Finally, a rest day! Lucie had taken a couple of days off work and drove me to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, just outside the city. There are koala bears, wombats, duck-billed platypuses, wallabies, possums and echidnas. Sadly I didn't see any of those; because of recent flooding a lot of the reserve was cordoned off. I did get to see kangaroos, kookaburras and an emu. It's a delightful place, with only the flora and fauna that naturally occurs in this part of the country. In the information centre a very sad display detailed a bush fire which decimated the reserve in 2003 and only one koala, Lucky, survived. There were photos of him with a scabby nose and cream on his burnt back. It was a little surprising to see reptiles and amphibians cooped up in glass tanks, in a nature reserve, especially the huge Carpet Snake. I nearly bought a book entitled What Shat That? but instead opted for one on Australian Coleoptera. Now I will be able to identify some of the gorgeous beetles I see!
We had a picnic of quiche, honeydew melon and Tim Tams (Australia's national biscuit) and later I sampled a Chiko Roll from a fish 'n' chip shop, another Ozzie staple, which I assumed contained chicken, but it didn't appear to have any meat whatsoever, even though www.chicko.com.au assures me it does. Later we had dinner at a Thai restaurant, where I, being an unadventurous diner, chose the Green Curry, and it was certainly better than the Chiko Roll. Then, again we watched an Ozzie film, this time, The Odd Angry Shot, about the Vietnam War. Apparently soldiers were conscripted by lottery, based on the date they turned 18!
Anyway, it had been a much-needed one-and-a-half rest days for me, spent with a lovely lady (and an affectionate cat) who will hopefully be visiting me in the UK sometime soon...
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