Afternoon Wobbly Stroll

Nicole was feeling a bit poo yesterday. We went for a walk in the morning at Bunyaville Forest and she forgot her hat, and it was pretty hot so we reckoned it was a sort of low-grade sunstroke thingy.

Though in the afternoon we went to the flicks and saw Death at a Funeral which had us both in fits of laughter so it might have been a strain on the mastoids I suppose.

Whatever, she got a headache in the evening and retired to bed early and still felt a bit wobbly this morning.

Off she went to work anyway in the afternoon and after a bit of footling around I persuaded Eloise it was time for a nap and settled down with a book in the hammock.

My ear pricked up slightly after ten minutes or so when I thought I heard her dulcet tones but then I decided it was a power tool or something and went back to reading.

Only for my ear once more to subconsciously scan and alert me to a plaintive, no make that a demanding "NEIL!" being stridently projected at full volume.

I'd left her window open - hot day again - and listened outside for a little while to hear her singing some unrecognisable ditty, so I stretched up and pulled aside the curtain ever so subtly and poked my nose over her windowsill to see her sat in her little bed, singing away into her second-hand karaoke machine. She looked up, saw me and, raising an eyebrow said "Hello."

Recognising that she wouldn't be falling asleep I thought why don't we do something nice and consulted the National Parks book for a suitable destination.

The entry for the Venman Bushland National Park had a picture of a wallaby on which, I thought, could hardly fail to be a winner.

"Let's go and see some wallabies" I said. "You'd like that wouldn't you."

"Wobblies!" she said, and that was that.

So off we set and, of course, she fell asleep in the car. Good job really because I took a wrong turn and we went around the houses a bit.

But we got there heventualleee and embarked on a little stroll which took us down by a tree-lined creek which offered shade and lovely reflections on the still water.

The forests south of Bris where this was (not a million miles from Have-a-Grope Forest) are a bit different from up North, with paperbarks much more prevalent. They're a bit more Bushy, if you catch my drift.

Eloise was merrily toddling along but got a bit tired after a while so elected to be cuddled (her euphemism for carried). "Where are the Wobblies" she asked, then insisted, then demanded. "I want Wobblies."

"WOBBLY!!!" she hooted as we broke into a clearing and indeed there were two, now hopping into the forest at breakneck speed.

The walking songs for the day were "Shoo Fly" and "This Old Man." She hasn't quite mastered the Nick Nack Paddy Whack line yet, but we're working on it.

Later, after getting a little lost, we saw another wallaby. She and It didn't cotton on for a bit, so I whispered "Look over there...." and she followed my pointed finger. If I'd had a free hand I would have stuck my other finger in my ear.

"WOBBLY!!!"