Peace and Quiet

Yesterday was a day I used to get a lot done around the house. First day of the New Year, it seemed a good idea to start off on a clean foot.

It was perishingly hot so I put the air con away and used a task/reward system to tick things off my list.

Come lunchtime, I felt the need to get out in the fresh air, even if it was unpleasantly humid.

So I went and got a chicken roll and went down to the Lake. I swear it was 5 degrees cooler down there.

And it was quiet. There were other people about, families playing by the water, but they were far enough away to be on the limit of my hearing.

I sat under a gum, brushed away some ants and just enjoyed the noise of nature. The warm wind in the leaves, the cicadas singing away. I don't meditate or often stop what I'm doing to contemplate life, so this was a nice moment to just chillax and soak up some nature. It really is a great way to recharge.

I want to go down there more, it's not very far from my house and just beautiful year-round.

I even made an avian friend.

What do you do to relax?

Chasing Cassowaries

When we were in Townsville last month, hubby and I made a pact to do some things we'd never done up there before. After talking to the locals and a bit of googling, we decided one cool thing to do would be to visit a national park.

We settled on Girringun National Park, 51km from Ingham and a lovely day's drive from Townsville (though made a lot longer by Bruce Highway roadworks). The main attraction was Wallaman Falls, the highest, permanent, single-drop waterfall in Australia.

But on the way there, we spotted this sign:

And I said to C how awesome it would be if we saw a Cassowary!  To me, Cassowaries are seven-foot tall warrior birds that will slash your gut open with one swipe of their claws as soon as look at you. How thrilling to see one in the wild! And then, ten minutes later, we came across two of them! Not seven foot tall though.

One was shy and wouldn't come out of the bush, but his mate wandered boldly out to inspect our cars. I was so happy I had the good camera in my lap so managed to get a few shots.

Hullo. When he saw his reflection in the car window he did a double-take and wandered off again!

So then we continued on to the falls. They were well worth the long drive up the mountain - spectacular! And no hiking to get to the lookout, which my bad feet were thankful for. C took all these shots with the Nikon - I reckon he has a good eye, don't you?

 In holiday attire - practical runners and shorts because North Queensland's winter is like a Spring day to me!

I highly recommend this drive if you're ever up in the Ingham area - oh and the Olympia Cafe in the main street isn't bad for lunch either!