I promised my work mates from the Barossa Division of General Practice that I would get a photo of me departing Adelaide with the swag that they put together as a fairwell.
The beach where we have been snorkelling a few times now. Michael loved all the coral, but he swam away pretty fast when he spotted an octopus. I was disappointed that he didn't tell me it was there until after we got out of the water, so I didn't get a photo.
After a wobbly start I managed to ride my new scooter around the block. Simon finally stopped laughing long enough to take some photos.
Check out this humungous snail!! They are an introduced pest, so one of Simon's jobs around our garden is to tread on them. Michael and I refuse on the grounds that it is too grose LOL!
The look of disappointment when you slam a coconut down on the corner of some concrete several times and don't even dent it!!!
These berries are growing in our front yard. I'm sure someone can tell me what they are. The ripe ones look edible.
This juvenile Booby didn't seem at all bothered by having its photo taken. We don't think it was old enough to fly. If they fall out of the nest before they can fly, they die within a couple days.
You have to wait very quietly and patiently to photograph these rock crabs. As soon as they see you coming they run and jump across the rocks. They are very fast. But they are very pretty. The markings on their shells made me think of an aboriginal with body paint.
The red crabs are mostly vegetarian. This one is eating a pandanas fruit. But they will scavange meat. If they find a fellow crab squashed on the road, they will stop for a munch.
Nemo was too shy to let me photograph him, but at least Dory stuck around long enough for a couple shots.
We also saw lots of blue crabs at Hughes Dale. But they were a bit harder to photograph - not as large as the coconut crabs, and very timid. Simon stood on one side of a log and shoed this crab out, while I stood on the other and took its photo.
Hughes Dale on the west coast of the Island is the perfect place to see Coconut Crabs - also called Robber crabs because if you put your bag down and turn away, one is likely to steal it away! Despite this, they are quite timmid and scuttle backwards if approached.
I was randomely picking up half-burried shells on Gretta beach and was pleasantly surprised to find this cute little hermit crab. He/she wasn't quite as impressed at discovering me and quick-legged away as soon as put down.
Simon managed to get the Nikon off me long enough to take some photos. "Angel" is his term of endearment for me - I've been upgraded now to "Tropical Angel" LOL.
Rubbish from the ocean washes up on Greta Beach. This can be hazadous to turtles who come here to lay their eggs - we saw their tracks in the sand. An ongoing community clean-up project is run to keep the beach as clean as possible. At the start of the walk down to the beach, a rubbish bag can be collected. So when you leave, you take some rubbish with you. The local school occassionally has a clean-up day as well.
There are some lovely rock pools to swim in here. But the rocks are REALLY slippery, even with surf shoes on. So I didn't venture far with my Nikon - I was too frightened I would drop it.
The house on the right is our new home. The trees along the left are the edge of tropical jungle and our garden is full of butterflies. Very auspicious!! I didn't need to pack any of the butterfly decorations/ornaments from our Gawler home because I have the real deal now :-)
Our view from the balcony at the back of the Police Station (the Claw Enforcers) where we had Christmas dinner.
December 24th 2008: Simon in his new office!!
