Wildlife in Australia

The wildlife in Australia is stunning. Having lived in South Africa we are used to be able to drive a couple of miles to a nature reserve to see Rhino, Hippos, Zebras and Giraffes, but we rarely saw any wildlife outside of the nature reserves. We did have some interesting Rain spiders and Park Town Prawns and Geckos were common. Dual was similar but with Oryx and Camels in the desert and the odd Gecko in the house. Back now in the UK, it's been Spiders, Ants, Woodlice, Bees, Butterflies and Moths and fields of sheep and cows.

Many people have told us they wouldn't visit Australia because of the Spiders and Snakes and we've always been under the impression that to see them you needed to live in the outback, however we came across this beauty in the tree above the footpath walking in Manly just 35 minutes outside Sydney at a busy seaside resort.

A Diamond Python.

We also saw this one in Airlie up near the Great Barrier Reef, also on a coastal path in a busy seaside resort.

A Collared Whip Snake (mildly venomous)

Peter was starting to think that Kangaroos were a figment of our imagination and finally on his second trip to Australia he saw one and then several hundred more.

We saw a lot of Wallabies also which were really friendly.

The birds are stunning, such pretty colours and so friendly.

Rainbow Lorikeet.

The Pelicans are huge.

The cockatoos in volume are similar in numbers to the amount of pigeons we have in the UK.

Kookaburra visit.

There are random Turkeys walking on the beaches.

Herons just wandering around.

Galahs.

And Bin Chickens in the streets. Or the Australian Ibis.

The sea is crystal clear and we were fortunate enough to visit The Great Barrier Reef to go scuba diving and snorkelling.

We also saw an abundance of Whales and Dolphins from boat trips and out on coastal walks.

My favourites are the Koalas and Penguins that we visited in Philip Island near Melbourne.

Unfortunately it is rare to see Koalas outside of sanctuaries which aren't netted so the Koala can move around. Like the Penguins, the conservation fee you pay to visit them and The Great Barrier Reef also, helps to protect their habitat.

Nelsons Bay - Australia

We arrived in Australia the 24th July and spent a week in Melbourne, then flew to Proserpine to spend a week in the Whitsundays for a week where we visited the Great Barrier Reef, then onto Sydney for a week, 2 days in the Hunter Valley, 3 nights in Nelson Bay followed by our last 3 nights on Bondi Beach. We fly home via 3 nights in Kuala Lumpur.

We thought Nelsons Bay was going to be a leisurely break but our son had other ideas for us which involved climbing Tomaree Mountain. It's summit is 161 meters above sea level and only a distance of 1.1km, so it's very steep and categorised as a Grade 5 hike.

Nelsons Bay and area was full of Pelicans, they kept their distance as did we, but they're obviously used to the number of people who visit this area.

Pelicans the size of a small child

Rainbow Lorikeet

Gannet

Anna Bay and sand dunes

Sea grass

Coral? Sponge?

The rocks were covered with these tubes that looked like ice cream cones and squirted out water as the tide receded. They're called Cunjevoi or Sea squirts.

Sand dunes

Sea views

Gan Gan Lookout

Gymea Lilies

Climbing up Tomaree Mountain. 1.1km distance, 161ms to the top

Zenith Beach

Week 33 One Daily Positive and Project 365 The Hunter Valley and Nelsons Bay.

Bob has been poorly again since we've been away and the neighbour had to take him to the vets this week. Vet says something wrong with his abdomen, but happy to accept we don't want tests/scans etc and that at 13 years of age, Bob doesn't have much time left and there's no point trying to prolong his life. We're happy for him to have meds to make sure he isn't suffering and fingers crossed we can keep him going till we get back and can make the decision on whether to carry on month to month with the anti sickness meds or make the decision to put him to sleep.

A bonus picture this week from neighbour after the vets, she was told he could only go in the store if she put him in the trolley and he seems happy enough.

We're having the most amazing time in Australia with our son. The time has gone so quickly, with just a few days left in Australia before we get to Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

226 Sunday We went on the coastal walk from Bondi Beach to Watson Bay. The City 2 Surf 14km was in full swing and we couldn't access the beach to start our walk with the finishing line, so after battling our way through the runners who had finished, we finally found somewhere to cross the road and start our walk. We saw a whale and some dolphins form the cliff tops and there were fabulous views of Sydney.

A Rainbow Lorikeet

227 Monday checked out the accommodation and son drove us to the Hunter Valley for 2 nights. The views from our accommodation were spectacular and there were kangaroos on the golf course and outside the front door. We stopped for lunch on the way and Peter cooked in the evening.

Peter finally saw Kangaroo's he was starting to think we were making them up.

228 Tuesday Woke with a migraine, but as we needed a designated driver for the day for wine tasting it worked out well. I did sniff and sip the wine though. We had lunch, a cheese tasting then evening in the accommodation watching TV. Message from the UK, Bob was unwell again. I phoned the vets and the neighbour took him in. 

229 Wednesday A lazy morning as check out wasn't until 11am. We drove to Nelsons Bay until the end of the week. Lovely accommodation with a view of the sea, we wandered around the town, I had my nails done and a coffee while Peter and Jamie had lunch and fetched our bags from the car. We went out for the evening to watch the football and have dinner.

These Pelicans are the size of a small child

 

230 Thursday Drove along the coast to Tomaree Mountain which we climbed for the most spectacular views, we had lunch at Anna Bay the start of Birubi Beach and sand dunes. We explored the rock pools.

231 Friday Took myself out for coffee while hubby and son had a lie in, breakfast and a shower. I finally caught up with all my blog commenting and managed to schedule a few posts.

232 Saturday Said goodbye to Nelson Bay, after coffee and watching the fish being fed in the harbour and drove back into Sydney, collected the rest of our stuff from our son's place and he drove us to Bondi Beach where we're staying for the rest of our stay. We explored the laundrette and ate out before an early night.

On the blog this week:

A day in The Great Barrier Reef

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