Thursday, January 22, 2009

wild coastlines, wild animals and wild children


We've been away for a short break down the south coast of Australia, to spend time with Fatty's family. I've never been along the Great Ocean Road, and the scenery along there is superb.



Down on the beach, I found this very cute, fat-legged nephew creature. It made lots of noises such as 'Daddeeeeeee!' and 'Dat!' and it apparently does bite on occasion, but refrained from biting any of our family.





There was a sign up in this nature reserve, telling us that if an emu approached us aggressively, we should 'raise a hand above your head, so as to appear to be a larger emu'. Are emus really this clueless, that they would believe a middle-aged woman in a bright pink sweatshirt with her hand held up above her pink-hatted head was a very large emu? I didn't get a chance to find out, thankfully.





This Highlands Copperhead, a highly venomous snake, was peacefully sunning himself (herself?) by the side of the track. We said hello, but didn't stop to chat.




We made it home safely. No one was attacked (except Fatty on one occasion but does he think I'm his slave?). All's well that ends well.







17 comments:

thisisme said...

I'm glad you had a lovely break - the Great Ocean Road is just fantastic. We are heading that way again this weekend.

Fantastic photos.

Oh, and I'm totally intrigued. Just what did Fatty do?

fifi said...

ha ha ha

there is someone hiding with a camera right near the emu sign....photographing gullible persons in emu pose!!!


oh, middle aged woman in pink....you do NOT fit that description!

Michelle said...

Remind me to wear high heels next time I am in the bush - just in case i see an Emu and when I raise my hand above my head I might be taller than it!!!

Lovely snaps -love the great ocean road! Actually i was born in Waranambool too.

Get this - no joke - the word verification - BUSHY!!

Mary said...

Gorgeous part of the world - not sure about that snale too...

Susan Tidwell said...

Fantastic pictures, so clear and blue! Great post, well except for the snake of course.

Stomper Girl said...

You made me laugh. I'm so glad the fat-legged nephew didn't bite your family.

The Great Ocean Road is superb and one of these days I should show it to my kids.

Unknown said...

What with vicious emus, venomous snakes and biting nephew creatures, it was quite an adventure!

Must get down there one of these days...it looks beautiful.

rel said...

Jelly6head,
I can see a visit down under in my future!
rel

Puss-in-Boots said...

Gotta watch those emus...actually I think they're curious more than anything. So, the snake wasn't speaking, eh? Probably just as well.

As for that little creature you found on the beach...was it's bite poisonous?

Sounds like you had a lovely time, Jelly, the Great Ocean Road is one of my future destinations, too.

TUFFENUF said...

Very beautiful pics, I hope you were using a long lens and didnt get too close to that snake! Sounds like a lovely break in a wonderful area.

Jellyhead said...

thisisme, Fatty committed the sin of sitting on his butt the first day while I wore my fingers to the bone (well, almost). However, after a few snipey gripey comments from me, he got the message!

fifi you may be onto something with that photographer idea!

shelly, I don't mean to be height-ist, but I'm not sure high heels would even do the trick. What about stilts? ;-)

Mary & Susan, the snake was perfectly nice to us. No worries!

Stomper, Fatty & I loved the Great ocean Road, but the kids were not all that impressed. They were much more impressed with the motel room we stayed in at Apollo Bay! Kids are weird.

Flossy, Rel & Robyn - yes, I hope you can all go see the sights one day. It's very pretty.

Tuff, you know I didn't use a long lens, just a bit of zoom! But the path was a boardwalk, so that snake would have had to be pretty athletic (not to mention grumpy) to leap up and bite us.

meggie said...

the remark to Fatty... I SO know what you mean!

Pam said...

Wow, those colours! It looks beautiful, though maybe a trifle cosy for the likes of me. Isn't it a shame how having fat legs is charming when one is 2 but less so when one is somewhat older?

Outside my window, it's sunny but VERY CHILLY. Ice on the bird bath this morning and you don't need a sunhat, pink or otherwise.

I'll remember that emu hint, though, should I ever come across one in the Scottish countryside.

meg said...

I love your photos. We had a little slim guy that used to bite... wow he could hurt! Once bit me right on my very thin shoulder blade!! I cried.

Glad you had a nice break.

DrCris said...

Enjoying reading your blog. Considered nominating for the Australian Medical Blog awards?

http://www.applequack.com

Kerri said...

I wish we'd managed to see that coastline while we were living in Oz. It's gorgeous!
Not so sure about tackling bad tempered emus with my bare raised hand :) Hopefully I'll never have to test that theory.
Nor be that close to a deadly copperhead snake.
Or a biting nephew!
Well, aren't you? (Fatty's slave, that is) ;)
So glad you had a wonderful time away. Thanks for sharing these lovely photos.

Mimi said...

Great photos, especially the one of the poisonous snake!