Wallabies Eat Out of Your Hand!

Rock Wallabies eat right out of your hand!

One of the most fun things we've done yet here in Alice - at sunset, you can go to the foot of a part of the McDonnell Range, right behind the Heavitree Gap Outback Lodge, to feed the wild rock wallabies. And they will eat right out of your hand! We joined the Wilkinson family and their five kids for this treat. While Megan was feeding one of the wallabies, her mom noticed there was something in her pouch -- a little Joey! Look how cute:

See the little Joey face?

Look at the little face peeking out!

Earlier in the day we met another family at Olive Pink Botanical Garden to see some bowerbirds in action, and a hike up the hill for some great views. Bowerbirds are most known for their unique courtship behavior, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate. This bowerbird had a big nest going with lots of white objects and green objects, all grouped together.

Can you see his green seed things?

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of his nest, but here is what the nests look like:



Before our hike, we got a bite to eat. None of us tried the fried possum ...

As always, a pretty flat white coffee.

Here are some views from our hike:

I checked some books out of the library to learn more about the flora, fauna artwork and wildlife of Alice (including the scat!):

Coming up next weekend: we have been invited by some Aussie friends to come watch the BIG GAME on Saturday. What big game, you might ask? (ok, I had to ask). The AFL Footy Grand Final! I asked our host who we should root for. I learned two things. First, we should not use the word "root" like we do in the states. Look it up here. And second, the team to "barrack" for is the Sydney Swans! Also coming up next weekend is a bonfire at the sand dunes.

Holy Firenado!

Click the link to see incredible footage of a fire tornado (Firenado) taken not far from Alice Springs.

Firenado!

Daily Life in The Alice - Week 4

We're starting to get into a routine here in The Alice. Greg gets up around 4 a.m. to get ready for work (some things don't change), but he's usually home no later than 5:30 p.m. Our sea shipment has not yet arrived. We have been told it can take anywhere from two to four months -- it has to clear customs once it arrives in Australia before it is sent on up to Alice. Most of our stuff is in the sea shipment. We are living off the little bit that we sent ahead in air freight and the 'welcome kit' provided to us by the housing folks. Our house is furnished, so we really have everything we need. The welcome kit has a couple of plates, silverware, glasses and a few cooking items. I can't even remember now what we shipped in sea freight, so when it comes it will be like Christmas! And we may not get it until Christmas! Actually, it's a good excuse to put off cooking for a little while longer. :-)

This is the first day that I turned on the air conditioner. It's about 99 degrees. But it's dry so it doesn't feel too awful. Once the sun goes down it's very pleasant - as low as 55 degrees at night. Today marks 148 days since it last rained in Alice - a record. Some locals are resorting to rain dances:


Unfortunately, the metric system is confusing to me. Kilometers vs. miles. Celsius vs. Fahrenheit. I continue to go to weather.com in the U.S. to check the weather for Alice.Wish I had paid better attention in class back when we studied the metric system!

Access to and availability of technology in Alice is a challenge. And it is very expensive. There is no wifi available in the homes. We have ordered broadband service for our home, but it takes weeks to be installed and activated. Greg and I invested in one plug-in USB port that has been installed on my computer. It was really expensive, so we just got one. And now we are sharing my laptop while at home. Pain in the arse. Even when we are connected, it is not reliable -- it cuts out frequently, particularly when we try to connect with someone back home. Greg has a cellphone for work, but I don't have one. No. Cell. Phone. I am NOT connected like I'm used to being. In some ways it's frustrating and in some ways it's freeing. Haven't decided if I'm going to get a mobile. Once we get broadband service in our house I'll be able to use my iPad again.

I'm starting to catch on to the Aussie slang. Everything has a nickname or is shortened. For some reason, bell peppers are called capsicum. That is taking some getting used to. Arvo is afternoon. Maccas is McDonald's (and yes, there is one here). Rego is vehicle registration.

A few pictures from around our house and town:

These have been parked in front of our house for a few days.

Our mailbox.

Springtime! Bush in front of our house.

Thanks Stevie for the cool notebook. I bring it everywhere.

I no longer use a purse, just this fun bag (thanks Megan!).

My grocery haul for the day. $61! Things are expensive in the Outback. Magnum Bars were on sale.

Greg and Laurie Meet Reptile Rex

Yesterday Greg and I met up with a group of folks at a campground for "Camping Light." My idea of camping light was wearing a t-shirt with a camping motif. We stopped by to say hello, then we left before it got dark. Baby steps (for me). Greg shipped all his camping stuff with the hope that I might actually do it. We'll see.

Anyway, one of the visitors to the campsite was a local legend, Reptile Rex, who runs the Alice Springs Reptile Centre. Rex brought a couple of his friends from Reptile Centre. Greg made some new friends, and so did I.

Greg with Thomas ... the PYTHON

Seriously, the captions just write themselves! (I can't stop giggling at this one)

Dragon lizard

This is a skink.

 

 

 

Frank

Frank with a new friend

 

 

Thomas really gets around

That little girl was fearless!

Reptile Rex

Oh hey - here I am with my new friend Marti! (Notice my camping t-shirt?)

Rex convincing Marti to pose with Thomas

She did!

Greg hung out with Thomas around his neck for a while. Rex wanted us all to feel Frank's skin - 'just like a pocketbook.'

First Hike

We are so lucky. We can walk right out of our house and have tons of hiking trails to choose from. We took our first walk-about yesterday. We went to the end of our street, around the golf course, and up the hill to the water tower that is kind of behind our house. We're excited to do lots of exploring.

Here are some of the sights along the way and from the top of the hill:

King of the Hill!

We need to find out what kind of poo this is. It's everywhere. Wallaby? Kangaroo?

More poo. Ok, enough of the poo.

Our house is somewhere down there.

I think this view is so beautiful.

Lots of quartz.

Spring flowers

More desert flowers

Field Trip to Desert Park

While Greg was at work today, I got to visit Desert Park with some new friends. Rebecca and Anna are homeschooling and invited me to go with them and their kids to Desert Park for a field trip. So much fun! I got a 12 month pass to the park and look forward to coming back often.


Here's the group:

First we went to the Nature Theater where the park staff had a lecture and demonstration with local predatory birds. So cool! We saw and learned about these birds:

Falcon!

Owl - love that face

I can't remember what this guy is, but he hopped all through the crowd.

Another type of owl - he looks like a piece of wood. Blends right in.

Our presenter with a couple of galahs - aren't they pretty? They are everywhere.

These are Princess Parrots and we see them all over here too.

Within the park there is a "Nocturnal House" where they have exhibits featuring lots of animals and insects that live in the desert and come out at night. The inside is dark, with just enough lighting so you can barely make out the lizards, snakes, spiders and little animals. We also got to see some Thorny Devils:

And of course the visit wouldn't be complete without some 'roos, including a little Joey!