Travis: About kayaks, kangaroos and turtles

G'day!

Man, I have to tell you so much again. I hardly know where to start.

So, I'll try it roughly in order.

Yesterday we drove north from Hervey Bay (Torquay). Up to about Bundaberg.

The day before my two older ones went kayaking in Noosa National Park. And before that they hiked a bit by the sea there. And guess what: they actually saw dolphins! 5 pieces! And I was not there. Wow, I was a bit annoyed.

But I was able to go kayaking in the so-called Everglades again.

Phew, I was a bit uneasy - on such a small, rickety boat. But then I literally outgrew myself and, together with the guide's mascot, actually sat on the front end of the kayak - which, by the way, means bow in sea dog language. At first my older one held me tight. But then I was all alone there. Honest! Good thing there are photos of it:

...and then completely freehand!

By the way, the mascot is a stingray. They are there where we went paddling. And we actually saw some of them.

The following day on the way north we were again in one of those sanctuaries where they help injured animals. There were lots of kangaroos and wallabies there. They ran around everywhere and you could even feed them. And - now hold on tight - touch it too. At least some. Others were a little more shy.

I thought she was really cool. And some were really nice to me too. My oldest petted one for a long time. Then she probably had what is called compassion again. Because it couldn't stand up or really jump - it just made very slow progress. Because his spine was badly injured. Definitely from a car accident.

Of course there were a few other animals there too. Birds and reptiles, for example. Did you know that some birds don't fly at all? Definitely - but I didn't know that until now.

And I even saw a black-headed python. It was pretty big, I tell you.

I'd rather not face him in the dark. And without a window in between, perhaps not in the light. I'm too small for that and I'm definitely too similar to his prey pattern.

But the highlight was definitely the kangaroos:

In the end we were able to separate ourselves from them and continued driving until just behind Bundaberg, to be precise to Moore Park Beach. And in the evening my two older ones took a walk on the beach there at sunset.

By the way, the beach is directly behind the beautiful accommodation we rented from Karlene. She gave us a very warm welcome and that's not the only reason why we stayed here for a total of three nights.

But back to my oldest's walk: well, they walk there and enjoy the atmosphere and the sea and the deserted beach. And what suddenly comes hopping onto the beach? Two kangaroos! Cool! And who wasn't there? I! Well, luckily I had already had close contact with them beforehand.

This morning we were in Bundaberg at Mon Repos.

Mon Repos

Various sea turtles have been nesting on the beach there for many years. And a clever scientist has convinced the people there that studying and protecting them, including with the help of volunteers and visitors, is much better than hunting them.

They've been doing this there for many years now and there's a great exhibition where they explain a lot about it.

My elders and I learned a lot there. For example, the temperature of the sand in which the eggs are hatched determines the gender of the small turtles. And if it's too warm, at some point there will only be female turtles left. But my older ones said that it almost always takes males AND females to produce offspring. I don't know exactly what's behind it yet. But it will certainly be correct. In any case, they are researching ways to ensure that there are still enough male turtles.

And then my two older ones had a long conversation with a woman who knew a lot about how the Aborigines cook and what plants and spices they use. My older ones were allowed to try things that she had cooked and baked. And she even gave them spices. Just like that. She didn't want anything in return. That was very nice and interesting.

And at the end of the day, my two older ones went to the beach again. And imagine: they saw TWO poisonous sea snakes. Both were alive, but moved very slowly or were almost immobile. I don't know why they were there either. My older ones are currently asking someone named Gugel. But he (or she?) hasn't answered the question yet...

In any case, I was very happy that I had stayed at home.

But enough for today.

See you again very soon!

Love from Travis the Buddy Bear