BACK TO SUMATRA
It had been 2.5 years since I last ventured to Sumatra. I must admit, I did worry that we’d be forgotten. While the story meant a lot to me, I wasn’t sure I’d even be remembered or welcome back to visit. That may sound strange, but behind the scenes it wasn’t always fun and games with a little baby elephant. Read More
There’s a very important animal which I haven’t taken the time to write about before. But she’s by far my favourite rescue story to date. My little mate Dodge recently ticked over into her 10th year, and though I’m getting very aware that our time together is running out, we are still on lots of new adventures together and making the most of the time we have left together. Every little grey hair appearing on her face is a reminder to me how little time together we have left, and also how much time she’s been with me throughout my last chapter of life. Time has flown since she came into my life, and now I am wishing we could be granted another 10 years more. Read More
Margit is the only other carer for Lumholtz Tree Kangaroos in Australia. While Dr Karen Coombes from Tree Roo Rescue cares for adults, Margit cares and rehabilitates the orphaned babies ready for release back into the wild. She lives in the most incredible setting with the rainforest as her backyard, wildlife walking past every other minute. Pademelons, possums, birds…I would challenge anyone to count on just two hands the abundance of wildlife that pass you by in five minutes sitting in Margit’s backyard. Read More
As elusive as the tree kangaroo themselves, it seems so too are the people ensuring their survival. I was lucky enough to venture out to visit the only Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo centre in the world…right in the very state in which I call home. I spent 3 wonderful days with the only two tree kangaroo carers in Australia learning about an animal that very few Australians will ever get to see, and chances are may even be unaware of their existence. Read More
There’s an island just off the coast of Gladstone, offering a retreat for both humans and turtles alike. I spent a couple of nights with Bob McCosker and one of his dedicated volunteers to check out their new facility for the injured turtles in central Queensland. Read More
At 74 years of age, Bob Irwin is a man of retirement age. But instead, he’s chasing lizards under trees, jumping off moving vehicles and more determined than ever to leave behind a legacy for the future generation. I recently spent a few days with Bob down in Broken Hill picking his brain on all things conservation and his hope for the future.
Stop to take a closer look and you’ll see the true meaning in the saying that ‘life attracts life’. One afternoon, sitting in the peaceful surrounds of a special little place we call ‘Red Lake, I stopped to ponder the devastating effects a monoculture crop like Palm Oil has on these rich ecosystems. From the greatest mammal, to the tiniest ant. It’s all right here at Red Lake, somewhere in the last remaining jungles of Sumatra. Read More
I’ve never met somebody who has compassion for all animals big and small. And by small, this lady even feeds her ants and has taught her dog not to hurt them. Knowing this, it came as no surprise when Margaret and her husband Steve contacted me with plans to lock up part of their land for conservation. Margaret and Steve are doing something rather unique with their property set in an arid zone in the NSW outback. They have created a man-made wetlands on their property evolving this otherwise desolate landscape into a green luscious oasis in the Australian outback. In a short amount of time, this conservation property has transformed and is quickly attracting all new kinds of life. They now have plans to utilise this space as a conservation epicentre for Australia.
Johnny is a special little soul, who under the circumstances should show fear of human kind. But indicative of his gentle personality, though living in a tiny cage he could barely stand in, Johnny loved for nothing more than a scratch on the back and a hose down in the hot Sumatran heat. Finally, he now has the chance to chase all the clouds in the sky and count all the bees in the hive. I was lucky this year, to be part of a team of generous people who enabled him to finally be cage free.
Meeting Johnny for the first time.
Aswita is a female Sumatran elephant, who, on her own accord, took on the role of mothering an 18-month-old orphan named Bona. This is nature at its best, a beautiful, natural instinct to care for their own kind. But it’s not just Aswita’s intake of orphans of her own that had me amazed. One morning I woke to Aswita standing guard over an injured water buffalo calf.
A week at Lady Elliot Island turned into days of digging up turtle nests and assisting hatchlings who had been buried alive. A prehistoric event that has happened for millions of years, turtles emerge on beaches to lay their bundles of eggs and cover them for incubation. But on Lady Elliot Island in Queensland, the turtles are between a rock and a hard place quite literally. Unknowingly, the mothers are burying their babies alive. Thanks to a passionate volunteer named John, these hatchlings have a second chance at life.
Coming face to face with Nala, Hervey Bay’s iconic Humpback Whale is a memory I will never forget. Out of an increasing population of going on 13, 000 East Coast Humpback Whales emerging annually in the shallow waters off Hervey Bay, it was a unique encounter with a local legend who has quite an interesting story. Read More
From Little Things 
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