Crikey! Enough of these spiders.

What is it about zoos that make me immediately transform into a child... as in, I wanted to shove pass all of the other youngsters so I could get the best view of the animals and would plaster myself to the glass of each exhibit to watch whatever animal stare back at me. We spent all of Friday at the Australian Zoo (Steve Irwin's) running around like the little kids who can't even pronounce the names of the animals (prime example: the echidna which I called the enchilada).

Why was this such a good zoo experience? One, it wasn't crowded at all.. in other words, we did not have to deal with the usual screeching kids who demand for every stuffed animal souvenir. Two, although the zoo was rather small, it was the most interactive zoo of my life. We got to feed the elephants, watch an otter feeding... the list goes on and on. One of my favourite parts of the day was the tiger show (see pic below). I think my mouth was hanging open the entire time.


We also got to chill with kangaroos and pet koalas (so strange.. you just go into this area called the "Koala Walk" and there are koalas just moping around in the trees. Next to a tree it simply says "Pat a koala." Ok.) As we were leaving, one of the workers was walking a wombat around on a leash. This made me happy.

The rest of the weekend was once again basking in the greatness of the Gold Coast. Saturday involved surfing, which I hadn't done for awhile. I'll swallow my pride and be honest.. I am afraid of waves. Maybe it's an inferiority complex, but I don't like things that are bigger than me and knock me down. So it takes me a good while to get used to being thrown like a rag doll each time a wave hits me as I swim out, but eventually I get over it and begin the many failed attempts at surfing. It was a fun time, as you can see. But seriously, I do like it.

There has been an influx of spiders here lately. I've been loving it because it doesn't pertain to my house and the stories that are told are greatly entertaining. Case in point: Abbey's house. Situation: Abbey is casually going through her dresser to pick out clothes when she sees legs (not her own legs, but a spider's legs. That's the point of the story). Panic follows with an immediate call to the troops (as in anyone who is nearby, and more specifically is male). Once recruited, every item is taken out of her room to find the creature (see pic below).

The spider is once again spotted, and with much strategizing, a frying pan is used in an attempt to murder. You know the situation is desperate, though, when a frying pan would not do the job. When being told this story, the highlight for me was when Chris matter-of-factly stated "I had to use a bookshelf to kill it" (it was actually Abbey's dresser, but same difference).

Nevertheless, another spider was found on the kitchen floor in her house, in which Tiffany killed with a "no smoking sign." We were then eating dinner when we saw a lizard crawl on the wall. No one did anything about that.

I love Australia.