The Big 4

It was Labor Day in Australia this past Monday which meant a NATIONAL HOLIDAY (well actually, it wasn't national as some states don't get it....I couldn't begin to tell you why though I'm assured it has something to do with horse racing)!

That being said, JL and I decided to take advantage of the day off work and head down to Kangaroo Valley for a night of camping (and Wombat hunting). The highlights of the trip include the following:

* Arriving 45 minutes before dark even though its only a 3 hour trip from Sydney.
* Having small disagreement when JL decides to drive randomly (and slowly!) through the campground looking for the perfect campsite before returning to the first one I pointed out.
* Attempting to set up the BIGGEST TENT EVER MADE.
* Attempting to set up the BIGGEST TENT EVER MADE lengthwise into gale-force winds.
* Having the biggest tent ever made's poles snap in half (according to my predictions and in direct contradiction to JL's vehement assertions that "these tents are made for tough conditions").
* Hearing JL curse and swear before promptly getting his hand pinched into the snapped tent pole after which the cursing and swearing promptly redoubled.*
* Repacking the car (in the dark) and driving to civilization (motel in Berry).

Still it ended up being a great weekend as I managed to spot the Big 4:

1. Red Kangaroos.

2. Wombats.

3. Echidnas (did you know, only one of two surviving monotremes**).

4. Pippys.


OK, maybe those aren't the official Big 4 and yes, a Pippy is a mollusk....but I still found them all in the wilds of Australia (or at least the wilds of the Australian national park system) within a 24 hour period! JL was also very proud of the Echidna spotting as it was from a moving vehicle (though I incorrectly shouted "hedgehog" when I saw it meandering along the side of the road). I did manage to get some real photos of each of the above as well (other than the kangas who are notoriously cagey***) which I will post one of these days.

* Note: Artistic license has been taken -- JL is actually quite a calm person, so swearing and cursing really meant a bit of mumbling under his breath, small frustrated sighs and half-hearted attempts at keeping an up-beat attitude. Let's be honest, this is rather boring (though a lovely way to deal with stress), so I've decided that since this was, in fact, JL's version of "cursing and swearing" I was free to refer to it as such.

** Taught to me by JL who seems to know everything about everything -- granted, he was overly confident about the tent.....but I like to think of that as optimistic, rather than wrong.

*** An absolute lie. Kangaroos will lie there looking at you and cleaning their pouches until you are pretty much standing on top of them. But I missed the picture opportunity and this is MY blog after all.....