Today I actually slept until 8:30 – I think I finally am on Australian time! Hurray! Then it was a mad rush to get ready to go to the ferry for our Rottnest Island excursion. We made the ferry on time only to find out it had a 30 minute delay in leaving – so there really was no rush. Lovely sunny day and a beautiful 30 minute ride over to the island. When we arrived on the island – I must admit I was a little bit dismayed when I didn’t see quokkas immediately, but It was only a few steps up the pathway and there they were. Quokkas are small rodent like marsupials. I was lucky to get a picture of a mother with a baby in her pouch. My goodness, they are so much cuter when you see them in person than they are in pictures.
I picked up some berries the
little quokkas were eating off the ground and then had them eating out of my
hand. I have to admit it was quite
thrilling and I even managed to give one a little pat or two. While I was revelling in my quokka experience
reaching out – patting them, feeding them, kneeling in their deposits – a horrified
naturalist leading her gaggle of tourists gasped and pointed at me saying (or
almost shrieking) No! Don’t touch them! You will get salmonella! Go wash your hands! So much for my perfect quokka moment and in
the true Canadian way, I leapt up apologizing all over the place and headed
straight for the closest washroom to sanitize my hands….but it was really neat
while it lasted.
Laureen and I walked to the
lighthouse and back and managed another day of fitbit steps over 10,000. We walked part way along the beach and then relieving
ourselves of socks and shoes, waded in the waters of the Indian Ocean. It was a beautiful day and a lovely stroll. I was quite glad of sunscreen and a hat as the
sun really does feel quite different on my skin here. The abundance of large leafy trees help with
their offering of cooling shade while providing much needed relief from the strong
rays of the sun.
I was able to add a couple more
sightings to my life list of birds. I
was lucky to see an oyster catcher with her 2 chicks, a White Breasted
Cormorant and a Western Australia Raven.
The oyster catcher was a real treat.
I didn’t get a great picture, but I tried – perhaps with her two little
chicks she was more cautious as she moved quickly away even though I was barely
moving forward.
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| Oyster Catcher and Baby |
1 comment:
You are having a wonderful visit for sure. I never got to Rottnest Island but you had a great look at the main attraction. As for the Salmonella scare - well, unless you are going to lick your hands or eat from them before you wash for your meal you are fine. Naturalists are funny about humans interacting with animals other than being able to call birds to come closer. In wildlife preserves the birds are fed by naturalists (sometimes by hand or even by holding a seed in the mouth!) but a Quokka eating some of its own food from your hand is no cause for panic. Sigh! The Canadian Health warnings say that you can get Salmonella poisoning from not washing your hands after handling your pets or their food. Yes, wash your hands but there is no panic needed! I'll bet she is back there somewhere cuddling one now that the tourists have gone! I hope she didn't scare the Quokka! Now rats are another story!
Keep the good stuff flowing! Great reading for sure.
Lots of love,
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