Cairns, Australia.
Here is my favorite fact I learned about crocodiles today:
Crocodiles are born the way they will be for the rest of their lives.
They don’t change or evolve. They just get bigger. Much, much bigger.

Here is my least favorite fact I learned about crocodiles today:
One moment they are there, the next moment they are barely there,
and the next moment, you’ve got no way of knowing who you’re chilling next to.

I also learned that Emus take the cake for the oddest looking creatures.
And dingos love a good ear scratching.

The tiniest Joey? This guy. But the most exciting find of the day?
Seeing this guy in the wild.

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
Let me be clear about something: I know I have terrible motion sickness.
Always have. Cars, buses, trains, airplanes, and most especially boats.
None of them are kind to me. I know what to expect. And yet. When one only
has two days off from work on her trip to Australia, and one’s best friend flies
her to Cairns and reserves a spot on a sailboat for two hours to go on the first scuba
diving trip of her whole life, at the Great Barrier Reef, one temporarily ignores
said motion sickness. One ignores it for approximately twenty minutes,
until one cannot ignore it any longer.
Despite the worst motion sickness I’ve ever experienced in my entire life,
the Reef was worth every nauseous moment. The colors, the fish,
the coral, the reef sharks, the quiet, the quiet, the quiet.
The highlight was the giant clam we swam right up to. You can’t tell in the photo,
but it was the size of my arm, at least. And probably would have taken my arm
right off, if I had given it the chance.

Cairns, Australia.
SPF A zillion, please.

Melbourne, Australia.

Somewhere in between Melbourne and Phillip Island, Australia.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree.
As does the Koala. (Hers is eucalyptus.)
The kangaroos are also here.
They don’t bite, as long as you have enough food for everyone.

Sydney, Australia.
Luna Park, after hours.

Sydney, Australia.
Skatepark in Bondi.