Amazing facts about Australian Animals

I wrote this for a class based on Google found information.  Some interesting facts about our local critters.

• Marsupials like koalas and kangaroos can be found nowhere else in the world. Marsupials are animals that bring up their babies in a pouch.
• It is difficult to be a wild animal in Australia. It is very dry and food can be hard to find. This means animals need to use less energy.
• Marsupials use so little energy that they need to eat one-fifth less food than mammals of the same size.
• There are over 60 different species (types) of kangaroos.
• Kangaroos hop because it is takes much less energy to move around.
• A million years ago, there was a type of kangaroo that was over three metres tall.
• Koalas eat gum leaves which are so poisonous that they use 20% of their energy just digesting their food. They make up for this by having tiny brains (brains use up a lot of energy). They are very stupid! But nothing hunts them so it is OK.
• Koalas are not always cute. They can make an extremely loud growling noise.
• Australia has two mammals that can lay eggs. They are the platypus and echidna. They are the only animals in the world to lay eggs.
• Platypuses can eat their own body weight in food in a 24 hour period!
• The Emu is the world's third largest bird. The nest of an Emu can be up to 1.5 metres wide!
• The Tasmanian Devil has very strong jaws (nearly as strong as a crocodile). This helps them to eat bones.
• There are more than 150 million sheep in Australia and only 20 million people. That's 8 sheep for every person.
• Young Kookaburras (a type of bird) often stay with their parents to help them bring up new chicks because food is difficult to find.
• It is thought that Dingos were the first domesticated dogs and the "father" of all other domestic dog breeds.
• Australia has the longest fence. It's known as the Dingo Fence and runs through central Queensland and is designed to keep sheep safe from our native dog the Dingo... the fence is about 6 feet high and stretches over 5500 kilometers.

Dangerous Animals

• Australia is home to 10 of the world's 15 most poisonous snakes. Of Australia's 155 species of land snakes, 93 are poisonous.
• The Australian Taipan is the most poisonous snake in the world.
• The Stone Fish that lives in the Great Barrier reef has strong poison that can kill a person in less than two hours. People sometimes step on them. The only way to stop the poison is to put your foot in boiling water. Ouch!
• The box jellyfish kills more people in Australian each year than Snakes, Sharks and Salt Water Crocodiles.
• The Irukandji jellyfish is only 2.5 centimetres in diameter, but can cause death to humans within days.
• There are 1500 species of Australian spiders.
• The saltwater crocodile is the world's largest reptile - males can reach a staggering 6 metres long.
• The temperature of the saltwater crocodile's egg will decide the sex of the baby crocodile.
• The saltwater crocodile has only two muscles to open its mouth but 40 to close it! 

 

 

Matthew's 8 th birthday

Thanks for the photos, Jo.

At Muizenberg Water Slides

Out for dinner

Speaking to his favourite uncle on Skype!

School party

Govett's Leap to Perrys Lookdown (two day hike in Blue Mountains)

This is an absolutely wonderful hike of 21 kilometers, descending steeply into the Grose Valley, then walking along a river to the breathtakingly beautiful Blue Gum Forest (where you can camp), then ascending very steeply indeed out of the Grose Valley to Perrys Lookdown.

Here I am, the intrepid hiker, ready to embark at Govett's Leap.

Govett's Leap provides good views of the Bridal Veil falls which are the highest falls in the Blue Mountains.

Stopping off for a breather on the way down Govett Leap's steep path into the valley.

The steep path descends to the base of the Bridal Veil Falls. As I reached the valley floor, the vegetation along the river turned to forest with tall trees and lots of beautiful ferns.

As I walked down the valley, the river widened and provided some great spots for a dip.  This was very welcome as it was a hot day.

Finally, after a long walk through the valley along the river along a path that at times was very overgrown (so much so that I wondered if it was the right one), the hike entered the famous Blue Gum Forest.  It was beautiful and peaceful and the perfect place to stop and contemplate life.  I must thank Lizzy for telling me about this place.  It must be one of the most beautiful and tranquil places in Australia.

As recommended by Lizzy, I decided to camp in the Blue Gum Forest.  Here is a photo of my new, very lightweight one man tent.  I met a very nice guy in the camp site who is a passionate hiker and he gave me lots of tips for other great hikes in the area.  He was taking a two day sabbatical from his wife and kids.  He said the had spent his whole Xmas with his in laws and had earned the break!

The valley was full of these beautiful yellow flowers and they were very popular with the local insects...

...like bees

and moths...

...and little white butterflies who also feasted on the nectar.  I was chuffed to get a photo of two of the little butterflies mating.  It's quite an acrobatic aerial affair.

In addition to the yellow flowers, there were some other beautiful leaves and berries and plants.

The only drawback to camping in the forest were the flies.  There were a lot of them (though only at dusk, strangely enough) and many of them bit.  Bastards!  Here is a cute little fly I managed to photograph.  This particular species was pretty harmless and did not bite or I would have killed it, not photographed it.

Then there was this cute lizard who I managed to photograph before he leapt into the undergrowth.

After a very restful time camping in the Blue Gum Forest, it was time to hike out of the steep valley.  Here I am before the steep climb, still looking happy and fresh.  Man, was that about to change! 

The walk out of the valley to Perrys Lookdown was three hours of non stop steep uphill slogging.  And I was not just carrying my pack but my camera equipment too - about 16 kg's in total.  And I am not the fittest I have ever been.  And I am now 40.  And, for some silly reason, I did it at the hottest part of the day.  To say I struggled would be a strong understatement.  I was absolutely bushed and had to make constant stops to catch my breath.

Finally I came out at the top, and the view from Perry's Lookdown kind of made up for all the pain.

So all in all, a really fantastic hike.  The highlight is the Blue Gum forest.  It's an awesome place to relax and unwind.  The only drawback is if you camp, you have to carry your equipment up the steep path out of the valley.  But in retrospect, it's well worth it.  Within a week, I reckon I won't remember the pain and I will be itching to do this hike again.

Hanging Rock (Blue Mountains)

Hanging Rock is a huge sandstone rock in the Blue Mountains that is over 150 metres high and has become detached from the main cliff.  It has featured in many calendars and climbing photos, and was also the site of the main climbing scene in “The Edge”, a movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.

I have always been intrigued by this place but it is not often mentioned as a place "to go to" when visiting the Blue Mountains. I researched it and discovered that this is because it is a little bit off the beaten track. You have to drive your car down a very narrow (and in my case, puddle filled) gravel road and then hike 4 kilometres down a fire track, followed by a somewhat precarious climb down a steep slope to get to the viewpoint.

But, my word, it's beautiful and well worth the effort. And the fact that you usually have the place to yourself makes it all the more special.

In the two photos below, you can clearly see how the hanging rock has become detached.  Combine that with the beautiful colour of the rock and the fact that it soars so high above the valley and you can see why it has been used in calendars and as the setting to movies.

On the day I visited Hanging Rock, I was alone for the first two hours.  I took some photos and then let my mind wander.  It's an amazing place to relax and get perspective, which was one of the reasons for my trip.

Suddenly three other guys arrived, scrambling down the cliff as they came.  I said hello and jokingly asked them if they could go and stand at the edge of the Hanging Rock to help give my photos a sense of scale.  Imagine my enormous surprise (and horror and delight) when they proceeded to do just that - totally unperturbed by the fact they were perched on a walkway less than 1 metre wide, and over 150 metres high. 

When the guys returned from the knife edge and I had changed my underwear (well figuratively speaking), I told them I was joking and hadn't thought in my wildest dreams that they would actually do it.  And that I wouldn't do it for ten millions dollars.  They laughed and told me that they were base jumpers and were scoping the scene as a potential place for a jump.  The one guy admitted that it had been a little hairy standing on the rock without a chute but the others just laughed some more and told him he was a wimp.  

I so liked the Hanging Rock that I decided to overnight there (thankfully, I had brought my pack and little tent and some food) and I was rewarded when the late afternoon sun lit up the rock face in a nice orange glow.

The following morning, at dawn, as the sun rose, the Hanging Rock lit up bright red.  It was a beautiful thing to see and I wasn't sure if I should take photos or just purely bathe in the sight of it.  I did a bit of both.

Below, you can see just how narrow the ledge is.  Those base jumpers sure have balls of steel!  I don't think that even my best friend, Russell, who has done some crazy things when it comes to heights, would have the nerve.  Or maybe...

Another view of Hanging Rock from a different angle.

At sunset, the soft light made the trees look beautiful.

And the actual sunset wasn't too shabby either...

The sunrise from the cliffs was beautiful too and created some eerie shapes of faces.  Or am I the only one who sees it?

So all in all, I absolutely loved Hanging Rock.  It's a place I'm likely to visit again and again.  Hopefully it will remain well and truly off the beaten track for a long time to come.