August 28, 2012

New Zealand Army Warriors farewell their fallen comrades

Thanks to America's SgtMaj for this link.

New Zealand's indigenous Warrior culture is embraced by the NZ military.

This clip is a traditional HAKA ceremony farewelling their fallen "brothers" - lost recently to an attack in Afghanistan


Haka --sometimes termed a posture dance could also be described as a chant with actions. There are various forms of haka; some with weapons some without, some have set actions others may be 'free style.' Haka is used by Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) for a myriad of reasons; to challenge or express defiance or contempt, to demonstrate approval or appreciation, to encourage or to discourage, to acknowledge feats and achievements, to welcome, to farewell, as an expression of pride, happiness or sorrow. 

August 25, 2012

Caption This Winner

We have a WINNER

As picked by the independent umpire......


Babe, I told you that was some premo shit.
Congratulations to Coffeypot!

August 23, 2012

Cat on the Mat with a Rat

Breaking news.... my cat has registered her disapproval with tonight's meal choice by getting her own "Fast Food"


Why yes... yes that IS a rat in her jaws of doom...

She can't quite work out why she's been exiled to the veranda.

August 22, 2012

Pax is feeling challenged

well.... at least I THINK these could be used as challenge coins... perhaps? maybe?

Although I only have a very hazy idea what a CC is - and perhaps these are too big and too heavy.

Anyshinycoin (as my friend Coffeypot would say)

I originally ordered TWO of these - with the thought that I would keep one for my collection and use the second as a future blog prize.

Through an accounting glitch I have ended up with FOUR of them (all duly paid for after I contacted the supplier and advised them they had oversupplied, but I loved them and would keep.. oh and here's my credit card info for the other two...)

Front & Back of the Medallions
Got them from HERE
They are quite heavy... but oh so pretty.  [Australian Army Rising Sun insignia on the front - Australian flag & slouch hat on the reverse]

And seeing that I now have THREE extras... do you think this is the sort of thing that would be of interest to someone that is currently serving "DOWNRANGE" - or would it be one more piece of heavy junk for them to drag about?

One of them WILL be used as a Blog competition in the next few months for my regular readers.  I just need some inspiration on what sort of competition to run.

Hmm....

Limerick comp?  "There once was a Pax from Downunder..."

Haiku perhaps? "Winter Pax rejoices..."

A Nordic Ode? "Bright the day, and kindness surrounds..."

Ehh... or maybe a Military Mentor might make mirthful merriment magically materialise (aka... someone send me a Silly Photo to Caption please!)

Seriously I am open to *most* suggestions

August 18, 2012

August Milsupporting

Yay! I have just joined up with the Soldiers Angels Letter & Epal writing team - and just sent off my first "Hello! How are you?" email.

Hoping it will make the recipient smile when he receives it :)

And my Adopted troopers are hopefully well and enjoying various treats sent over the last month.  It can be a bit hard finding the "Very Thing" to send when you have no contact back but I will keep sending a mix of the useful and the ridiculous - and hope that the parcels are reaching the Lads. Perhaps one day I will hear from them. Until then, I just take comfort in the fact that none of my letters, postcards or parcels are being returned to me marked "Unknown" and keep praying that they are safe and well and constantly amused/bewildered/amazed at the things I manage to send them.

This months parcel is a "Mystery Box" of goodies from the Soldiers Angel store.  Sounds like a lot of fun (with practical items included too) so I hope the parcels reach them soon.

August 15, 2012

CAPTION contest

So how about a quick competition?

okay... so this photo is boring.. lets find another one.


Copyright holder unknown (advise if it's YOU)
Okay so this is a far cuter photo found in the infinite depths of the Internet.

So what say you? Can you think of a nice caption for this photo?


CAPTION ME! The Funniest, Wittiest or Awww-ful will win the prize

The Rules:-

Write a CAPTION for this photo

Must be PG-13! (if you feel that using a rude word is required then bleep it out - let's think of the potential that one day my Mum might read this)

You do NOT need to be a regular reader of this blog to enter (sniffle... but you COULD stick around and read more - just saying)

You can be from anywhere in the world.

If you win - you will need to supply me with a mailing address. I promise to hold the information safely and never share it beyond my Post Office.

If you leave your entry under the "Anonymous" tag - please be sure to add your name or nickname at the bottom so I can track you down later should you win.

If you find that Blogger won't let you post a message or worse - it disappears into the ether - then email me directly (you can find my e address under my profile)

The Winner will need to contact me by last day of August 2012 at the latest with their mailing address or there will be a redraw.

The Winning Joke will be judged on or about the 25th of August

And the prize....


August 13, 2012

And she shopped....

You may recall from my earlier post about the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary that I did a wee bit of souvenir shopping.

Just a couple of things...


The big fluffy koala (so soft so cuddly) is Mine Mine Mine [my inner 2-year-old coveted it and since my inner-babysitter was dealing with Caffeine withdrawal and wanted some peace - a purchase occurred).

The mid-sized Koala is a surprise for my Mum.  She likes cuddly toys just as much as I do but prefers smaller, easier to store sizes.

The Koala & Kangaroo key-toys are destined for my Lads overseas - as are the postcards.

And the pin...  well I got two of those.  One for myself and one to give away to a blog reader.

Here it is enlarged


So how about a quick competition?

okay... so this photo is boring.. lets find another one.

Copyright holder unknown (advise if it's YOU)
Okay so this is a far cuter photo found in the infinite depths of the Internet.

So what say you?  Can you think of a nice caption for this photo?


CAPTION ME! The Funniest, Wittiest or Awww-ful will win the prize

 The Rules:-

Write a CAPTION for this photo

Must be PG-13! (if you feel that using a rude word is required then bleep it out - let's think of the potential that one day my Mum might read this)

You do NOT need to be a regular reader of this blog to enter (sniffle... but you COULD stick around and read more - just saying)

You can be from anywhere in the world.

If you win - you will need to supply me with a mailing address. I promise to hold the information safely and never share it beyond my Post Office.

If you leave your entry under the "Anonymous" tag - please be sure to add your name or nickname at the bottom so I can track you down later should you win.

If you find that Blogger won't let you post a message or worse - it disappears into the ether - then email me directly (you can find my e address under my profile)

The Winner will need to contact me by last day of August 2012 at the latest with their mailing address or there will be a redraw.

The Winning Joke will be judged on or about the 25th of August

August 11, 2012

Pax's Outback Adventures...

A Review of the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary tourist attraction
Well yesterday I finally achieved a goal I have had since I was a wee little nipper - that was to return to visit the Lone Pine Koala sanctuary and see if it is as wonderful as my memories created it [I was 4 years old the last time I ventured there]
And I have to say that from the very start it exceeded my memories.  

First stop for me was the Platypus house.  And YES - I may be a sucker for a happily sploshing egg-laying duck-billed beaver-tailed otter-footed mammal  [I had not realised that Platypii have the same "roll on back at waters surface and kick water about" goofiness that Otters do. Such fun to watch!]
Unfortunately the Platypus house is a "no flash" photo area and since I had yet to change my camera settings I obtained no shots of the frolicking aquatic one. Next Time, Gadget, I promise!

But lets get to the actual review...

The Sanctuary is located in one of the outer suburbs of Brisbane, Australia, and has been in operation since 1927.

There are a few ways to reach it -

  • by car (parking is free);
  • by river boat cruise (expensive @ $65 per adult as it does not include your ticket into the sanctuary. Plus you only have 2.5 hours to see all the animals before the ship departs)
  • by bus (being frugal I chose this method - cost was $4.70 each way and it was a nice 40 minute trip in the morning - a bit longer going home due to traffic.  Just a note if you chose this method - the buses back to the city can get rather full of returning tourists so be patient and don't stress if you have to wait for the next one - they seem to run every 30 minutes or so).  And if you get the 430 or 445 bus it stops directly at the Sanctuary front door.
 Once you reach the Sanctuary - it's ticket buying time.  Cost is $33.00 for adults and $22.00 for children.  Discounts are available for students and pensioners and groups.  See here for details
Once paid, you get a cute koala stamp to the back of the hand - this gives you entry in & out for that day.
Now a word about the staff and the general "air" in the place.  This is very much a Low key run place.  It's not one of the glitzy Touristy type places where you are monitored by staff at all points.  You (as an adult) are expected to read the safety notices posted about the place; and not act like an idiot [most of the signs are simply "Caution - these animals may bite" and symbol signs for "do not put your fingers in this cage" etc] The most dangerous animals are the Crocodiles - safely caged away in their exhibit - but any and all animals can react negatively to stupid human behaviour so it's wise to remember to look but don't try to touch unless there are signs saying otherwise (more on that below)
 
 
And as it says in it's name - there are Koalas EVERYWHERE you look in the central area. 
 
 
SO on to the slide show.... 

Let's look firstly at all the other animals they have...
Map of the Sanctuary.

One of the Dingos.  I saw 3 wandering around their double area enclosure
however there may have been more snoozing in the back area (for a winters day it was quite warm)
This is a wild Kookaburra - perched on the fence of the Sanctuary's
Kookaburra cage.  He was happily chatting with those inside
Southern-Hairy Nosed wombat.  Really big and very active for a mostly nocturnal animal
A Goanna (Perentie) - Australia's Largest lizard bred
 
Emu
The Emus and the Kangaroos are in an large paddock. Access is via a double gate system (so they don't get out and bound everywhere). Feeding the Roos is encouraged ($2.00 bags of feed are available at the central cafe. It contains feed pellets - about 3 handfuls or so for maximum Kangaroo slobberage to occur). And the Roos *KNOW* if you have the feed in your pockets! Photo number one followed me around until all the feed was exhausted and then hopped off to beg more from other visitors. Oh - Feeding the Emus is NOT encouraged - their pecks can be quite painful.


And yes... I was a goofy happy Pax at being able to feed and gently pet free roaming Kangaroos. Their fur is sooo soft!
And a quick review here of their Cafe slash souvenir stall slash Internet access area.
 
Food is limited to two main meal choices - fish & chips with salad (the "Salad" is 2 types of lettuce) OR Chicken burger with chips/salad. They have other snacks (chicken nuggets / sandwiches etc) but if you are vegetarian or keen on healthy food you are out of luck. Bringing a picnic lunch seems to be fine with the owners so you can always bring your own.
Oh and NO COKE! (the horror the horror) - this is a Pepsi zone only [I made do with purchased bottled water so was fine].
 
 
The Meals are cooked to order so expect about a 15 to 20 minute wait for your food (they give you a buzzer when you order and when your food is ready the buzzer lights up like a Christmas tree). The Seating inside the cafe is a bit limited - a few long tables surrounded by chairs. You are expected to share the space so don't be offended if a stranger grabs the seat next to you.
 
Wi-fi access is free to those buying food. Ask for the password at the counter.  There are also 3 or 4 computers set up in the back for "paid access" (a dollar or so for 20 minutes access I think)
 
The Souvenirs seem to be all very good quality but the price reflects this. 8 inch Toy Koala was $34.95 / lapel badges $5.00 each / postcards 90 cents each. Remember to buy your Roo Food here before going on further in to the park.
 
 
OH...and it is here that you purchase your tickets for "Pose with a Koala" photos. The price varies - $20 for one photo / $30 for two... Once you have purchased your ticket they are fine with your companions taking extra snap shots at the same time for no cost (so long as you don't use a flash).
The Lines were long and my money mostly spent on other things [I'll post a separate blog on what I ended up buying :D] so I did not get a photo. Next time perhaps.
 
 
Now the Koalas.... Pens - only a few are enclosed (these pens seem to be for the breding aged ones & mothers with babies) but most of the pens are roofed enclosures with a simple wall separating we Humans from the furry ones. Great for photos.


During the day they have interactive presentations on all the different animals. There are no additional charges for these - all are included in the entrance price. They also have a "Wild Lorikeet" feeding session twice a day. I missed the morning one and decided to leave at 3pm rather than stay for the 4pm "Feed the Birdies". Next time I go I'll remember to pace myself a bit more (more sunscreen too!) so I can stay longer.
It's most definitely worth the entrance ticket - where else can you get to feed and pet a Kangaroo / Cuddle a koala and ooh & ahh over other Australian Wildlife with minimal staff control?
The Sanctuary is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Every day of the year (opening times for Christmas Day and ANZAC day are shorter).


August 8, 2012

Even better than Musk Sticks!

Yum Yum Yum- Vegemite toast is planned for breakfast here (the faster version of breakfast when you just don't have time to cook and savour some bacon)

Since Vegemite is an acquired taste (more so than the sugary pink stuff aka musk sticks aka "Argh! she's trying to poison me!"*) it's best to give all my overseas readers a bit of a primer on how to best eat it.


Disclaimer - I could not track down the legal owner of this photo.
If *you* are that owner please contact me so I can attribute

If you are one of my current Adopted Warriors (via the Soldiers' Angels group) and would like to try this culinary delight please drop me a note and I will cheerfully send you some


*allegedly 9 out of 10 US Forces test subjects had this response

And in news to hand - Baconnaise : the new taste sensation?

August 6, 2012

Close to you

And some days the silliness takes over and I find myself posting --->


Found it HERE