Thursday 3rd March 2016.......an unusual day for me!!!

Before I get into my day I want to tell you that I sent some e mails out last night including an attachment of the Wallaby and the baby and I got a few replies back calling the baby Joey and I thought I am missing something here I never named the baby Joey, I know I name just about everything else....so I did what all white haired computer challenged people do I asked Google!!!!



This is what I have learned today!!!

A male kangaroo is called a boomer
A female kangaroo is called a flyer
A baby kangaroo is called a joey

The word kangaroo derives from the Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru, referring to grey kangaroos.

The name was first recorded as "Kangooroo or Kanguru" on 4 August 1770, by Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook on the banks of the Endeavour River at the site of modern Cooktown, when HM Bark Endeavour was beached for almost seven weeks to repair damage sustained on the Great Barrier Reef.

Guugu Yimithirr is the language of the people of the area.

A common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that "kangaroo" was a Guugu Yimithirr phrase for
"I don't understand you."

According to this legend, Lieutenant Cook and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks
were exploring the area when they happened upon the animal.

They asked a nearby local what the creatures were called. The local responded "Kangaroo", meaning "I don't understand you", which Cook took to be the name of the creature.

The Kangaroo myth was debunked in the 1970s by linguist John B. Haviland in his research with the Guugu Yimithirr people

A Kangaroo is a marsupial mammal. It is a macropod which means "big foot". There are over 40 different types (species) of Kangaroo. The smaller ones are usually called Wallabies. The largest is the Red Kangaroo. It stands taller than a man and can weigh 85 kg's. It is the largest marsupial in the world.

On the Australian coat of arms the Emu and the Kangaroo were selected as symbols of Australia to represent the country progress because they are always moving forward and never move backwards.
Kangaroos are the largest marsupial mammals. They belong to the Macropodidae family.

There are 47 varieties of kangaroo, ranging in size from the two-pound rock wallaby to the 6-foot, 300-pound red kangaroo.

Kangaroos usually have one young annually. The young kangaroo, or joey, is born alive at a very immature stage when it is only about 2 cm long and weighs less than a gram. Immediately after birth it crawls up the mother's body and enters the pouch. The baby attaches its mouth to one of four teats, which then enlarges to hold the young animal in place. After several weeks, the joey becomes more active and gradually spends more and more time outside the pouch, which it leaves completely between 7 and 10 months of age.

Female kangaroos enter into heat within a few days after giving birth they mate and conceive, but after only one week's development does the microscopic embryo enter a dormant state that lasts until the previous young leaves the pouch. The development of the second embryo then resumes and proceeds to birth after a gestation period of about 30 days.

The Kangaroo moves by hopping on its powerful hind legs. It uses its thick long tail to balance its body while hopping. A kangaroo can hop at up to 60kmh (40mph). It can also leap over obstacles up to 3m (10ft) high. Because of the unusual shape of its legs and its bulky tail a kangaroo can't walk or move backwards very easily. Kangaroos are found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.

They are grazing animals that eat grass, young shoots and leaves of heath plants and grass trees. Kangaroos need very little water to survive and are capable of going for months without drinking at all.

The kangaroo usually rests in the shade during the day and comes out to eat in the late afternoon and night when its much cooler. It eats mostly grass. It needs very little water to survive. It can survive without drinking for months.

A kangaroo carries its baby in its pouch. The baby is born really tiny and crawls into its mother's pouch. The baby lives in its mother's pouch till its quite large. Even when its quite large it still drinks milk from a teat in its mother's pouch. It sometimes jumps into its mother's pouch head first when frightened.

The Kangaroo moves by hopping on its hind legs using its tail for steering and balancing while hopping at speed up to 40mph/60kmh. When a kangaroo is moving slowly the tail is used as an extra leg and supports the kangaroo when it is standing on its hind legs. Most kangaroos can only move both back legs together and not one at a time.

A male kangaroo is called a buck. It is also commonly called a "boomer" or an "old man".
A female kangaroo is called a doe, or a flyer.

A baby kangaroo is called a joey. Kangaroos have good eyesight but only respond to moving objects. They have excellent hearing and can swivel their large ears in all directions to pick up sounds. Kangaroos are social animals that live in groups or "mobs" of at least two or three individuals and up to 100 kangaroos.

Kangaroos usually have one young annually. The joey remains in the pouch for nine months and continues to suckle until twelve to seventeen months of age. Kangaroos can have 3 babies at one time. One becoming mature and just out of the pouch, another developing in the pouch and one embryo in pause mode. There are 4 teats in the pouch and
 each provides different milk for the different stages of development.


So on to my day...I woke up this morning not feeling 100 % I have had a sore neck and  shoulder for a couple of days now and the only think I can think of that caused it was when i spent that time surfing a couple of days ago I mentioned then that I took a pounding and now I have some discomfort...where I am staying tomorrow tonight my hostess is going to ask around in the small town to see if there is a massage therapist.
I also woke up with zero energy and also it was teaming down with rain....I think being on the road for a while now, the dealings with the cancellation of the house sit and the two waterfall hikes that I did where I got drenched have just beat me up a little so Dr.Pearson got to work with lots of nice hot tea this morning, some lovely fresh from the chickens poached eggs and I just sat sprawled on the couch did some reading and planning and took it easy...
By 1 pm the sun was poking out so I decided to go for a little outing first to Tweed Heads

Just a beach with a green frog!!!

Someone with a good eye and a good sense of imagination!!!
I then drove here

There are some rock formations here that are similar to the Giants Causeway in Ireland, which incidentally I shall see for myself later in the summer...

The first stop was the iconic lighthouse

and then the rocks

I climbed down and sat on those brown rocks at the bottom of the alley and sat for over 30 minutes listening and watching the pounding waves every seventh or so the spray would get me...it was a good chance to stop and think about stuff which I often do on these occasions!!!

I was only out about three hours but I did enjoy the fresh ocean breeze and the little exercise....
Back at the apartment I got my book out again and then Catherine knocked on my door asking me if I wanted a tour of the farm and away we went...they have 20 acres and sell their fruit locally and it has been a family business for three generations.....I am sorry I cannot remember what everything is but Catherine did mention chocolate pudding fruit and custard apples....

This was so sweet!!!

I enjoyed walking around and learning all about the fruit..the farm is beautiful and well kept!!!
Afterwards Catherine let her other dog out Billy is quite boisterous and she thought both dogs would be too much for me yesterday ..so tonight Barney, Billy and I strolled all around the farm!!

Usual stuff tonight..I feel more energized and ready for moving on tomorrow about 80 km down the coast where I have a place booked for two nights.
One thing I did do this morning was call airbnb office and talk to them about the cancellation that happened to me on Saturday...the lady on the phone was very concerned and said she would check into it and get back to me...when I came home from the walk there was an e mail from her  and in it she told me the amount of the payment had been refunded to my credit card and also because I am a very active member and a show of good will they gave me a coupon worth 70 dollars off my next booking...now that in my humble opinion is how to run a profitable and great company!!
Yashi Kochi!!