Our holiday started with a much awaited visit from family from Holland – my cousin Getske and her partner Jasper. We were super excited for their arrival but also a bit worried that their time here might be rainy and windy rather than the sunny weather we’re used to. For the two weeks leading up to their trip, we had a whole lot of rain here due to a cyclone gaining momentum off the coast. And you’ll never guess what they decided to name that cyclone – Jasper!! Fortunately (for us at least!), the cyclone ended up moving well north and the sunny weather returned just in time for Getske and Jasper’s arrival in Yeppoon.
Getske and Jasper started their holiday with two nights in Brisbane to recover a bit from travel and then came to us for the next five nights. We wanted to pack in as much sight seeing as we could so they could really experience our little corner of the world, but decided to start the visit with some time to just hang out and relax.
Our first adventure was a trip to Cooberrie Wildlife Sanctuary (https://www.cooberriepark.com.au/). The team there do such an amazing job of caring for the animals and teaching the public about the different wildlife they have. We arrived in the afternoon just in time for their interactive animal show where you have the opportunity to hold the different birds, lizards, and snakes. I tend to stick the birds and lizards but Jasper gave the snakes a go. Getske was having none of the birds, lizards, and snakes, but she was brave enough to hold a koala.
And of course we had to feed the kangaroos. (I don’t think Getske liked the emus any more than I do!)
While feeding the kangaroos, Rob made friends with this little guy.
We also got to see the wombat make a new friend and were treated to quite a show from this peacock.
After all that time in the sun, we were definitely in need of a swim. The mango margaritas sure helped cool us off too.
Another must do excursion in this area is Woppa – Great Keppel Island. The trip across from the mainland to the island is a 20-30 minute ferry ride depending on the size of the ferry so it’s really close to us. But trip isn’t much fun when the sea is choppy. With Cyclone Jasper swirling around, we weren’t sure it was going to be possible to make that trip but we got lucky and in the end had the calmest waters we’ve ever experienced.
We spent the day on the white sand beaches with lots of swimming and water frisbee too. The water was super warm! It was a truly a perfect day!
After a day of sun and swimming, an evening at home was much needed.
The adventures continued the next day with a trip to Koorana Crocodile Farm which is home to over 1000 crocodiles (https://www.koorana.com.au/). In all the years we’ve lived here, Rob and I have never visited the croc farm. Everyone always recommends it as one of the best things to do in the area though so we decided to give it a go.
It was a great afternoon. Our tour guide definitely loved his job and he shared all kinds of great info with us. Saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptiles around. While the average length is about 4 meters or so, male crocodiles can be longer than 6 feet (Yikes!). At Koorana, they have had some of the largest crocs on record. I’m not sure how big these ones were, but they were quite impressive to see.
We even got the chance to hold a Freshwater crocodile – a freshie as they’re called here. Freshwater crocs have long, thin snouts are generally much smaller than saltwater ones (which you can see in the pics above), but contrary to what you might think, even saltwater crocs are found in fresh water. The feel of this freshie was super cool but I hope to never come across one outside of Koorana!
After a day of crocodile hunting, we had reached our last night with Getske and Jasper. We spent it enjoying a beautiful dinner at one of our favourite restaurants in town. It was a perfect evening.
And then it was time to say our good-byes. But first, a quick stop to stand on the Tropic of Capricorn which runs around the earth through here and nine other countries across southern Africa and South America. Rob and I actually took a photo of the monument marking the Tropic of Capricorn in Kruger National Park in South Africa so it was cool to visit our local one here.
After days of excursions, fun, and tons of laughter, Getske and Jasper were headed off for more Australian adventures and memories as they made their way south along the coast to Sydney. There were definitely lots of hugs and tears shed as we saw them off, but we hope it won’t be such a long time before we get to see them again. Until then, we will enjoy the memories we have of these special days together.