cataract gorgeous and lotsa chicks

Cataract Gorge is the main attraction in Launceston, minutes from downtown, a serene public park filled with happy people.

They claim this is the longest single span chairlift in the world. 

It's really smooth and unlike the chairlift at the Nut, not terrifying. I rode across the Gorge with an Indian mom who came to Tassie to escape the smoke in Sydney. 

The reserve is like a botanic garden or Stow Lake, with info about trees and some wilder sections.

Public art

It's summer so the Esk River is running low.

Here's a familiar friend: a giant sequoia, planted over 100 years ago. It's on the national tree register.

I did a complete loop and walked over the wobbly bridge.

There are peacocks roaming around Cataract Gorge, and we were amused by a mom and her chicks by the snack bar.

The chicks are tan, but they do ruffle their feathers in a flirtatious mood.

***

Country club life suits me. Lots of towels and delicious smelling soaps. Free valet parking. And the neighborhood of Cheltenham Gardens is pretty charming.

The front desk has bags of pellets to feed the birds. The ducks have lovely markings.

Word quickly gets around that I have food. .

Later I went to clean out my car, and the ducks swarmed me, not believing I had no pellets for them.

This blue-bill was my favorite. There is definitely a pecking order.

They're like a duck army.

Hungry, hungry ducks.

It's late on Christmas eve, and I'm packing for Sydney, trying to figure out how to bring the Tassie wine and salmon and all the souvenirs I've bought.

Lonnie, as Launceston is called, is a small city, where everyone is friendly. And the skies couldn't be clearer.

I'll be flying north in the morning. May your Christmas be joyful, whether you're having an Aussie picnic at the beach or making hot chocolate and watching movies under a blanket.

Hope Santa delivers everything on your list.

flamingo road

Back in December, I was so excited to see flamingoes in the wild in Torres del Paine. And the Europeans were very nonchalant: We have flamingoes in Spain. And then someone mentioned flamingoes in Florida, which led me to Flamingo Gardens. So let's get the flamingoes out of the way.

No one I know in Miami had heard of Flamingo Gardens, but it's just half an hour west of Hollywood, in Davie, a town known for cowboys. 90 years ago, the Wrays built a ranch in the middle of nowhere. Then they planted some trees.

The trees are incredible. Cacao and bananas and mangoes and Meyer lemons. And lots of really cool fig trees.

Orchids and air plants like Spanish moss were plentiful.

 

Flamingo Gardens is a non-profit sanctuary. There's an aviary, full of local birds, most of them injured. 

 Pelicans and ibises.

Oystercatchers and herons.

The owls were sleeping. Bald eagles strode around their enclosure.

 

 This pretty blue-eyed bird seemed to only have one leg.

 Roseate spoonbills are not flamingoes.

Even the ducks were adorable.

Moral of the story is maybe you don't have to leave the country to find exotic birds and plants. Sometimes they're hiding in plain sight. Just past the familiar boundary where you grew up.

All in all, a fine day. Then we headed to an early bird dinner for stone crabs and roast leg of lamb. A real Golden Girls adventure.

How about those Florida panthers?

stick in the mud

Okarito is also famous for the kohuku or white heron sanctuary.

Charlotte and I headed out in a double kayak across the windy lagoon at high tide and quickly spotted one. As we tried to get closer, it flew off. 

This emboldened us to head away from the official markers into the reeds. 

A heron flew overhead! We paddled to another part of the lagoon and found ourselves wedged into 6 inches of gray silt. We pushed and paddled like a gondola but didn't seem to go anywhere. 

A shag watched from the rock. Eventually Charlotte got out barefoot and wedged us free. 

We entered a peaceful grove of ferns, not far from the area where we listened for kiwi the night before. 

The lagoon had an amber color like root beer. 

We were late returning so we cheated and got a ride back. 

Who needs cross-fit when you can haul a kayak up a steep hillside using only a rope? (Or have someone do it for you.)

All in all, a quiet peaceful way to spend a morning. I'll come back to Okarito one day soon. Glad it hasn't changed too much in the years I've been away. 

Sunday morning

Sunday dawn:  A pair of torrent ducks played in the river. 

We set off uphill on a misty morning. 

We heard more birds than spotted them, but it was hard to complain. 

These begonias were at a house owned by a British family. 

Arsenio spotted two arasari toucans playing in the trees in the distance. 

We saw another choco toucan too and lots of smaller birds including one with a bright blue collar and a small brown hawk. 

But the best sight awaited us after a breakfast of quimbolitos, corn and wheat treats steamed in banana leaves: 

a gorgeous motmot in the tree beside the river.