Exploring with the grandkids, we spotted a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) and her joey high in the branches of an ironbark tree near their home. A lovely sighting for our last day in Australia. Today we fly home.
Phascolarctos cinereus
Tag: nature
springbrook
Springbrook National Park is astoundingly beautiful. I can’t believe I lived in south-east Queensland for ten years and never went there; so happy that situation was rectified today.
The Park is part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, one of Queensland’s five World Heritage properties.
Spectacular waterfalls, lush rainforest, ancient trees, impressive views, exceptional ecological importance and natural beauty makes Springbrook an outstanding place to visit. My sketch in no way does the scenery justice. You need to go there for yourself.
lemon tree very pretty
I sketched a kookaburra in the guest book at our lodgings, but forgot to photograph it before we checked out this morning. But here’s a lemon tree instead.
We’re done with north and central Queensland; our last few days in Australia will be spent in southern Queensland.
at my doorstep
While sketching these orchids at the foot of the front patio this morning, a butcher bird and kookaburra came down to feed on grubs and lizards.
halconia immanis
This big beauty is high on the bathroom wall in our current lodgings, quietly minding her own business.
Lisa Vankula-Donovan (on Instagram as @wannabe_entomologist) is my hunstman-whispering hero. I don’t know how she gets them to walk calmly over her; they usually scoot rapidly away when approached.
tropical beauties
I think this Golden Orb Weaver is Trichonephila plumipes, sometimes called a Tiger Spider. Its web glows yellow, and the legs are a light orange colour, black at the joints. Big spiders are so impressive! This type is not confined to the tropics, so I hope to see more when travel to the sub-tropics.
There are some 750 different types of pandanus; I have no idea which one I was sketching! I love their aerial prop roots.
cape tribulation
Another day, another idyllic swimming hole 😊 September is a great month to visit the tropics. Not too hot, not too wet, not too many mosquitos. No tribulation at all, in fact.
the blue hole
We’re in tropical Far North Queensland, in a national diversity hotspot. Buttress roots, wait-a-while, butterflies, and fan palms abound. Also, gorgeous swimming holes. And crocodiles, though we haven’t seen any of them yet (phew!) But we did find a peppermint stick insect today, so that was really cool!
My son is showing us all his favourite spots. So much beauty to be found here.
trichosurus vulpecula
Common brushtail possums are the Australian marsupials most often seen by city dwellers, as they can thrive in a wide range of natural and human-modified environments. They are inventive and determined foragers with a liking for kitchen raids, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens, as our Wollongong friends well know!
This baby was in the temporary care of our wildlife rescuer friend when we stayed with her the other night. Pretty darn cute.
moruya
A couple of sea lions were relaxing on the river banks while the humans wandered amongst the stalls of Moruya Country Market on Saturday morning.
hashiworks 