Simon's Sister's Dog in Fed Up

Simon’s Sister’s Dog has got his eye on one thing, and one thing only – food! And he doesn’t stop until he’s devoured every tit bit and scrap of dropped food from the Christmas dinner table and has reached bursting point.

To learn more about the RSPCA (UK)'s campaign against pet obesity please visit: http://www.giveanimalsavoice.org.uk/

Don't forget RSPCA Australia.

Kangaroo Valley

We wanted to celebrate our Christmas differently this year. Instead of going to the beach like we have done in previous years we decided to go to Kangaroo Valley. Caroline: Not to see kangaroos, but to see WOMBATS. This year's Christmas it was all about celebrating Christmas in different surroundings. Caroline:....and to see wombats!!!
Kangaroo Valley is only a 3 hour drive at most from Sydney and you can drive a wonderful scenic route down the coast to get there.

Unfortunately for us the weather was terrible on Christmas Eve. And we took the quickest route straight to our cabin, thinking that is where we would spend the rest of the holidays. Friends of ours heard of our plans and joined us at the Glenmack campground in their campervan. Don't know how many trips we made back and forth to theirs.
Christmas Day started good, Santa had bought everything on Caroline's Christmas wishlist (don't know when she'll ever be able to see her Sex and the City movie and Mamma Mia! with me around, but that is besides the point) she was a happy bunny. And for someone who didn't make a wishlist I can't complain, either. Thank you for all the cards and presents we received from everyone, by the way.

On Christmas Day it became evident we were in for a few very hot days with temperatures in the mid to high 30's. Ideal for a Christmas on the beach. But not this year.
We spent many hours sitting outside by Phil and Pip's campervan enjoying a talk, a cold drink and the bbq's. Our party did get gatecrashed by a big Huntsman at one time. After relocating it we found another one in the back of our car a few days later. NO free ride for him and it was a good thing he jumped out by himself. (I don't like catching them, give me a snake any day)

Kangaroo Valley is one of only 7 valleys in the world that is completely enclosed and Morton National Park is ideal for bushwalking. And that is exactly what we did. We came across some great views and some beautiful waterfalls, we met only a handful of people on each track, if any.

The highlight would be of course the WOMBATS!!! Not far from Kangaroo Valley is a campground where you literally fall over the amount of wombats present. Only near dusk. We learnt about this place over a year ago and only now found the time to go there. It was well worth it. The campground is huge. 3Km long up to the back paddock with wombat burrows left and right. According to the security guard over 150 wombats reside there.

We were not disappointed. We spotted 13 in the 3 hours we were there and we stayed near 2 for at least an hour while they were eating grass no more then 30 meters away. It's one of those moments where you just sit back and take in the moment, we might never see it again. To complete the picture there were also 2 Kookaburra's flying around them, landing beside them occasionally....

We can't wait to go back.

If you care about the wombats' plight you might enjoy the documentary found here: War of the Wombats.

......and if you'd like to help with Wombat conservation please click the banner below.

Earth Hour

An ad by a big bean company supporting Earth Hour.
Earth Hour is an international event that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour on the evening of 29 March at 8PM local time to promote electricity conservation and thus lower carbon emissions.

It is promoted by World Wide Fund for Nature Australia (WWF), an environmental lobby group, and the Sydney Morning Herald. The first Earth Hour was held in Sydney, Australia between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on 31 March 2007. The 2007 Earth Hour is estimated to have cut Sydney's mains electricity consumption by between 2.1% and 10.2% for that hour, with as many as 2.2 million people taking part. A second Earth Hour, in 2008, is planned to be an international event held in Sydney, many partner cities, and individuals around the world participating.Click here for more information.

I know it is a bit hypocritical of me to post this as we are flying to Europe this year, but every little bit helps.

The Story I Can't Tell

Habitat loss is the single biggest threat to Australian wildlife. To help safeguard the future of this and the next generation of Australia's unique creatures, WWF is creating a Safety Net of protected areas with the support of Telstra. These areas will provide refuge and protection for thousands of Australian animals facing a daily struggle to survive. And WWF urgently needs your help.

They Need our help.

For more information please go here.

Caroline and I hope we will keep seeing signs of their existence in the wild even if it is no more then the occasional burrow here and there. If it was up to Caroline she would take in all homeless Wombats (secretly I would like to as well) but most of all we would love to see them out there in the bush. Going about their business as they have done for thousands of years.

Like this one on Maria Island, Tasmania.

And that counts for all of Australia's wildlife for that matter.

Opera House goes pink

Sydney Opera House goes pink

As a way of drawing attention to Breast Cancer Month in October, the Estee Lauder Companies initiated the Global Illumination campaign in 2000 to light significant architectural landmarks and monuments around the world pink.In Australia this event is used to launch Breast Cancer Month. In 2006, more than 30 cities participated in the Illumination including London, New York, Tokyo, Warsaw and Paris, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. In 2007, 13 Australian cities will be participating in the Global Illumination program, with 25 buildings being illuminated.

Source: Lookforward.com.au