ColorPlay Fibers

The last half of my trip was the most fun. From Sydney we flew to Hamilton Island which is at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

1. reef view hotel, 2. hi welcome, 3. reefworld, 4. stinger suits ,

5. giant clam, 6. scuba, 7. Hamilton_Island, 8. hi koala, 9. Hamilton_Island

I snorkeled out on the reef three days, and tried scuba diving for the first time. The super-hero suits we are wearing are stinger suits for snorkeling. This time of year Irukandji Jellyfish are found on the reef, and since their sting is potentially deadly, I was OK with wearing the silly looking suit. I found Nemo! I saw GIANT clams. At our hotel we got to have breakfast with some koalas, and I got to hold one for a picture. He smelled lovely, like eucalyptus. I never wanted to leave.

After discovering the treasures of the reef, we flew to Brisbane and then went inland to stay at a fabulous B & B called Cougal Park in the Border Ranges National park.

1. st andrews cross spider, 2. red necked wallaby cougal, 3. Rainbow_Lorikeets, 4. Cougal_Park

The setting was magical. Hugh and Elizabeth's lovely home is surrounded by 400 acres of rainforest filled with hundreds of exotic birds, wallabys, koalas and more. The spider I photographed was a kindred spirit. She had decorated her web with some fancy zig-zag stitching. I was in heaven! I never wanted to leave.

I took lots of knitting projects with me (most of them Christmas gifts) but hardly spent any time knitting. I ended up staying up 'til 1:30 am Christmas morning finishing my gifts. They were well received and I had a lovely Christmas with my family.

I wish you all a healthy, prosperous 2009 filled with love, laughter and lots of knitting!