Travels with The Rayman

It’s cloudy outside. A few minutes ago it was sunny. Weather in Aussie land turns on a dime. The other day we were at our base camp in Oatley and it was warm and beautiful. Suddenly a terrific wind started blowing. The house has a flagpole with a flag. It got so windy my over-active imagination figured the pole might snap and the top end might become a projective crashing through the glass door and flying through the house. Ray was out getting something at the store and he said when he went in it was warm and nice. He came out and it was cold and blowing gale force winds.

Australia is a country the size of the U.S. with the population of Los Angeles. Wrap your head around that one. They have hundreds of mile of beach front that haven’t even been explored, I’m guessing as no roads go near it. Opportunity cries out. When you drive around the countryside you get a sense of how big the place is and how sparsely populated as well.

The Blue Mountains are part of a range that run down the eastern side of the continent, like a big spine. And boy are there eucalyptus trees. Everywhere. That is what gives the Blue Mountains the name Blue Mountains. The trees emit some chemical? and the sun reflecting off the trees look blue from a distance. When we flew to and from Cairns, we got a birds eye view of the range.

The streets and freeways are very clean. No sponsors needed for clean up. There are Hungry Jacks, McDonalds, and KFCs all over the place which is a sad thing to report.

We haven’t seen a skunk so they must not be here. And we haven’t seen a rabbit. Why rabbits? Well, a fellow from the Britain brought some rabbits down here in the 1800s and rabbits being rabbits, they multiplied and multiplied. Rabbits became a big problem eating everything in their way. So the Aussie’s have been busy killing rabbits anyway they can since then. Poison, shooting. Even fencing. Hence the name of the film “Rabbit-Proof Fences”. Check it out of you can thru either Netflix or the video store. Anyway, they actually installed these fences all over the place to beat back the rabbits. So…given all this history, I’m surprised we haven’t seen rabbit on every menu, not even one. And we haven’t seen dead rabbits on the roadway. And no lucky rabbit’s feet.

Sydney has the highest standard of living of any city on the planet according to something Ray read. It is quite lovely for a big city. And very expensive. It’s very easy to get around if you use the train. Cars, not so much. There are many rolling hills in Sydney with water seemingly everywhere. Bays, rivers, estuaries. You name it in the water department and they have it. Even a quay.

This country is young. Lots of babies and baby carriages. Sometimes you get trapped on the trains by the carriages, there are so many. With plenty of room to grow, more people seems to be a priority!!

Australia seems like America in many ways. It is a melting pot of different nationalities. Not many blacks, however. Lots of Asians from all over Asia a few muslims based solely on noticing the head scarves. And the country seems to have figured out how to separate church and state. If they have a “fundamentalist” group, it doesn’t show. And actually, there is not an overabundance of churches that I’ve noticed.

According to one of the young women at the Sydney aquarium, it’s easy to get a one year work Visa. She was the U.S. She applied, came over, and found work immediately. Unemployment is not a big problem. And I’ve not seen any homeless people. Admittedly, we might not be in the areas they would hanging out at…but we haven’t seen any…just saying.

They have fun street signs. ‘Stay left unless overtaking’ means, stay in the slow lane unless you’re passing. People really follow that rule. ‘Giveway’ means, yield. ‘Form one lane’ means the lanes are collapsing from 3 to 2, say. ‘Don’t queue in the intersection’ means don’t block the intersection. Fun differences.

Now, about driving on the wrong side of the road. It is challenging. Besides that problem of signallng a lane change with the windshield wipers, it messes with your mind. I don’t know left from right. If Ray sas, “Turn left”, my natural inclination is to want to cross the intersection…but that’s on my right. EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK. And going to right side of the car to get in the drivers seat is a hoot. We keep getting that wrong too. What I LOVE about their roads are the roundabouts. The roundabouts make driving so much easier with very few actual stops required. Saves on stop signs, stops lights. Keeps things moving. Very, very good. I’ll miss them when we return. The roads here are in good shape and when you retreat from the city, they are uncrowded compared to ours. That makes driving pleasurable.

What’s really fun are the names of towns, cities. Lots of words ending in ‘oo’ and ‘gong’. Just fun, descriptive names. Look at a map and you’ll get the flavor of the language.

So, those are some our observations.

It’s cloudy outside. A few minutes ago it was sunny. Weather in Aussie land turns on a dime. The other day we were at our base camp in Oatley and it was warm and beautiful. Suddenly a terrific wind started blowing. The house has a flagpole with a flag. It got so windy my over-active imagination figured the pole might snap and the top end might become a projective crashing through the glass door and flying through the house. Ray was out getting something at the store and he said when he went in it was warm and nice. He came out and it was cold and blowing gale force winds.

Australia is a country the size of the U.S. with the population of Los Angeles. Wrap your head around that one. They have hundreds of mile of beach front that haven’t even been explored, I’m guessing as no roads go near it. Opportunity cries out. When you drive around the countryside you get a sense of how big the place is and how sparsely populated as well.

The Blue Mountains are part of a range that run down the eastern side of the continent, like a big spine. And boy are there eucalyptus trees. Everywhere. That is what gives the Blue Mountains the name Blue Mountains. The trees emit some chemical? and the sun reflecting off the trees look blue from a distance. When we flew to and from Cairns, we got a birds eye view of the range.

The streets and freeways are very clean. No sponsors needed for clean up. There are Hungry Jacks, McDonalds, and KFCs all over the place which is a sad thing to report.

We haven’t seen a skunk so they must not be here. And we haven’t seen a rabbit. Why rabbits? Well, a fellow from the Britain brought some rabbits down here in the 1800s and rabbits being rabbits, they multiplied and multiplied. Rabbits became a big problem eating everything in their way. So the Aussie’s have been busy killing rabbits anyway they can since then. Poison, shooting. Even fencing. Hence the name of the film “Rabbit-Proof Fences”. Check it out of you can thru either Netflix or the video store. Anyway, they actually installed these fences all over the place to beat back the rabbits. So…given all this history, I’m surprised we haven’t seen rabbit on every menu, not even one. And we haven’t seen dead rabbits on the roadway. And no lucky rabbit’s feet.

Sydney has the highest standard of living of any city on the planet according to something Ray read. It is quite lovely for a big city. And very expensive. It’s very easy to get around if you use the train. Cars, not so much. There are many rolling hills in Sydney with water seemingly everywhere. Bays, rivers, estuaries. You name it in the water department and they have it. Even a quay.

This country is young. Lots of babies and baby carriages. Sometimes you get trapped on the trains by the carriages, there are so many. With plenty of room to grow, more people seems to be a priority!!

Australia seems like America in many ways. It is a melting pot of different nationalities. Not many blacks, however. Lots of Asians from all over Asia a few muslims based solely on noticing the head scarves. And the country seems to have figured out how to separate church and state. If they have a “fundamentalist” group, it doesn’t show. And actually, there is not an overabundance of churches that I’ve noticed.

According to one of the young women at the Sydney aquarium, it’s easy to get a one year work Visa. She was the U.S. She applied, came over, and found work immediately. Unemployment is not a big problem. And I’ve not seen any homeless people. Admittedly, we might not be in the areas they would hanging out at…but we haven’t seen any…just saying.

They have fun street signs. ‘Stay left unless overtaking’ means, stay in the slow lane unless you’re passing. People really follow that rule. ‘Giveway’ means, yield. ‘Form one lane’ means the lanes are collapsing from 3 to 2, say. ‘Don’t queue in the intersection’ means don’t block the intersection. Fun differences.

Now, about driving on the wrong side of the road. It is challenging. Besides that problem of signallng a lane change with the windshield wipers, it messes with your mind. I don’t know left from right. If Ray sas, “Turn left”, my natural inclination is to want to cross the intersection…but that’s on my right. EEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK. And going to right side of the car to get in the drivers seat is a hoot. We keep getting that wrong too. What I LOVE about their roads are the roundabouts. The roundabouts make driving so much easier with very few actual stops required. Saves on stop signs, stops lights. Keeps things moving. Very, very good. I’ll miss them when we return. The roads here are in good shape and when you retreat from the city, they are uncrowded compared to ours. That makes driving pleasurable.

What’s really fun are the names of towns, cities. Lots of words ending in ‘oo’ and ‘gong’. Just fun, descriptive names. Look at a map and you’ll get the flavor of the language.

So, those are some our observations.

So, here we are at Berida Manor in the small town of Bowral. It is located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. South of Sydney and north of Canberra (pronounced Canbra, with a short a). We are on our way back to Sydney from the capitol of Australia (the country and continent). We went there today to see the National Museum and the National Gallery and the National Portrait gallery. Quite a day. Today was the first day we were on our own on the road. Bernie was gone so we only had ourselves to blame!!

The national Gallery was my idea because of the aboriginal art that it housed. Ray wanted to go to the Museum. And we both agreed to check out the Portrait Gallery because of the picture in the parking garage.
The aboriginal art was fabulous. I did not see any signs that said taking pictures were prohibited…so here’s a few I snapped before I was busted.

Wonderful stuff. I feel a real connection to the people through their art.

We ate in the cafe at the Gallery and it was superb. There was a big event going on in the Gallery, Called The Big Draw, there were models posing for artists that were drawing what they saw. Then there were children all over the Museum drawing things on the paper-covered floor. And they had some musicians that played music that sounded like they were turning their instruments…very strange music. I think one fellow was playing a saw.

Here’s a picture of the aboriginal “tombstones”. Fabulous exhibit.

Canberra is located about 3 hours by car south west of Sydney. So, we booked a place on the way back from Canberra, about 10 miles too far because we ended up arriving at Bowral at dusk. Ray was driving. Our Tom-Tom got lost in Bowral. Let me preface my remarks by saying that Rayman and I split the driving. However, he got the worst of it because he just happened to catch the rain on his watch. It rained like crazy leaving Sydney. A sane person might have turned back…but we pressed ahead and traded driving responsibilities about the time it stopped raining. I completed the trip in mostly sunshine. So, by the time we reached Bowral, Ray was beside himself because as soon as we switched driving on the way back he got to drive in the rain again. While he was driving I was looking out at the fields and saw wild kangaroos in the meadows. OMG. This was very exciting indeed. Ray was not too excited as he was constantly trying to pass a big truck that was making driving conditions worst with the spray from the wheels…expletive deleteds were spewing forth…it wasn’t pretty…but my enthusiasm knew no bounds. Those roos made my day.

But I digress. We made it to Bowral at dusk and the Tom-Tom went daft on us. It dropped us by the train station by announcing that we had “reached our destination”. This was unfortunate because mr. J was not in the mood for being lost. He needed a drink. We made a U turn and ended up on a road with many store fronts. He went in to a pub to ask the way. We followed the instructions and got lost in a residential neighborhood. Things were going from bad to worse. I finally took the wheel. Lostness took it’s toll. We zipped into a Shell station. Ray went in to get more directions. “Take the second roundabout to the left. You can’t miss it”. Spoken by the man behind the counter. Well, we missed it and ended up in another residential neighborhood. OMG. So back to the Shell we drove. This time we both went in and Ray asked the guy to write down the name of the street we would end up on when emerging from the roundabout. It started with a K and had about 15 letters following it. Again, “you can’t miss it”, the attendant announced. I answered, “Well, we see you in a few”, so uncertain was I about our prospects of finding the “Manor”.

Well. We found it. So, we parked, went in to secure our room and OMG, this place reminded me of Faulty Towers. Or the place in Tenby, Wales. The wallpaper was gauche. There was a knights’ armor suit standing by the front door. A 3/4 filled fish tank to its’ left. Plastic flowers. Cherub heads. It was a hoot. We just giggled, it was so funny. Up to our room we flew. It would do…especially since we had prepaid. And Ray was so in need of a drink to relax that he said, “sure we’ll have dinner here”. And so we did.

The dining room was full of gray hairs from the big tour bus parked out in front. Fabulous Aussie Tours was emblazoned on the side of the bus. And it was parked right underneath our bedroom window. I’m quite sure the bus driver will be out there at 7 a.m. warming the thing up thereby waking us up.

But I digress. I needed my camera to snap pictures of this “Manor”. What a hoot. Only, I couldn’t find the camera. So, I went back out to the car. No camera. Up to the room. No camera. Ray went down to the car. No camera. We both went out to the car. Finally a camera was located lurking under the front seat…Why does this sort of thing happen to us? Oh, forget it. We can’t be the only ones…can we?

It was straight to the restaurant. Soup, salad, lamb shanks, a Turkish delight dessert. Everything was delicious, surprisingly. Too much wine, a martini minus the lemon peel and vermouth (just gin and lime peel) for Mr. J and the night started getting better.
Actually it is fun staying in a place like this. No pretense. Full of personality. The bed’s not bad, I can open the windows for fresh air, it’s quiet (all the gray hairs went to sleep already)…and we can’t play with the computer on the internet because they want $$ to use it and we don’t feel like paying…I’ll just post this when we return to Sydney tomorrow.

 

For more info on the indigenous art of Australia, click the link below…besides, their pictures are better than mine!

 

http://http://nga.gov.au/ATSIArt/Default.cfmcom

Well, here I am flying back to Sydney. It all went so fast. A few memories. Ray and the wine shop. The first day we arrive in Cairns, Ray and Bernie went to get a few things for breakfast while I remain behind, blogging. An hour later they came back and Ray announced that he had purchased not one, not two, not three, but four bottles of wine. OMG. We were only going to be in town 3 nights, one included wine with dinner and Bernie doesn’t drink wine (much). WHAT WE HE THINKING? Oh, if you bought 3 bottles you got one free. Oh, well, that explains everything.

So when we packed up this a.m. for our return to Sydney, we left two half-drunk bottles, almost a full bottle and a full bottle. Who had time to drink? We were out doing stuff…however, Ray wanted to at least take the one bottle with us. So we packed it up and off we went. Well…our plan was to eat at the cafe in the resort. We got there at 9:58 and they closed at 10. Nice move. They were willing to feed us but we opted out. They gave us (free!) two muffins with a raspberry topping and chocolate innards and off we went. The lady at the front desk suggested a cafe near by so we decided to do that instead of going directly to the airport. Good move. We ended up in Cairns Botanical Garden at a cute little cafe and had fresh fruit with yogurt and honey. Then we walked back to the resort (20 minute walk) and caught a cab to the airport.

 

 

Took this bottom photo while sitting at our table at the cafe.

This is where the story goes sad for the reader. I must confess, I left my kindle on the airplane we de-planeing in Cairns. So, I’d been bummed about this, called and reporting it missing and reported the loss to Amazon. So, this a.m. I returned to JetStar and inquired as to whether anyone had turned it in. No way, Jose. Drats. But in the process of doing all this, I ran into a group of guys in a uniform which had a cock on the back of their shirt(s). Okay, perhaps it was a rooster, but I asked them about their mascot and they described it as a cock. Anyway, they were on the rugby team for France!! Ooh, la la. They were on their way to their match in the World Cup at Auckland!! Really fun talking with them although my french deserted me. I asked them how to say, good luck. Bon chance. Oui, oui.

I dashed back to Ray, grabbed the camera and snapped this picture for my new french friends from last year’s trip, Rachid and Martine and their family as well as our friends, the Gendrons and as it turns out…all of you.

 

 
Our flight was late because they had to clean up the plane after the last flight. It required special attention. Don’t know what that was about. So…drinks were free to accompany our full meal. Aussies are very lucky. Qantas is fabulous.

We’re about to land and are currently flying over Hunter Valley north of Sydney. It’s very smokey because of bush fires and burn-offs.

And may I add that our weather has been spectacular. The entire trip. What a great time to visit this country. And the people are fabulous. Friendly and funny. I’m sure I’m repeating myself…but it bears repeating.

We arrived and while Ray was claiming our one bag that we checked, I went to the next terminal to see if my kindle had been found. YES IT WAS!!! Boy, am I lucky. We then bought train tickets like the veterans that we are and headed to base camp. Collapsing was in order. Before retiring, Bernie said that he was going to try to fly out tomorrow. So, we get to go the airport again!!

Well, here I am flying back to Sydney. It all went so fast. A few memories. Ray and the wine shop. The first day we arrive in Cairns, Ray and Bernie went to get a few things for breakfast while I remain behind, blogging. An hour later they came back and Ray announced that he had purchased not one, not two, not three, but four bottles of wine. OMG. We were only going to be in town 3 nights, one included wine with dinner and Bernie doesn’t drink wine (much). WHAT WE HE THINKING? Oh, if you bought 3 bottles you got one free. Oh, well, that explains everything.

So when we packed up this a.m. for our return to Sydney, we left two half-drunk bottles, almost a full bottle and a full bottle. Who had time to drink? We were out doing stuff…however, Ray wanted to at least take the one bottle with us. So we packed it up and off we went. Well…our plan was to eat at the cafe in the resort. We got there at 9:58 and they closed at 10. Nice move. They were willing to feed us but we opted out. They gave us (free!) two muffins with a raspberry topping and chocolate innards and off we went. The lady at the front desk suggested a cafe near by so we decided to do that instead of going directly to the airport. Good move. We ended up in Cairns Botanical Garden at a cute little cafe and had fresh fruit with yogurt and honey. Then we walked back to the resort (20 minute walk) and caught a cab to the airport.

 

 

Took this bottom photo while sitting at our table at the cafe.

This is where the story goes sad for the reader. I must confess, I left my kindle on the airplane we de-planeing in Cairns. So, I’d been bummed about this, called and reporting it missing and reported the loss to Amazon. So, this a.m. I returned to JetStar and inquired as to whether anyone had turned it in. No way, Jose. Drats. But in the process of doing all this, I ran into a group of guys in a uniform which had a cock on the back of their shirt(s). Okay, perhaps it was a rooster, but I asked them about their mascot and they described it as a cock. Anyway, they were on the rugby team for France!! Ooh, la la. They were on their way to their match in the World Cup at Auckland!! Really fun talking with them although my french deserted me. I asked them how to say, good luck. Bon chance. Oui, oui.

I dashed back to Ray, grabbed the camera and snapped this picture for my new french friends from last year’s trip, Rachid and Martine and their family as well as our friends, the Gendrons and as it turns out…all of you.

 

 
Our flight was late because they had to clean up the plane after the last flight. It required special attention. Don’t know what that was about. So…drinks were free to accompany our full meal. Aussies are very lucky. Qantas is fabulous.

We’re about to land and are currently flying over Hunter Valley north of Sydney. It’s very smokey because of bush fires and burn-offs.

And may I add that our weather has been spectacular. The entire trip. What a great time to visit this country. And the people are fabulous. Friendly and funny. I’m sure I’m repeating myself…but it bears repeating.

We arrived and while Ray was claiming our one bag that we checked, I went to the next terminal to see if my kindle had been found. YES IT WAS!!! Boy, am I lucky. We then bought train tickets like the veterans that we are and headed to base camp. Collapsing was in order. Before retiring, Bernie said that he was going to try to fly out tomorrow. So, we get to go the airport again!!

So, today it was up and at them for a Skyrail gondola up above the trees, a visit to the little town of Kuranda, and a ride on an old train back down. What mischief could we get into today?

Met the bus at 8:45 and they transported us to the gondola which I announced had me anxiety-ridden. This was a big fib but I thought it would be funny. The gondola is quite high and offered spectacular views of the Coral Sea and the surrounding area of Cairns, Port Douglas etc. As soon as we took off, Bernie pipes up with something like, “Well, we are REALLY, REALLY UP HERE.” When he didn’t get a rise out of me, he said, “If we fell the trees might watch us or break the fall and we might survive.” That Bernie, he’s quite the kidder. But since I was thoroughly enjoying the ride and the sights, I added, “You might just want to die. It might be the better alternative.” With that the conversation moved on and we all got a chuckle. Here’s some pictures from the adventure.

 

Here’s our shadow on the tree tops, as it were. Once we arrived at Kuranda, we had a latte and roamed the tourist shops because the other things to do were a Venom Zoo, a Butterfly exhibit and a few other things like that. Since we are going to a Night Zoo tonight, we just wandered around. I found a fabulous tee shirt and a boomerang!! I love them both. They are made in Australia and they depict Australia’s animals and people. Very cool. The aboriginal art is colorful, lively and tells a story. So my boomerang came with a story.
Ray met another woman. Actually, I was amazed to find Day of the Dead stuff here. Isn’t she beautiful?

 
Guess who? Good thing he wasn’t born on the Emerald Isle!!

 
I’ve been thinking about taking up bicycling…probably could score a deal on this one!

We took the train back and went through many tunnels and over many bridges. Here’s some pictures.

 

We booked the first class cabin on the train and it was lovely…complete with cheese, crackers, wine, beer etc. which we of course partook…no sense being rude!
Barron River is dammed. Not much water falling into the Barron Gorge…yet. Understand during the raining season it looks like Niagara. Not now.

 

 
More train pics. Okay, that’s about enough.

We returned to base camp in Cairns about 4ish and got ready for our Night Zoo adventure. It was a blast. But first, they had to pick us up. We were to meet up at 6 p.m. We proceeded to where the bus stop was. At 6:10 we were panicking because the bus had not arrived. Then it occurred to us that perhaps this was not the place we were to be. Actually, all the tours dropped us off at a back gate to the complex. Ray went in to the office and then called to us, “Oh, you who”. Yeah, right. “Dianna”, he yelled ( accompanied by a franic wave). The tour was looking for us at the back gate. So off we ran to the back gate which was quite a few blocks away. Snipping was involved. Bernie ran ahead, he being he youngest in the group. I was glad that he did not have to witness marital bliss. No bus. OMG. Reciminations abounded. Apologies were issued. The guys seemed resigned to an evening of missed opportunity. I stood out in the middle of the street looking for the van and making myself quite conspicuous. Alas…the van turned the corner and all that was left was to board and apologize to the nice Asian couple and their son for our botched rondevous. It turns out the driver was miffed at the resort because they were completely unhelpful in tracking down the LOST.

We finally arrived at the zoo which did not open until 7 so we were actually early. The the cockatoo arrived to great us all. Then the Doki Doki van arrived with half of the far east in it. So many Asias that an interpreter was provided. And there we were at the night zoo.

Admission included dinner, entertainment in the form of one man who strummed his guitar and sang Aussie songs. Drinks were included. Then we had dinner. OH, I almost forgot. We met a charming 26-yr. old from Georgia (US) and we spent the evening with her. She was here for 3 weeks that included 1 week of scuba diving off a boat. Sounded wonderful. She was quite a gifted traveler. Knew all the ropes. Fun was had by all.

Here are some of the sights.

 
There is Clara the cockatoo!!
Yes, I got to hold a real, live koala. 16 months old, he was quite a charmer. Soft and friendly.
An owl on display.
Koala on the floor…very unusual. They only eat one type of eucalyptus leaf so there is little energy in the leaf they like. Therefore, they sleep about 16-20 hours a day. Nocturnal in nature, it was fun seeing them at night.

We saw the most vemonous snakes on earth. Ugh. Glad they were behind glass. I won’t creep you out with any pictures.
Then there were the crocs. The sound their jaws made while trying to secure their food which was dangling was quite loud, sort of like nothing like we’ve ever heard. Sonic boom? Not quite. High in decibles and very convincing. The guides told us that our jaws have a 30 pounds/sq. inch — psi pressure measurement). Dogs have 160 psi. Large saltwater crocs have 3,000 psi. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, flapping your lips and beating your gums. If you’re attacked, you’re a goner. And they can live without eating for a few months at a time. Quite a relic. And they had quite a collection of them.

It brought to mind the story of the croc at the Wildlife exhibit in Sydney. They told us that particular croc was brought down from Darwin. Seems that a local cattleman kept losing cattle. Tracing the losses to THAT croc, it was decided to spare his life and take him to the exhibit. Then they tried to breed him but he attacked and killed his three females lovers(tough love?) before they abandoned the idea.

But I digress. After viewing the crocs we got to visit with the kangaroos who are also quite lively at night and they love to eat.
The guides gave us carrots and potatoes etc. and we had the opportunity to feed them!! Too cool.
Got to see mama’s baby in her pouch. It was beyond fun. I now feel complete…like I can leave Australia having achieved most of my objectives. They were:

1. see kangaroos

2. see koalas

3. see the Great Barrier Reef

4. see the Sydney Opera House

6. see some aboriginese

Also, the outback beckoned but it would be another long flight and how much can one do in 3 weeks? We’re beyond grateful that we’ve been able to see and do what we saw and did.

But I digress.

After viewing and holding and feeding the various critters, we got back together at a dance floor…and we did the hokey pokey with the people from the doki doki!!! What a hoot. Doing the hokey pokey with our Asian grandchildren. A dream come true. Actually, the Asians were fun and friendly even though many didn’t speak any english. Everyone was laughing and giggling and having a fun time.

Actually, let me digress. There was one couple that did not have a good time. He was wearing a Texas A&M hat. They were from the great state of Texas. They didn’t laugh, they didn’t clap. They didn’t dance. She refused to see the snakes. Oh, and they were in their 30s. Too bad.
See Bernie? He’s holding the sign with the koala!! That was the grande finale.

Then we returned to the nest. Bernie had things to do and it was about 10:30 when we returned. Flying stand-by doesn’t always work the way you want. So, he found out that flights back to Sydney from Cairns were tightly booked except for the 5:55 a.m. So, he had to pack and leave in the wee hours to catch a flight that had about 25 vacancies. We bid our fond adieus and told him we’d see him in Oatley sometime tomorrow. Our flight was at 1:10 p.m.

Then we all went to bed exhausted, but full of wonderful memories (excepting if you will, the snakes).