Wicked Winter on the Sunshine Coast, Australia

I’ve written recently that winter on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia doesn’t really get cold. Sorry, folks, I take it all back. It’s now wickedly chilly and some mornings I’m sitting here with
socks, slippers, all my clothes and the pink fluffy dressing gown I couldn’t live without over the top. Hot stuff I know.

My eleven year old son, who’s a great source of Australian news, says winters aren’t usually this cold on the Sunshine Coast. Apparently temperatures have been as low as 5°C (41°F) and oil and fan heaters are selling fast. But when you’re out in the sun it’s fine.

Free Entertainment in Noosa

We had a good day out a couple of weekends ago at a water festival at the Noosa Regional Botanical Gardens on Lake McDonald where fish, ducks and turtles abound. It was another fabulous free Noosa event, this one aimed at teaching us how important our waterways are to the environment and why we need to keep them clean, a message which wasn’t lost on us.

The wildlife presentation by Geckoes Wildlife was a highlight and if you like the idea of someone turning up to your kid’s birthday party with a bat, a toad and a ten foot python they’re the people to call.

How to Kill a Cane Toad Humanely

After living in Costa Rica, my kids did know that cane toads, the amphibian scourge of Australia, were imported here from Central America but how to kill them humanely was news to us. Apparently it’s okay to kill cane toads in Australia because they aren’t native but were brought here to eat beetles that were eating the sugar cane. Cane toads are bad news for the Australian eco-system because they breed fast, eat native fauna and, being naturally toxic, they kill native animals who eat them thinking they’re a frog.

So here’s how to kill a cane toad humanely, because the man from Geckoes Wildlife says it’s just not kind to go at them with a baseball bat. Read carefully now, this could come in useful some day. First catch the cane toads in a plastic bag and pop them in the fridge until they fall into hibernation. Then put them in the deep freezer where they will die painlessly. Now don’t forget to use the dead cane toad to fertilise your garden.

Well, I’m always interested to learn new things and I like to think I’m open to new experiences too, but I can’t imagine trying this out so I probably haven’t lived in Australia long enough yet.

Feeling Sick? Relax, Enjoy the Photos of Lake McDonald and the Festival

Noosa District Concert Band in the Amphitheatre

A Geckoes Wildlife Presentation with Martin Fingland and an undesirable cane toad: Educational and Entertaining

View Across Lake MacDonald During a Free Boat Tour

Martin and a Fruit Bat: I love bats and apparently humans are more closely related to bats than to monkeys. Look at it's arm and hand with five fingers and its cute furry face. Sweet.

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Good luck with all your plans!