Location: Campbelltown/Kirrawamba
Temp: 17 C
Weather: Sunny!
Activities: Family outing to Wirrimbirra Flora and Fauna Sanctuary
Accommodation: Last night at the Selby resort
Yes, yes, I'm guilty! I'm writing this almost two months after this day actually happened, but I'll try to report it as accurately as possible.
I believe this morning was the one I joined Paul and his family to their pregnancy check-up at the local hospital. Cath, who has since had a healthy, beautiful little girl! (Congratulations, sweetheart!), was a bit anxious at the time--even impatient to have her baby which I found understandable. This one was her first and apparently the firsts are the trickiest ones, often going past due dates and whatnot.
This hospital trip was particularly educational to me and my host family were all too happy to illuminate the finer details of child birth which I also hope helped keep their minds a little freer of anxiety. Cath and her bub checked out just fine, if a bit late on the due date. I kept wondering what would happen if Cath gave birth while I was there and how I would just be in the way; never mind if I was mentally able to witness a birth. I could have managed house sitting, I think. It really magnified just how hospitable this family was to me. I love you guys!
After the check-up, we debated on what to do. We all went down to a visitor center (I believe) in Campbelltown to come up with some idea of what to do and Cath or Cath's mother picked up a brochure for Wirrimbirra Flora and Fauna Sanctuary which sounded like a lot of fun! They had emu, wallaby, kangaroo, wombat, and dingo exhibits to explore. That would be next on our itenirary.
First we swung around to what I believe was the Campbelltown Arts Centre which showcased the artwork of mental patients at the time. Some of the pieces inspired real base feelings. One that really stood out to me was an image of a single girl with her back to us, standing alone in this swirling vortex of scratchy lines. It won a prize. I agreed with that.
We also visited a modest Chinese garden on the lee side of the arts building which again, reminded me of home. Clean swept zen gardens, oriental buildings, koi fish. It was a lovely place!
Afterward we ran around to McDonalds for dinner (Paul and his were uber generous and treated! Thank you!!) and piled in the car to hit the Wirrimbirra Sanctuary. It was a fun drive too with Paul's family telling me about the board games they liked to play, games I'd never heard of. I enjoyed watching the scenery roll by in that late afternoon
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| A pair of emu hanging out by the fence line. I half expected to get pecked at. |
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| A couple of wallabies gorging on good eats. |
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| Most of the wallabies scampered out of reach as we walked by. This one leapt off the trail and turned back to watch us. |
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| On the left is the Australian Grey Kangaroo, and on the right is a wallaby! The kangaroo has bigger ears and a bit more of what I consider a 'horse face.' They're also much larger than wallabies. I was ready to box if it came to that. |
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| Here we have a wombat. Or more precisely a wombat's backside. This fella was big! I thought wombats were the size of guinea pigs, but this one was as big as a medium sized dog! Wow! |
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| No, that isn't a burn, etching, or pen marking, this 'scribble' on the tree bark is actually the larva of the aptly named Scribbly Gum Moth that burrows in these Scribbly Gum trees. |
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| This is the Australia's flower, the Golden wattle! |
The family headed home and we played Skip-Bo, a card game somewhat similar to Uno, well into the night. The game involves closing out 'decks' of cards while trying to block other players from getting rid of their cards--there is a lot of strategy involved and there's a steep learning curve with this family! We had a lot of fun! I was treated to warm coffee and Tim Tams for dessert, so sorry I was slated to leave the next day already.
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We miss u
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