Year: 2024
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Blue Balls bouncing to the ground.
You know it is Quandong Season when the path you walk along is strewn with bright blue balls. I have found them to be extraordinary and often stopped to collect a few. For the first time however I have seen them prolific on the branch so I went back to the walk I was on,…
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The battle for the Chicken Breast.
Lunch is mostly on the deck looking over the valley below. On this day I had prepared a chicken salad with some left over from a roast. Dilli Darel arrived and sat on the balustrade. A frequent visitor but today as I was tucking in he dive bombed my lunch and went off with the…
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A walk in the hood
The sun is out and my hood is calling. I don’t have to go far to see birds. They are on my deck everyday as my valley turns a beautiful purple. On this walk I see (and hear) magpies, crows, cockatoos, miner birds, willy wag tails, blue eyed honey eaters, doves, butcher birds, welcome swallows,…
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Springin’ Brissie
My valley is getting more purple by the day and jacarandas will be the dominant colour in some parts of town. My yesterday, today and tomorrow sets the tone for the day with its scent and colour. But its all the flowering trees that make me stop along roads to take photos. The yellow tabebuia…
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“Grandma” for the weekend
We were travelling by ferry to a little island off the coast of Borneo called Gaya Island. On the ferry with us was a Malaysian family with three children, two boys and a little girl. The mum indicated the empty seat next to me and told her middle son. “Go and sit with Grandma”. And…
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Sun bears
I didn’t know the first thing about them, but as it turns out they are more endangered then the orangutans. Part of the problem as Dr Wong explained is that there is no data on them and without data they cant be classified as endangered. So if there are any young researchers and nature lovers…
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Can you do this?
Whether it was on the Kinabatangan river or in the depths of Tabin Wildlife Resort and Sepilok we were able to observe some of the animals closely. We had the expert guidance of local guides such as Lee who was not only extremely knowledgeable but also had a wicked sense of humour. Some of the…
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Houses
We travelled around this beautiful country with its lush vegetation, palm oil plantations and tea plantations through villages and towns. In the tea plantation we visited, there was a traditional long house for the workers. The houses are mainly built from ironwood on stilts to allow ventilation in their hot and steamy climate. A bit…
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All creatures great and small.
We cruised on long rivers, climbed up to precipitous canopy walks, walked into the forest, sunk into gloopy mud, dodged leeches and and wandered over boardwalks – oh and we got soaked by torrential downpours on some occasions. Here are some of the extraordinary and some ordinary sights we saw. The skies were full of…
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Borneo’s Beautiful Orangs
I adopted Koyah a year ago at Christmas. This was possibly the seed planted for the trip. I may not have met him but I was so thrilled that Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre gave us the opportunity to meet many more. https://www.orangutan-appeal.org.uk/about-us/sepilok-orangutan-rehabilitation-centre- If you want you can all adopt one ! The centre’s primary mission…
Mezze Moments 