Hi, I am finally not exhausted. What a wild week! We left home one week ago today. The stay in South Austalia was very educational. Everyone is amazingly niceand very friendly. One man on the tram apologized because it was raining! Our tour guide on kangaroo islandwas verykind and considerate. He seriously tookit uponhimself to show us every animal on the island. The island culture is very close knit. Only 4500 people on an island 95 miles long and35 wide. Not sure if that is exact but only about one person per square kilometer. Most of the roads are gravel. There is an extreme water shortage. No ground water to pump. Animals drink from rivers and watering holes. Theyhad their last rain last OCtober. And may see rain again in June. They have huge rain barrels 5000 or more gallons each. Our guide stores 26000 gallons at a time. We taught him how to make alligators, they donthave thatdrink nor do they have iced tea without sugar. As hot as it is here,you would think that would be popular. Tea is served everywhere. Go figure! We saw yacca bushes that grow a very small amount each year and flower onlyevery 25 years. There was one that was 300 years old about six foothigh. That is a slow grower. There are a type of an ant that. Stings like a wasp, they live in large colonies. When they felt our vibrations they all came pouring out. Yuck!!!! We beat Feet out of there. Then when we were looking at koalas, (fuzzybutts they say) therewas suddenly a bunch of birds calling and squawking that meant a snake was nearby, another hasty retreat. Seal beachhad a sign that a snake had been spotted. Like the grizzly warnings at Glacier prak. Underneath in large letters it said "DO NOT PANIC". Apparently, it is an issue.
There lives also are deeply affected by fire. The bushes and trees contain highly flammable resins and the. Dryness creates bush fires. There was a very large one and 700 firefighterswent over on the ferry and it took them threeweeks to control it all. The townspeople kept the fire fighters who were on rest time fed and entertained. They played instruments and performed and organized football games. That was a cool story I thought. I learned so much from having a small group (2 others plus us). You could ask questions and learn more culture. We are often being mistaken for Canadians here. The accent is similar. And we are pale as ghosts. We are heading for the reef/ jungle portion of the trip now. Snorkeling tomorrow on the Great Barrier reef hasbeen a life long dream! Hope i dont get eaten by a shark! That would harsh my groove! Well, that is all for now. Hope you are all doing well! Take care! Kim