Beach bums

This time the text was no problem, but the photos failed three times, will try again later.


So, back on the mainland again, dealing with the flies. We did not experience any bushflies or mosquitoes while in Tasmania, so it makes the plague on the mainland even more noticeable. I have been entertaining myself by killing them and feeding them to the ants. We have sort of been puttering our way along the coast since we landed in Melbourne (from Tasmania), and are currently in the middle of at least three days in Eden, NSW (staying in the Garden of Eden Caravan Park – quite a nice place). We are about 500 km South of Sydney, where we have to turn in the van on the 17th. We expect to arrive in Sydney on the 15th (we actually changed our hotel booking to arrive two days earlier, as Bob and Sue from Toowoomba were coming down, but those plans have changed.) However, we will stay with that plan, do some shopping and tourist stuff in Sydney before our planned flight home on the 19th.
As you can see, the trip is kind of winding down – we are in our last two weeks on the road, and starting to think about going home. As much as going home will be nice, and Christmas should be fun, the thought of the cold and snow is a bit disconcerting. We are very much without current plans. We will have at least one more stop before Sydney, may spend a few days in one of the beach areas South of Sydney. We have been considering swinging inland a bit to visit Khancoban, the place I lived in ’65, although there is no real need to do so. That decision may be driven by the weather, and the practicality of us becoming total beach bums. The cloudy, showery weather of the past few days are pleasant enough, but not exactly beach weather. The beach right here is nice enough, although I don’t see anyone swimming.
Many of the people we meet in our wanderings are retired. No big surprise, as who else would have the kind of time required to do this sort of thing. Most of them have Australian accents, of course, but also have significant traces of accent from their original homeland. This is most noticeable in the European immigrants, less so in those from the UK. Many have arrived in their new land since my first trip here in ’65, and seem to have generally prospered in their new lives here. It does remind you that this rather old land is still a very young country – being a country of immigrants much as Canada, but perhaps with more of it recent. I expect the character of Australia to change as this generation passes on and hands off to a generation born in OZ. We ate dinner last night in a place that was hosting a busload of Italo-Australians from Melbourne. We visited with a bunch of them (did the judging for their dance contest) and have a standing invitation to the Australian-Italian Club in Melbourne.
Anyway, to this weeks photos:
The echidna – this critter was wandering through our campsite, so Sylvia hunted him down with a camera. Sort of a cross between an anteater and porcupine in appearance, he is fairly common here, and – being slow-moving, quite often road-kill.
The Christmas parade – we stopped in Sale (Victoria) for gas, and saw this parade forming up, so stayed to watch it. Kind of like a Burns Lake parade, except the Christmas theme. Still a little strange watching a pipe band with full kilt and regalia wearing Christmas hats and playing Waltzing Matilda. We still remark on the strangeness of Christmas preparations in a place where it is so warm. Still not quite as much fun as the little Mexicans singing Christmas Carols (mostly in English) in Cozumel, this time last year.
The parrot – is a wild one, part of a mating pair living in the trees across the way from here. Sylvia was gung ho to get a good photo, and one of the residents brought her out a hand of sunflower seeds, and attracted him/her right in. That is Sylvia’s hand – I actually prefer the photo where you can see the face she is making as the bird walks on her arm.
Sylvia’s shell collection – most from one beach down near Lakes Entrance, where she got a little wet getting some of them. Quite a conversation piece here. The following picture is Sylvia extracting the previous tenant with my needlenose pliers.