24. A Giant Pelican Winked At Me!
The Case of the Next Big Thing
Hello, friend! Hope you’ve had a great week!
We’ve been enjoying a few nights away at Twin Waters - a coastal suburb of Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland, catching up with some very VERY old friends.
Old in the sense that we know their origin story - not old as in ‘ravaged by time’. Clearing that up, so they still invite us away on trips and let us move into the granny flat on the site of their eventual mansion.
It’s been a great few days oohing and ahhing at kangaroos sleeping under trees, watching the light dance on the lagoon amidst kayakers and mini sailboats. Dear reader, are you a holiday-maker who uses all the facilities in a resort? Or do you just enjoy kicking back and getting into a snooze groove?
Fishbird Catch of the Week
We post twice a week on Fishbird Central. This week’s catch included:
2023 Bram Stoker Awards Winners!
Deciding on your next read can be a challenge - so why not let some award winners make it to the top of your stack? In this post we check out the winners of the last round of Bram Stoker Awards in 2023! We snoop on the Superior Achievement in a novel, first novel, middle-grade and young adult awards! Something for everyone on this list! For a full list of nominees, check out our prior 2023 Bram Stoker Awards Final Ballot post!
Check out the latest post here - 2023 Bram Stoker Awards Winners!
Halls Gap Motel - Victoria!
On our latest road trip around Oz, we were lucky enough to stumble across the Halls Gap Motel in Victoria. What a find! With the Grampians (Grampian?) Mountains as a backdrop, kangaroos and emus wandering in the neighbouring fields, and a comfortable bed to sleep in - this motel ticks all the boxes! Check out our review and pencil it in as a ‘must stay’ on your next adventure!
Check out the post here - Halls Gap Motel - Victoria!
How Close Can You Get to The Old Rotten Macadamia?
Friends help friends find Big Pelicans, Big Pineapples and Old Macadamias!
We said “Hello!” to the Big Pelican in Noosaville, who batted her eyelashes at us a few times, and tried to get us to hire a boat. We were too smart for that, but fell into her ice-cream trap - which turned out to be delicious and refreshing.
Full of the joys of a paper mache buzzard, with “flapping wings, rotating head, opening beak and blinking eyes”, we snooped out some giant fruit!
“Hello, Big Pineapple!”. We did our very best to avoid the Big Pineapple Music Festival that was in full swing in the field over the road, and assured the security team that we were only there to get a shot of pine. You can’t climb INTO the pineapple at the moment, which … let’s be honest … would be a bit of a sticky wicket for some - but we soldiered on and still patted its fibreglass sides with glee.
Not to be outdone, a big Old Brown Macadamia sang a siren song, calling us down from the pineapple into the shade of its creaking shell. “Hello, old macadamia!”. She was a little worse for wear, so we hid in a side bush and took a sneaky picture so as not to alarm it and have it roll off down the hillside.
How many of Australia’s “Big Things” have you been to? There are still a LOT of fibreglass creatures on the list that we hope to see in the coming months. If you’ve seen your fair share of Big Things - what’s been your favourite?
Quick Fire Wrap Up
Currently Reading: ‘Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders’ by Kate Griffin. It’s 1880, and dancing girls are going missing from ‘Paradise’ - a criminal manor run with ruthless efficiency by the ferocious Lady Ginger. Seventeen-year-old music hall seamstress Kitty Peck finds herself reluctantly drawn into a web of blackmail, depravity and murder when The Lady devises a singular scheme to discover the truth.
Currently Watching: Lots of random strangers walk to breakfast along the lagoon path. I’m sat on the balcony in my Dr Who pyjamas, hopefully looking like an eccentric writer as I type this, and not like a homeless person who has crawled up here on accident.
Currently Wondering: What literary treasures await us in Eumundi later when we stop in to snoop on their bookshop. Also, no - we don’t have enough books yet.
Wishes for the Week
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead, friend!
As you begin new adventures or continue kicking sports goals this week - we suggest you channel your inner ‘whatever-type-this-is’ monkey that we saw at the zoo yesterday.
Poke your head curiously around any barriers that present themselves to you, ask politely for pieces of the choicest fruit on offer, and then just take what you want if it’s not immediately given. But do it in a cute way.
Stay cool, punks.
‘The kangaroos have hopped off with all the scrambled eggs again’ — Julia Child (probably).
Jen x