Coolangatta

We spent the final few days with G & G Dammast visiting an area south of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Coolangatta and the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary are located on the Queensland and New South Wales border. Although the rain continued throughout both days (most of the day while we were at the wildlife sanctuary was dry) we enjoyed our trip south and seeing a new area.

The Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary gave us another opportunity to get closer with Australia's wildlife including snakes, crocodiles, spectacular birds, kangaroos, koalas and more. We also took a back lot tour at the wildlife sanctuary letting us view the vet hospital that services all of the wildlife in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Anytime various animals are found throughout the two states and they need assistance because they are hurt or sick the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is called to rescue them and nurse them back to health. While we were there all of the local news stations were filming a giant python that had been at the hospital for several weeks because he swallowed 4 golf balls. The golf balls were surgically removed and the snake had been monitored for several weeks and was soon going to be released back into his natural habitat.

We stayed at the Twin Towns Resort and enjoyed the great views from our hotel room. The wind and the rain made some viewing difficult but it was still a pretty sight. We ventured down to the beach to take in some of the views as well. The ocean waters were still in quite a rage from the storm so there were some awesome sights with the waves crashing against the shoreline rocks. There was also an area where massive seafoam was gathering due to the water movement at sea and the strong waves and wind from the storm. We were told this is a once-in-a-lifetime sight to see the foam in such large amounts, close to the shore, where people could swim in it. The foam just stuck to the swimmers and was such an interesting sight we would stare mesmerized at all of the people and the fun they were having.

We have had a great month in Australia showing our families around and enjoying some familiar faces . . . and having some help with the kids! Things have now returned to "normal" and the boys are attempting to get back into their regular routine. We have a couple of months before our next set of visitors arrive in March, but never fear, the Perry's have already found several additional trips and sights to see between now and then so we'll keep you posted!!

Australian Education:

No, it's not a colorful ostrich . . . it's a cassowary.
The cassowary is Australia's largest land animal.
Some interesting facts about cassowaries:
- The male cassowaries are responsible for hatching the eggs (on the nest for about 50 days!) and look after the chicks for the first 9 to 18 months.
- The cassowary is a rare and endangered bird with only about 1500 adult birds left in north Queensland.
- The word cassowary comes from two Papuan words - kasu - which means horned and - wen - meaning head. (Yes, that is a large, hard horn on the top of it's head.)
- The Guiness World Records lists the cassowary as the worlds most dangerous bird.
- The cassowary is useful for some of the local trees in the Wet Tropics Rainforest whose seeds only germinate after passing through the cassowaries digestive system.

Cassowary is also now a label in Evan's animal repertoire as well. I showed him a picture of a peacock (you know, a common bird in America), well I was informed that it was a cassowary and there was no arguing with him. It only goes to show how influenced our kids are by the environments they are exposed to . . . Evan also thinks kangaroos and koalas are common household pets that can be hugged anytime you want to hug them!!! Oh boy . . .