Walking out the door yesterday morning I turned to pull it closed and jumped 20 feet in the air. A large, hairy Huntsman spider crawling down the door nearly gave me a heart attack! Very common here and harmless ... so I'm told. One friend has one residing in her kitchen which she has named, Simon. She won't get rid of Simon as he eats all the flies and mozzies that come in. I think I'd rather deal with the flies and mozzies.
For a change of scenery we drove out to the Belair National Park to take a walk. It's a fabulous place with plenty of covered and shaded barbecue areas, great toilet facilities, playgrounds for children and places to sit and enjoy the park. The cacophony of birdsong is never-ending and such a delight to hear and the fragrance from all the eucalyptus trees is wonderful. I never get tired of it.
Steve discovered a blue-tongued lizard, sunning itself in the shrubs beside our pathway. I'm not a fan of lizards but several people have told me they have them in their gardens and they help get rid of bugs and pests and again, they are harmless but you don't want to be bitten by one!
Several kangeroos were bouncing through the bush and I was absolutely delighted to see koala snoozing in the trees. I've never seen that on our walks in Australia before, only at Australia Zoo.
I don't think there's anything else I need to encounter during our last two weeks here. I'm not good with creepy crawlies.
Harry the Huntsman spider
Lizzie the Lizard - you can't see her legs in the photo. Someone said she is either pregnant or just had a great feed!
Kim the Koala having a snooze in the gum tree
The Vice-Regal's summer residence in the middle of Belair National Park
