It’s not a bad thing to holiday a short stroll from water and beaches, but time in a more natural setting in my native land is also good for the soul.
Consequently, for a fabulous day in the country, my brother and sister-in-law took us to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park. Brilliant red and green King Parrots greeted us from the roof of the cafe/gift shop. We were soon sitting with our meals at one of the outermost tables, under cover, but open on all sides. My sister-in-law left briefly to fetch something, her meal opposite me. Suddenly a swoop of wings flashed in and out, leaving her plate much emptier than it had been! We later identified it when watching several awaiting an opportunity to gain more groceries from other customers.
For our next jaunt we needed our walking sticks. Two young girls stared to see three oldies hobbling up the path towards them. Our walk into the bush started on a boardwalk letting us watch birds scrabble in the underbrush and flit through the trees and vines. Leaving that, we entered a wild garden. Most of the time this timid person (me), walked behind someone but I briefly got ahead of the gang at a crucial moment: on the other side of a low concrete wall, all coiled up, was a snake. My childhood memories suggested a carpet snake, harmless, but my instant reaction had me racing back to the group in consternation. Yes, indeed, that’s what it was, but my brother felt it his duty to protect me: “I’ll stand between you and it,” he suggested, “and you go past behind my back.” With his large person between me and it, I poked my head around under his arm so he could show me the head, almost invisible in the centre of the coil.
“Look at the bulge!” I said. Part way along one of its several loops was something being digested. The snake was having its after-dinner nap, and not at all interested in the passing parade…
The resort where we were staying had a lap pool which I used almost every day. When our first over-night visitor came, she patiently coaxed me to exercise my recently mended knee. Gradually I built up my endurance and increased the number of laps. I had just returned to our apartment from my early morning swim when my brother saw me and stopped, aghast. I expected some comment about its being before 8 a.m., but what he said was “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress before!” Fourteen years younger than me, he was about 7 years old when I left the nest. On various travels, shorts and slacks served as my attire of choice, but that morning I was wearing a plain beige, ankle-length cover-up for my wet swimsuit.
Packing up time eventually had to come. Not even counting our luggage, a trolley was needed to take the piles of stuff brought for our convenience by sister Alice back down to her car. Two blokes loaded the buggy to the gunnels and I went for a camera. Alice, thoughts on her beach towels being laundered, asked, “Is the washing machine going?”
Quick as a flash, my brother-in-law responded, “Nope. There’s no room on the trolley!”
Such fun we had…
