The storm had still not arrived by yesterday morning although the haze remained, thankfully caused by weather conditions rather than by fire which we have seen and experienced as we have travelled around the country. It had been a hot night, humid but pretty much as one expects at this time of the year.
I was keen to get out and stretch the legs apart from a walk to the newsagent, so we headed off to Queens Park not too far distant. Here we were delightfully surprised to find not only the bright flowering trees noted as we had driven past but also Nerima Gardens and the Nature Centre.
The Nerima Gardens are in Japanese design incorporating native plants from the Ipswich region and attracting dozens of basking water dragons, who were not in the least perturbed by the many young people and children noisily enjoying the otherwise peaceful oasis in the city.
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| Water Dragons |
Those same children would have been as delighted as us to discover the free mini-zoo as part of the park, housing swamp wallabies, emus, quolls, bilbies, goannas and a wealth of bird-life, many imprisoned in an expansive aviary. Of course none of this can hold a candle to seeing these creatures in their natural environment, but it is the second only time we have seen quolls and bilbies, albeit in captivity; it is rare to happen upon them in the wild.
I was also delighted to note the colony of bats hanging like ripe avocados on the trees. This immediately brought to mind the very recent news reports of the week about the large colony of bats, estimated as 80,000 further north in Charters Towers, about one hundred and fifty kilometres west of Townsville which are in the throes of being driven from the town using helicopters, smoke machines, gun blasts and hose pipes. I am sure I would be inviting these same measures if I had to live beneath these curious and marvellous creatures because I do concede, they smell awful and their noisy chatter would probably intrude into one’s dreams. But I must persist; they do delight on brief encounter.
We passed the afternoon as we had the previous one, but yesterday hearing of Holden’s planned closures, just one more of the large industries in Australia pulling back, obviously burdened by the absurdly high wages being paid. We watched Question Time in the Federal Parliament, the last sitting for the year and agreed that the new speaker, my own namesake, is quite useless in the role; Labour’s Anna Burke was far more effective even if far less glamorous despite her being younger and less experienced than Liberal’s appointment.
Late last night the rains arrived and are still here today, although as I write this, not yet heavy. Instead they have given some relief to the humid heat and we are indoors bound in more pleasant temperatures below thirty degrees.
The camp is quite busy; there are well over a dozen parties in, all taking advantage of the excellent tariff and central position, although it cannot be the most comfortable arrangement for the campers immediately adjacent. Here in a little old blue campervan, are two Scandinavian blondies, stereotypically lovely and lithesome, perhaps sisters given their similarity. They have removed the back bench seat from the van to make way for their sleeping quarters, a simple mattress, and this, the bench seat, rides strapped on the roof or at least was, when they arrived. There is little space out of the rain and no communal shelters here at the park at all; only the simple but clean bathroom facilities. It is such observations that remind me how grateful that our own accommodation is so luxurious in comparison.
And so the days continue to pass, spent in observing the eccentricities of our fellows, both campers and fellow shoppers in the malls, responding to the emails which dribble in all too slowly and consider where we may end up spending Christmas.
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