Extreme heat, bushfires and goodbyes

This past weekend was my parents' last weekend in Australia after a 2-month visit. They've eaten vegemite, tim tams, swam in the ocean, drank Australian beer, but they hadn't yet seen a kangaroo or a koala. To correct this problem, we went to the Walkabout Wildlife Park about an hour north of Sydney to see some Australian wildlife. Unfortunately, we picked one of the hottest days of the year (temperatures topped out at about 44C in some parts of Sydney), and it turns out we also picked a location close to one of the many bushfires raging in New South Wales.

We arrived at around 11am, heard a talk about flying foxes, pet some kangaroos, walked around with the emus, then started a little hike into the bush. On our way back, we were urged to hurry back to the Visitor's Center because there was a bushfire only 20km away and they wanted everyone close by in case they had to evacuate.

After returning to the visitor's centre, we were able to enjoy a nice picnic lunch and check out more of the wildlife (a wombat and a talking cockatoo) before heading back to Sydney. Thankfully, the fires didn't make it as far as the park, and the animals are all fine.

Gus, checking out a flying fox.


My mom, checking out an emu.

Gus and Vic, petting a kangaroo.



The kangaroos, trying to keep cool.


On Wednesday, my parents left for Canada. We had such a good visit, it was sad to see them go. For me, the best parts of their visit were:

1. Watching my parents enjoy Sydney culture as much as we do. The proof that they had truly acculturated was seeing my mom drink beer, swim in the ocean and wear a short skirt (for my mom, this means her knees are showing), and my dad defending the word "mate" (I'm not so keen on it). Both my Dad and Vic spent one evening making a case for what a good word it is and discussing how unfortunate it is that we don't have an equivalent word in Canada.

2. Being able to see my parents every day, especially watching Gus strengthen his relationship with his grandparents. In Canada, we were separated by a 6 hour drive, and saw them only 4-6 times a year.

3. Seeing Sydney through new eyes. Because of them, I have a new appreciation for the birds, trees and food. They loved the exotic-looking birds, like the Ibis and rainbow lorakeets that are common in Sydney. After returning from a week spent in New Zealand, my mom's comment was "I like Sydney better, the birds in New Zealand were brown, I can see brown birds every day in Canada". They also enjoyed the fig, olive and huge gum trees that line the streets in Sydney. And, they particularly enjoyed all the fresh fruit and veggies, and the different types of foods you find in the grocery stores here (like self-rising flour, which you don't see much of in Canada, but turns out is awesome for making fluffy, light scones, mmmmm, with cream and jam, mmmm).