Rare twin koalas born on Phillip Island

Twin koalas are a rare event. At Phillip Island's Koala Conservation Centre, people looking up into the branches of a tall eucalypt thought they were seeing double!

The two heads peeping out of the mother koala's pouch were christened Venus and Mars, because of the position of the planets at that time. All went well while the joeys were small, but when they had to share time in and out of the pouch things came to a head.

One night, during a storm, Mars fell 10 m to the ground. Another female koala dashed to the rescue and climbed back up the tree with Mars on her back. In the morning the Ranger on duty noticed the mistake and gave Mars back to his real mother, who appeared not to have noticed the disappearance of one of her twins.

A couple of weeks later, Mars was found on the ground again; wet, cold and alone. He must have fallen during the night and spent several miserable hours without the warmth and security of his mother's pouch. The Ranger decided that Mars needed to be a hand-reared at a licensed Wildlife Shelter until weaning, which would take approximately 3 months. The plan was to reunite him with his twin, when he was independent.

This, unfortunately didn't happen. Mars became ill and died, and in the process almost broke the heart of his carer. Only the size of a jelly bean when born, koalas take 18 months to become fully independent. Joey koalas are especially adorable and love to cuddle their own teddy.

Walking with my dog, Major Mitchell

Over the years I've tried many different forms of relaxation: from meditation to yoga, tai chi, music, gardening, reading and walking, to name but a few. For me, the most successful is walking with my dog.

As I walk, my mind drifts into a space where, after 15 minutes or so, internal chatter dies down and calm descends. The rhythm helps, along with the pleasure of being in a natural environment.

When we live on Phillip Island (during summer and autumn) the beach is where I walk. Then, during winter and spring, I walk along the banks of the Maranoa River in Mitchell, outback Queensland.

Every day I walk for at least 30 minutes. I seem to need this space to clear my head and come up with ideas for my writing, as well as solutions to problems. Walking with my dog -- Major Mitchell -- is good for my body and mind.

The challenge of selling on eBay: for novices

Scientists say that in order to keep our brains in good working order we need to challenge ourselves with tasks that put us out of our comfort zone. That way, new pathways will enrich our brain's capability.

Selling 4 items on eBay has been one of Doug's challenges for this week, with the online auction ending today. Next time it will be easier and won't require as much assistance from our friend Richard, in Mitchell, who's an expert in such matters and generous in teaching novices like Doug.

The seashore is a celebration of our senses

Having all of my senses intact is, I realise, my good fortune. It means that as I walk along the beach with Major I feel the different textures of sand beneath my runners: hard wet sand, dry loose sand, sand spread with a carpet of soft seaweeds.

Meanwhile, gulls cry, oyster catchers utter eerie calls out on the reef, waves crash onto sand, and then slide back into the bay. The air is cool and fresh, with just a hint of salt and seaweed.

There's a rhythm along the seashore, of tides in and out, following the phases of the moon. With that rhythm comes the feeling of time; of timelessness.

On hot days I relish the feel of sand between my toes and sun on my legs and arms. The ocean is usually too cold for me to feel tempted to swim -- I'm happy to paddle up to my knees and leave the swimming to Major.

Creativity is good for the soul, espec.when unwell

It's not my habit to dwell on negative things; however, the chemical overload I experienced on Tuesday in Wonthaggi is still plaguing me.The worst aspect is unrelenting nausea.


I've had to cancel quite a few things and restrict myself to home and only light activity. It's times like these that I'm grateful for my interest in writing, learning the guitar and drawing. At the end of each day, at least I've achieved something and that's good for me psychologically.


The view over the ocean uplifts my spirit, along with Katie Siamese, and our two German shepherds -- and of course my wonderfully supportive and understanding husband, Doug. I am fortunate in all these things.

Banksias fire my imagination

My drawing challenge at present is a coast banksia (Banksia integrifolia) which grows naturally here on Phillip Island.

This banksia -- in flower, and with distinctive fruiting cones -- would have been one of the first trees seen by the English naturalist Sir Joseph Banks when he came ashore at Botany Bay in New South Wales, in late April 1770.

Up to 25 m tall, this long-lived tree stands out in the low wind-swept coastal vegetation. Its pale yellow flower spikes resemble candles, especially when touched by the last rays of light, at sundown.

Even as a young child I loved its knobbly fruiting cones, and imagined all manner of faces within the closed and opening seeds. I used to peel away the material beneath the outer crust to reveal a chocolate brown velvety layer, a delight to my young senses.

Most Australian children grew up with May Gibbs' books 'Snugglepot and Cuddlepie', in which bad banksia men feature, along with memorable banksia inspired drawings. To close my eyes and run my fingers over a knobbly banksia cone is to enter a sensory wonderland.

Chemical overload is a problem for many people

As a direct result of yesterday's outing to Wonthaggi -- for shopping and medical appointments -- I'm feeling extremely unwell today. The reason is simple: the air I breathed yesterday had an overload of chemicals, and because I'm sensitive to chemicals and normally breathe air fresh from the ocean, my body has rebelled.

It'll take at least a couple of days for me to recover my health, meanwhile I'm suffering severe nausea and fatigue.

Everyone is affected by chemicals to some degree; everyone benefits by reducing their exposure to chemicals. There are a lot of people suffering health effects from chemical exposure without realising the cause. Sick building syndrome is a huge problem in poorly ventilated homes and shops. But enough for tonight. I need to go to bed.