affects them if they are stressed or unable to find food. They are protected but their biggest threat is loss of habitat. Unbelievably cuddly and cute with great balance. Not sure I could stay in the fork of a tree fast asleep like they do !

Hamilton Island walks and vistas

The island is small enough to walk around and there were some lovely trails to follow. Eucalyptus and scrub for most of it to Passage Peak the highest point of the island. More than 70% of the island is bushland and that is how it should be. On our way to various interestingly named points we came across many beautiful butterflies, some birds, perhaps not as many as we expected, a curious kangaroo, which was very exciting as it was the first time I have seen them, and some wonderful flora. 

Here is some of what we came across: 

 There were many butterflies which seemed quite sluggish flying around 

 Termite trails ? 

 Fabulously coloured rocks 

 Fungal fun ? 

 Leaf houses for ants 

 Last year's model ? 

The attraction of colour 

Look at her gridded fluorescent pattern ! 

Amazing swamp grass trees with upstanding rushes 

On Passage Peak 

Hamilton Island - the Whitsundays

What do you give a man who has pretty much all ? A new espresso machine and a cuddle with a koala bear worked a treat in the case of my man. We escaped for a little sun - as if we don't get enough- to northern Queensland. A group of Islands there is called the Whitsundays and they are popular, perhaps a little exclusive and very, very beautiful and we only visited the one. 

What was an immediate attraction was that Hamilton island has its own airport so that we could fly in on a short flight from Brisbane. This particular Island is owned by one family, the Oatleys who are also founders of Rosemount Winery. They realised, rightly, that the island had great potential, so they developed it tastefully and holistically to give the interested traveller a little haven in seas of turquoise green and lush vegetation.

Everything is very well organised with golf buggies being the main mode of transport. There are day trips to other islands and beaches, fishing trips and sailing trips to the Great Barrier Reef all readily available at wonderful aussie prices which we are gradually getting used to. The little town is well stocked with a variety of good restaurants and some take aways. The resort we stayed at was a little Boutique hotel on Catseye beach called Beach Club. Smallish, well run, with a lovely beach front and gorgeous views. 

More on the wildlife and the activities in my next blog. 

Some say ...

...Variety is the spice of life.

In this case TOTAL absence of choice would be my preference ! 

Tea time

This blog entry is dedicated with much love to my mother in law and my husband. On many an occasion we have sat down with a good cuppa to have a great chat. And even when the moments are harder and tougher and sometimes there are no words he will say softly "Cup of tea hon ?" 

I came across this exhibition in the State Library in Queensland. I so understand its significance and how something so ordinary and so commonplace can be elevated to a balm, a connector, a signal of class, place and origin, a sheer soothing moment of communality. 

The cups each bear the names and dates of those who donated them.There are stories attached to them like the special cup that the Pope chose to drink out of when he came to Australia which the owner then called the Pope's cup. The cups of sheep farmers and ordinary folk, of grandmothers daughters and friends. Cups and saucers to clink, and follow the chatter.