Finally out and about photos…And, of course, .the anticipated kangaroos! Clifton Beach…

Our second kangaroo sighting of the day at a nearby field.  The first, we saw in a flash while walking in the rain forest, unable to take a photo in time.

I must admit that one of the factors inspiring us to visit Australia has been the prospect of seeing wildlife.  Wrongfully, I’d anticipated that we’d see wildlife running about everywhere. 

Perhaps, it was wishful thinking as I can’t seem to shake memories of living in the game reserve, Marloth Park in South Africa, where one only needs to walk outdoors to spot a visiting wild animal.

Warning sign at Clifton Beach.

It’s just not the case in Trinity Beach, although there are areas nearby where wallabies and kangaroos may be found lounging, wandering, and jumping in the fields and in dense rainforest areas.

Finally, yesterday rain or shine, we decided to get out and explore. Of course, the minute we got into the little red car the rain began to pelt the windshield. Shrugging and looking at one another, we decided, “Let’s go anyway. If it gets too awful, we’ll head back.

Clifton Beach.

For a while, the rain came down in buckets, dying down a while later. For a short period, the sun peeked through the clouds as we absorbed the sudden warmth, quickly noticing how hot it became. We’ve yet to soak up a bit of Vitamin D since we arrived one week ago today with the constant clouds and rain.

Hopefully, soon, we’ll experience sunny days to encourage us to head down the steep hill to the pool awaiting us beyond the required fence in the yard. With the sun stronger here than in many parts of the world, we’ll proceed with caution never staying in the sun more than 20 or 30 minutes, the amount necessary to absorb Vitamin D without wearing sunscreen, divided in half by flipping over once.

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We’ve been warned not to go in the sea with the high risk of stingers and crocodiles, often spotted on the beach.

As we drove toward the direction of the ocean, we knew a part of our trip would be to check out the open field that Sylvie and Andy explained where there are numerous kangaroos and wallabies known to hang out in a certain nearby field, most days around 4:00 pm.

Although we took off around 11:00 am, we decided that if we didn’t see anything, we’d make of point of returning to that popular field later in the day. However, the early day visit didn’t disappoint.

Scout Island, named for its boy scout type hat shape is located at a distance.

With no way to park along the busy Captain Cook Highway, Tom pulled into a bus stop, pull off, while I jumped out of the car to walk quite a distance down a bike path in order to get close to the kangaroos. 

I told Tom if a bus came, he could drive down the highway to the roundabout and return to get me after the bus was gone. I’d wait for him on the bench at the bus stop if I was done taking the photos. It all worked out. I got close enough to take these photos and he never had to leave.

We’ll return another day soon hoping to see more kangaroos and wallabies taking turns watching the car so each of us will be able to see them. In any case, we’re certain we’ll see plenty of wildlife as we drive to many other areas since animals heavily populate the countryside. We’re within a short distance from the more wild areas.

Walkers on the beach carrying a parasol to protect them from the rain or potential sun.

On our journey, we noticed another strip mall with perhaps 40 stops including a Target store. Surely, Target would have some type of coffee making device. Not the case. The Target store surprised us as we walked inside.  It was no larger than a specialty clothing shop one would find in a shopping mall, for example, the size of a Gap or Old Navy store. By far, it was the smallest Target store we’ve ever seen.

We giggled as we headed to the tiny kitchen wares department…no coffee machine to be found here when “small electrics” only occupied two sides of a short row, none of which had anything to do with coffee. 

Another scene at Clifton Beach.

Ah, we get a kick out of our typical US expectations, although diminished greatly after 32 months of travel, still lingering in our minds. As we wandered through the mall, we marveled at how different the shops are here in Australia. 

In reality, the shops have almost everything one could want or need; popular clothing and shoe styles, digital equipment, food in abundance, and a wide array of locally grown and manufactured items of varying types.

We stopped at Cole’s grocery store in Clifton Beach to find a huge section of affordable grass-fed meat. The Cole’s at Smithfield mall doesn’t sell grass-fed meat other than a few small pricey steaks. In the future, we head to this location to purchase the meat which was very reasonably priced. With little room in the freezer for more than a few packages, I’ll plan to eat the grass-fed beef only once or twice a week.

Flowers blooming on a tall tree.

After walking along the beach and taking photos, a few hours later we headed home to excitedly review our photos and make dinner. We’ll continue to explore every few days and report back on our experiences. We’re feeling confident that we’ve chosen an ideal location for our base while here in Australia. 

It’s Thursday here, one week since our arrival.  We’re feeling settled in, returning to our “old” selves, sleeping better, eating better, and working our way into a comfortable life, albeit temporary life, here in Australia.

                                               Photo from one year ago today, June 17, 2014:

This interesting plant caught our eye on a drive in the mountains of Madeira. Zooming in, we saw how amazing these flowers actually are. Check out the photo below.

A close-up view of what looked entirely different from the above photo of a plant we spotted in the mountains of Madeira, Portugal. For more details, please click here.