Home Again

I crawled out of bed 

this morning

at 3am

to catch a very early flight

 back home to Australia

from New Zealand

and was rewarded with 

dawn views

of Mt Ruapehu 

in the centre 

of the North Island

While in Christchurch

I found many treasures...

the above picture 

shows my younger sister

in the highchair,

and me aged three

with koala

and fluffy

patent leather muff,

a gift from 

 an Aunt in Australia

Do you think

my koala fascination

may have begun 

way back then...

*

Koalas 6,7,8,9,10,11...

Koala Sightings 

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

and so on...

I have been lucky enough

to see two koalas

each day 

on my walks

I am walking before sunset

which is koala breakfast time

It is hard to identify the koalas

but I know that this one 

is a new one

he is Baby

Although the photos 

make him appear 

a similar size to his buddies

he is quite small

and is referred to

as a baby by the ranger

This sleepy head

who has a comfortable nest

is not the same as this one

because I saw them both

on the same walk

this one has been 

living along the boardwalk

opposite my home

and I run into him

as I walk to the National Park

Last night I met a breathless German tourist

who excitedly told me

that she had almost walked into him

as he ambled along the boardwalk at dusk

I skedaddled up the pathway 

but he had taken to the gum trees

before I arrived

But I saw him again tonight

silhouetted in the fading light

So I think that might take us to 6

confirmed individuals now 

maybe more

if the above koala

whom I have named Big Butt

is a different one to Pinky

It is getting rather confusing

with the regular sightings

but it is great to see 

so many koalas

in the park

especially ones that pose

like Baby

*

Koala Update

*

The Koala Count
Continued...

 The good news is

that I have seen three sightings

of koalas 

over the last few days

Look way up here

in the top of this gum tree

But the not so good news

is that I can't distinguish between them

so am unable to ascertain

whether we have three new koalas

to add to our tally

or of it is the same koala

I have seen three times

As I see him in the same vicinity

between Boiling Pot and Tea Tree Bay

I am inclined to think the latter

But he is a sleepy sweetie

and was referred to as Pinky,
by one of the park wardens 

that I bumped into 

under a eucalyptus tree,

because of his fluffy
pinky-brown derriere

so we shall call him that

shhhhh

we are disturbing him...

And that takes our tally to five

which is half the estimated total count

of koalas in the National Park

But I am hopeful...

*

Koala Count

*

The Koala count...

this morning

I came across 

a familiar shape

resting in a gum tree

soaking up the early sun

a new koala...

how exciting

a young juvenile

I think

with a soft fuzzy brown face

changing trees

to settle

for the day...

So now we have met

Grandfather Grey Butt

Speckled Butt

Last night at dusk

I met Red Eye

a very fearless koala

who was walking 

along the track

stopping to chat

with sunset strollers 

and joggers

and very sprightly

clambered up a gum tree

He was scratching his face

his eye red

indicating he has the koala disease

My camera batteries had died

so no image of Red Eye

and today

we have encountered

Brown face

So if what the Wildlife Volunteer 

told me is true

that there are less than ten koalas

left in the park

we have now met four 

of the inhabitants

and I am still looking...

*

Koala Rescue

*

 Koala Rescue

in the National Park

At the end of my walk 

early this morning

I came across

a wonderful couple

who had rescued an old

and ailing koala

 He had been noticed 

by walkers last night

at the foot of a tree

skinny and weary

too weak to climb

Unable to find him in the dark

they went searching 

early this morning

and tracked him down 

in the bushy undergrowth

I wondered whether

Grandfather koala

was Grey Butt,

shown above,

as koalas tend to keep

to the same foraging corridors

and territory

He will be taken

to the wild life hospital 

and cared for

The lady told me

that there are fewer than ten koalas

in the whole 

Noosa National Park

and where it was once common

to have a sighting

they are now rare

Development and disease

have taken their toll

on the koala community

I think that we have been very lucky

to have had Speckled Butt

as a neighbour

even if only 

for a brief period.

I have not seen him since

the day I posted

of his slumbers

The lady was excited 

to hear of Speckled Butt

Every sighting is good news

when you have a population

dwindling throughout the state

People 

such as these volunteer workers

are so admirable.

*

Fifty Ways to Sleep....

*

Fifty ways to sleep

in a fork

of a gum tree....

 

Speckled Butt

sat in the tree fork

for his daytime sleep

uncomfortably...

a little squashy

perhaps...

when I returned at lunchtime

I noticed he had moved

to the tree adjacent

  

and appeared very relaxed

  

 although the toes

on his upper limbs

seem to have a good grip

on the tree trunk

  

he sleeps in the full sun

in his fur coat

oblivious to the 32C of heat

  

he faces the ocean

  

takes a yoga pose

stretches his limbs

  

and sleeps on...

  

until night fall

*

After the Rain

*

After the Rain...

After the rain
the air is full of life,
the dust is washed away

and the park sparkles
in the early morning sun

the plants speak
their secret language of green

and the world
that I walk in
listens

both below

and above
are clear and bright











Hello
who have we here

up in the tree

an athletic young fellow
climbs through the gum tree
on the ocean's edge

hungry after
a noisy wet night

when feeding usually occurs

he is keen
to sample leaves

and goes out on a limb

climbing higher

do you think the juicy ones
are way up here...

maybe even higher...

he launches himself

through the tree

in search
of fresh green leaves

newly blessed
by the night's rain






*