I Can't Stop Watching This Dog!

So cute!!!

This dog has rhythm and knows how to chill to acoustic guitar.  *pat pat*

The Dog and the Chicken

Back in Melbourne now and here for V&A's wedding.  Set in Mantons Creek Vineyard, it proved to be a relaxing place to sip wine in the sunshine.  I even got burnt despite it being quite overcast :-/

Hello ladies!  Nice to see you!  More photos can be found on Kahuna's FB.

The vineyard also had some chickens wandering around.  This was especially stimulating for the beautiful Border Collie who spent the entire afternoon tail-gating one particular hen.  Seriously, it wasn't for like 10 minutes.  This kept going for a good 5 hours and continue as we left at dusk. 

It's so nice that the dog could be entertained so easily!  I *heart* dogs.  The chicken was so nonchalant.

Cheers to the newly married couple, V&A! *clink champagne flutes*

Snorkelling with Spu

When in Cairns, one must go to the Great Barrier Reef.  I had a most fun time swimming with the fishies last time, I really wanted to go again but not as a Nigel this time.  Cue the Spu.  

Spu was a bit worried that he wasn't a strong enough swimmer for snorkelling.  I said, 'I reckon I'm a worse Asian swimmer than you and if I could snorkel last time, you can do it too.'  We contemplated diving but the health restrictions recommended not flying within 24 hours.  Best not to risk it but anyway, it was much more expensive.

We examined a bunch of brochures and settled on the Moore Reef Cruise from Sunlover.  I had thought my previous tour had a big boat but this Sunlover boat was about double the size.  

Our boat.  Ok, it's a catarmaran. 

Spu sitting next to Mr. Green Sea Turtle.  

First pit stop.  Fitzroy Island!  This seemed more to be where locals got off with their BBQ and cricket bats.  

A good 30-40% of passengers got off the boat at Fitzroy Island, leaving Spu and I with a LOT of rowdy Mainlanders.  Of course we were mistaken for them too.  

Once we reached the Sunlover purpose built pontoon, we all jumped off ready for our chosen activities.  Spu and I decided to snorkel first.  

Spu and I channeling our inner ninja.  Stinger season peeps!  I don't need a stinger bite.  

The view from the pontoon.  Water so clear.  Fish so bright and pretty.  

These pics were taken by a disposable waterproof camera and the grainy appearance is genuine, not Instagram filtered.  

Fishies so close to me!!!  Spu and I each tried to touch them but they were too quick.  

We also saw a Green Sea Turtle :D  I couldn't get a photo but I'm so happy to have seen one especially as I was quite disappointed at missing out last time.  I can die happy.  Content with our snorkel adventure, Spu and I decided to hit the buffet lunch and of course missed out on the fresh prawns because they'd been attacked by the Mainlanders.  Grrrrrrr.  

Next actvity - the semi submersible tour.  It's almost a submarine.  

Spu decided that it was too hot for a shirt.  Mainlander demonstrating a Camera Stance. 

Next activity - Glass bottom boat.  It's so dangerously close, it's a wonder they don't hit any of the coral.

My view through the glass bottom. 

Better idea of the view through the glass bottom.  My favourite coral is there too!  The spaghetti looking coral.  I like how it wafts in the water.  

Next activity - petting zoo.  Ok, it's not a zoo, it was a touch tank.

Spu not enjoying the big black sea cucumber.  Me enjoying it too much.  It was slimy and squishy and we were discouraged from squeezing it.  It would spurt water otherwise. 

Another sea cucumber I think.  It looked like a loaf of bread in the water, but when removed became deflated and bit sad :(  Me so happy to have a baby starfish in my hands.  It was alive! 

Next activity - presentation on the Great Barrier Reef.  Held on the pontoons underwater theatre.  This was very pretty and an excellent way of seeing up close the fish you didn't get to meet while snorkelling.  I could sit here for hours just staring at them..... or I could stare at a screensaver.  Nah, real fish are better.

Look at the parrot fish!  It has human buck teeth!  

I was pretty satisfied that Spu and I did EVERYTHING available on the pontoon bar the extra optional activities.  So with our fours hours up on the reef, we boarded the catamaran and headed back to Cairns.

Now for dinner.  I had eyed a ramen bar near my work and even though it's never soupy weather in Cairns, nothing was stopping Spu and I from scarfing up some tonkotsu goodness.  Hearing Japanese spoken within the restaurant is always encouraging and we were seated promptly.  Spu and I had popped in at a good time because shortly afterwards, a queue formed.  Also, when a ramen bar gives you the option of stipulating how 'hard/chewy' you want your noodles to be.....well that's a good thing.

I ordered the Tonkotsu I think whereas Spu, feeling the heat ordered a cold soup ramen.  He was a bit apprehensive but happy with his very tasty and refreshing choice.  We also ordered a serve of the homemade gyoza.

The reviews for this place are generally positive and while it's probably not the best bowl I've had (soup was tasty but some more topping wouldn't have hurt) I was pretty happy overall and Spu (being the less fussy eater) was super happy.  We shall return!  

This Made Me Laugh

Yes, this indeed made me laugh.  I so want a dog! :D

Alaskan Malamute x Golden Retriever

I don't understand the high turnover of puppies at this particular pet store located within the Bogan-central shopping centre where I spend my days toiling for cash.  There are only so many bogans in the world and only so many puppies that one can properly care for.  The bogans can barely look their human selves, so how they cope with a dog completely baffles me.  To observe this pet store turning over new puppies within 2-3 weeks makes me kinda angry.  The cynic within rears it's head and I find it hard to believe that all these puppies are going to a good home and worst still, they probably never came from a good home to begin with.  

Anyway, as much it makes me angry, I also can't stop cooing when I see puppies like these.  

Awww, his/her little howl is so painful!!!  I want to scoop it up and give it a cuddle.   

Even still, who thought of cross breeding a Malamute with a Golden Retriever?  It's a little unconventional and completely stinks of backyard breeding.  I will admit the Retriever temperament would make a Malamute a more agreeable though and I also do love the Malamute fur colouring with the Retriever floppy ears.  However, I will not succumb to buying one.  I will not perpetuate this vicious cycle!!!!  *shakes fist*  Hopefully, this litter did not come from the same Retriever who gave us these puppies.  That would make me very sad indeed.  

RIP Knut

I woke up this morning to some very sad news.  My beloved polar bear, Knut had tragically passed away :(  He was only four years old and very young for his species which can otherwise survive up to 30 years in captivity.

I'm glad that I managed to visit him back in 2007 shortly after the initial Knut-mania.  By then, he had definitely grown out of his puppy-like phase but he was still Knut and I was still happy to see him.  I'm not going to delve into it, but his life was not without controversy.

Knut had recently been put in an enclosure with a few other bears (including his mother who had rejected him) and he was supposedly subject to bullying.  Witnesses who saw the moment Knut collapse report saying it looked like he was having a seizure.  I'm not going to post up the footage, but you can view it here.  It is pretty traumatic to watch :(  Theories are rife that his seizure may have been stress-induced :(  I felt even more sad after reading this German paper's obituary.  :```(

RIP Knut.  I hope you meet your keeper in the Berlin Zoo of the afterlife.  

[Note - It has now been confirmed that Knut died from epilepsy which correlates with the apparent seizure witnessed.]

Samoyed x Golden Retriever

Brought to us by the pet store that sells puppy-farm dogs, here are the newest addition to the glass cages - Samoyed x Golden Retriever pups.  They are so adorable!  *muah muah*  Samoyeds are one of the most placid and happiest looking dogs on the planet (they reportedly make poor guard dogs) and Golden Retrievers are not only very intelligent but also have a most agreeable temperament.  I never would have thought of cross breeding the two but when you think about it, yes, it would be a good mix.

I want to take them all home!  But if I did that, I would be encouraging backyard breeders.  Hmmph.  When the day comes, I am adamant I'll get a dog from a reputable, ethical breeder or adopt one from a shelter!

Malador - Can All Dogs Be Cross-Bred?

I am a dog person.  That's not to say I hate cats, more that I prefer dogs and am not likely to ever have a pet cat.  Anyway, I spotted this puppy at a pet store:

A Labrador x Malamute.  

It's somewhat contradictory situation.  Too much in-breeding for purebred dogs will lead to genetic problems.  But then, can all dogs be cross-bred?  Theoretically, yes and I guess crossing a Malamute and a Labrador is better than say crossing either one with a Chihuahua.  However, I can't help feel I'm looking at a mutant puppy - the Malamute body and grey colouring with golden floppy Labrador ears.

I'm far from an expert in dog breeding but as much as I *furrow my brow* at the deliberate in-breeding of dogs for show pony purposes, I equally *furrow my brow* at backyard breeders of which I think this dog is a product.  Hmmmm...

Totoro (or Things You Buy When You're Alone)

I have wanted a Totoro plush toy since forever.  I only saw the movie a few years ago and whether I liked the movie or not, I still wanted a Totoro.  It's pretty stupid. 

However, I have been walking past this display for about a month now and it's killing me.

That giant Totoro comes almost to my hip! 

I have resisted temptation this far, but now with a 30% discount my purchase would be suitably justified!

I was so happy to have a friend with me here in Rad-City. 

The following day at work, I saw this mini Totoro and well, he only cost $9, so I guess I had to take him home too. 

Mini Totoro hanging out on my work desk. 

Now Big Totoro has a buddy in Mini Totoro.  It's great that they keep each other company when I'm away at work. 

Things You See in the Tropics

Cane toad roadkill.

A gecko's pink underside on your bathroom window. 

Hanging Out in Townsville

Townsville isn't quite as touristy as I expected and despite being a more populated city, it feels much smaller and sleepier than nearby Cairns.  (By 'nearby' I mean a four hour drive).  You can find the usual tropical activities but they're not offered to the same extent as I found in Cairns.  Nonetheless, it's a city which is ideal for those who like lying around on the beach and the slow pace in life.

The first thing to tick of my Townsville list was to visit the Cotters Market in Flinders Mall.

Unfortunately, the mall is undergoing a bit of a revamp and construction sites took a bit away from the atmosphere of the markets but overall I'm not one who buys a lot of craft goods anyway. 

What I did buy were some persimmons from a 50+ year old, grey-haired, crusty eyed, tanned leathery-skinned, male persimmon seller.

Beauty is relative and I guess I would be relatively "good-looking" to the 50+ year old, grey-haired, crusty eyed, tanned leathery-skinned male persimmon seller.  I had selected three persimmons to buy and placed them on the scale, waiting for the price.

"It's $3.40 but for a girl as good looking as you, it'll be $3".  Yay, a 40 cent discount!  After bagging my three persimmons, he then picked out an extra one and put it into my bag.  Yay, a free persimmon!  I didn't have the heart to tell him that I really didn't want another one but thanked him and went on my merry way.  I've always wondered how much my beauty was worth - 40 cents and a persimmon! 

Next on my list was to climb up Townsville's icon, Castle Hill.  'Climb' is probably not the correct word.  I more or less drove a car up to the peak of Castle Hill.

There was a small climb up some stairs to get a better vantage point. 

Yep, here I am at the lookout. 

The view from the top of Castle Hill with Magnetic Island in the background.  

There's only so much you can do at the top of a hill so off I headed to the ReefHQ Aquarium.

Oh hello Mr. Dinosaur.  He guards the museum situated next door. 

Now, I haven't been to an aquarium in about 20 years but I was taken aback by the $25 entry price.  Maybe I'm a bit out of touch of exhibition costs, but given that I only spent an hour there...... hmmmm..

Photographs of fish are pretty boring, so I'm gonna treat you to some videos instead.

Baby shark feeding time.  Look at their cute little mouths.  They look like sock puppets!

Tropical fish in a tank doing fishy things.  Watch for the super-exciting chase sequence! 

Hehehe.  The cleaning prawn Jacques from Finding Nemo. 

The fish getting antsy moments before feeding time.

Seeing all that fish tickled the Asians-eat-everything inside of me and so off I went to the Strand to enjoy some fish and chips.

I ordered a fishermans basket which included calamari, scallops, fish nuggets and a sea shanty.  I had no idea what a sea shanty but realised later it was leftover veggies made into a veggie rissole.  Ugh! 

When in Rome, do as the Romans do - eat some gelati.  Blood orange and turkish delight for me thanks!

The sun started to set, signalling that it was time for me to head back to my temporary home.  

Fish Market Fiasco

A trip to Sydney for me is never ever complete until I eat at the Fish Market. I really do pity the fools who 'don't like the taste/smell of fish/seafood'. You really need to live life people!

I met up with Tina and Shazza who were in town for the UFC tournament (seriously, wtf?!). It was hot as usual and I kept Tina and Shazza waiting as I journeyed in from Ryde after getting my peepers checked by Stevie. This only whet Tina and Shazza's appetite for lobster noodles as they watched the lunch time crowd devour seafood delicacies around them. Mmmm, mmm, mmmmmmmmm I was more than happy to have lobster noodles!

Unfortunately *sniff* our intended main dish never made it to our stomachs as the minimum lobster available was 3kg. I was pretty ready to go ahead and order it but then Tina had a realisation - "Hang on, that's one kilogram of lobster each....without noodles!" Oh hmmm, it was a case of my eyes being bigger than my stomach.

Common sense got the better of us and we made the strategic team decision to let the lobster dish go. *sniff* Eat 1kg of lobster each and be too full to have nothing else or eat a larger selection of smaller seafood dishes? It's a pretty tough choice and I am still debating whether we went down the more satisfying path.

In the end we settled for a cold seafood platter (with lobster of course), 500gm of salmon and kingfish sashimi, grilled scallops, salt and pepper squid and oysters. The latter two dishes which I forgot to photograph.

Oh yeah baby. Me and my scallop babies.

I must also share my traumatic experience of the day.

In general, I do not like birds. I find them kinda creepy. In particular I detest seagulls and other aggressive birds. I HATE it when people feed the seagulls that mill around the eating areas at the fish market. This just encourages them to wait for food, looking at you with their beady, creepy eyes. The table next to us starting throwing the feathered scavengers some scraps and of course, this caused some commotion amongst the bickering birds. I actually was pretty annoyed and said fairly loudly "Oh, DON'T feed the biiiiiiirrrrrrddds!!!!!!!" It probably didn't matter because I don't think anyone on that table spoke English. Regardless, the practice is strongly discouraged with many 'DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS' signs in view.

I continued with my meal, holding my salmon sashimi in my chopsticks while chatting to Shazza.  Tina went indoors to purchase more food. Unbeknownst to me, my food was being eyed by aggressive, little, beady eyes. *shiver* The next thing I knew, two or three seagulls (it happened too quickly!) SWOOPED on me and one of them snatched the sashimi from my chopsticks!!!! I swear my reflexes kicked in and I reckon I punched one of them in defence. Shazza was shocked. I was shocked. The table next to us were ... I dunno... eating their f**king faces out.  Tina came back and we told him what happened and he laughed. Smee would have laughed too. I still don't think it's that funny but then again, I probably would laugh if it wasn't me!!! Moral of the story (do I really need to repeat it?) - DON'T FEED THE FREAKING BIRDS!!!!

I had to placate myself with a homemade ice cream sandwich. It did make me feel a little bit better. Just a little bit.

Despite this, I am not put off going to the fish market but I've learnt a valuable lesson - eat sashimi quickly!!!

Leeds Castle

With Smee having missed the fun that was Go Ape, we had a spare day's car rental on our hands.  A few options were laid out on the table..... should we use it to stock up on groceries, should we explore restaurants/neighbourhoods/landmarks in outer London or should we just cancel the whole thing and forfeit our booking fee (no, thanks!).  In the end, Smee and I settled on visiting Leeds Castle which incidentally is nowhere near Leeds (the city) but rather in the nearby county of Kent. 

JT had told us all about the joy she had at the castle and better yet, she lent me her annual pass!  Woo hoo!  At £16.50 per adult entry in to the grounds and park, they better well be giving out an annual pass.  (Anyone wishing to borrow mine in the future, just give me a yell.) 

The first thing Smee and I noticed after we parked the car was that almost everyone else had a kid in tow.  I think we spotted only two other childless couples during our entire visit.  Next time, I'll bring my rent-a-kid!

Just before entering the park, we were greeted by a most friendly peacock who was standing guard near the public toilets. The path to the castle was a perfection of green which you forget to appreciate until you return to drought-ridden Oz.  The previous owner of the castle had a fondness for birds and many were on display including these Mallard ducks. 

Smee posing with some swans.  More and more swans.  Uh-oh... a swan who looks like he's about to attack Smee from behind.

The castle's barbican and yours truly outside the castle. 

I won't bore you with pictures of the interior but I will show you this:

A bed with a high-rise canopy!  Not the first I've seen, not the last I'll be seeing but I thought it was kyoot, that's all.

Smee just enjoyed being near the birdies.

In the first photo he is thinking about roast goose.

In the second photo.... how to roast a swan. 

Here we are pretending to own the castle.

One of the cool bits on offer at Leeds Castle is the falconry show.  We saw an owl who swooped but I didn't manage any photos.  I have to say though, he was so funny looking with his frontal eyes and surprised face! *hoot hoot!*

 Here's Jack the Buzzard.  Just your everyday big ol' bird.

Here's Jack the Buzzard attacking a moving a target - not the little boy, just the little boy's fake rabbit.

Here's Darlene.  I have no idea what kind of bird she is.  But she was hilarious breaking through the crowd to get to the display area.  She walks just like how a lady should. 

Here's Darlene demonstrating how she kills potential snake predators.  She picks them up in her beak and *slams* them to the ground. You see, there's a psycho woman in all of us.

The vineyard's entrance.  Smee pretending to own the vineyard.  A pumpkin patch!

I do like hedge mazes.  Look at that silly smirk on my face.

Smee's face as he entered the maze. 









Smee's happiness after we reached the centre of the maze and entered the grotto. 

Oooooooooooooh... scary face in the wall of the grotto...

Ooooooooooooh.... scary women in the walls of the grotto.... oooooooh... this stuff would give kids nightmares!

Oh, here's another buzzard tied down to his perch just for us to peer at him.

No, these are not S&M accessories, they're displays in the Dog Collar Museum.  The spiky ones were used to protect dogs from wolf attacks. 

Oh and another thing at Leeds Castle?  They have a Go Ape course!  Hmmmm *ponders about going back soon*.