Yesterday, Grandad and I walked the coast path from Minnamurra to Kiama, with the South Pacific on our left all the way! At this time of year, the humpback whales are migrating back to the Antarctic with their calves, and they swim close to the shore to keep the calves safe. We scanned the sea all the time, looking for spouts of water, or splashing tails, but not a whisper of a whale! But we did see pelicans in the harbour at Kiama. I love pelicans. They stand so still, watching, waiting – and then they have a leisurely stretch. Australian pelicans have the longest beaks of any birds in the world. Did you know that?
At one point, we passed a nature reserve which had red-bellied snakes, swamp wallabies, and echidna – but we saw nothing at all. Though I am not too enthusiastic about seeing a red-bellied snake close up!
We keep reading about rain and floods in England. Here they have had a drought for many months and at the moment there are terrible bush fires in New South Wales, which have burnt down, not only forest, but whole villages too. The weather is so hot and dry at the moment that they have issued a ‘catastrophic warning’ for fires in Sydney on Tuesday. There are also really sad pictures of koalas and kangaroos that have suffered in the fires – but there are lots of kind people who are trying to look after them.
Nana Down Under 