wildlife - Curious Karibella

2023-02-092023-02-21

Cairns Australia

Okay, Australia has a reputation for having dangerous animals, but after Africa, I am now not super scared of Australia. Our first place to stay in Australia was Cairns in Queensland. They call Queensland The Sunshine State! So that makes Queensland the Florida of Australia. It was so stressful getting into Australia! You can’t have any food going through biosecurity, especially meat and vegetables, and fruit. I had a chicken sandwich in my bag (I thought it was fine) and some peppers (I honestly thought I had thrown them out). Thankfully, the very lovely Bio Security lady only gave me a warning and did not fine us. The long Bio Screening wait and the Chicken Sandwich caused us to miss the small bag drop window for our flight, which meant we could not get on it. FYI, that flight was canceled later, so it is good I had that chicken sandwich. The lady at the Qantas desk said she could re-book us on a Jet Star flight. She gave us Taxi coupons and told us where to go.

Jetstar was way better than Qantas. I know this because I have taken a Qantas flight, and it was okay. FYI, if you are on a flight and love funny movies, Ticket to Paradise is hilarious! On the flight, I got three complimentary snacks because we had to move flights, and I enjoyed my time as much as you can on an airplane. When we got to Carins, it was So Hot! I was wearing pants, and it felt like it was 100 degrees. It was probably only 93, but it was still so hot. We got the rental car out, and it was literally as hot as an oven. We went to our Airbnb inside a hotel. We love Airbnb’s because you have your own kitchen, and you can have a lot more room! The rest of the day we spent in the pool and eating dinner.

Cairns Exploration

We did not do a lot inside cairns, we spent two of our days Scuba Diving, but I will tell you about that in a post probably called Great Barrier Reef Diving. What we did outside of cairns is more important. On Tuesday, after we had done all of our diving, we went to have breakfast with the koalas. We went to Hartleys Crocodile Adventure and ate breakfast. It was more like koalas as a dessert for breakfast. Not to be eaten but to pet and look at. The Koala was adorable, and its fur was velvety. Koalas, in my opinion, would be an okay pet, but they sleep most of the day and eat so much! They sleep for up to 20 hours a day and eat 500 grams of eucalyptus daily! Sadly for the koalas, they were not my favorite thing. After the Koalas, we went on a Crocodile cruise. The tour guide got the crocodiles to jump out of the water to get meat chunks off a stick. It really was amazing to see just how stealthy the crocs can be, I saw one surface and swim word the boat, but it went under and appeared at the front of the boat, and it surprised the guide. The crocodile sanctuary (I don’t know if it was an actual sanctuary, but they kept the crocodiles and fed them and took care of them) had once held the world’s second oldest crocodile! You might have noticed from my writing that crocodiles were not my favorite.

The Black-Headed Python and Inland Taipan

The Snakes were my favorite. While I wouldn’t say I like snakes that are threatening me, I Love Snakes that I can hold or touch and look at. I got to hold a Black-Headed Python! It felt so muscly and thick, but the skin felt so thin. I could really feel its muscles moving, and it was really cool to feel it wrap around my hand. The Black-Headed Python can grow up to 6.6ft and is found in the upper coastal part of Australia. It is one of the only types of Snake that can eat other venomous snakes! The Python is not venomous. It is a constrictor which means it squeezes its prey to death. We had to go to the snake show, so I had to leave the Python. At the snake show, a man held a very short, fat python. It was a short-tailed python because it had a short tail. Next, he brought out an Inland Taipan. The deadliest Snake in the world. Deadly means the most fatal venom, not that it has killed the most humans. The handler was holding it; if it wanted to, it could have bit him and me and gotten away. Thankfully this one was specially bred to be handled and okay with the show. It was not a trained snake, but that would be cool to see. People rarely see an Inland Taipan because they like to hide. They mainly eat rodents and small prey.

Babina Boulders

After the Crocodiles we went to Babina Boulders, an area with a river and boulders. We drove for a while, and when we got there, I seriously doubted this would be any fun. It was fun; I sat in the freezing water, reading my Agatha Christie. The boys jumped off a massive tree into the river, and I was the only one not to get fully in the water. My book was exciting, and spoiler alert, somebody dies. Many people do, and I think what makes Agatha Christie so interesting to read is her colossal plot twists. The entire day was fun but quite exhausting.

2023-01-162023-01-29

The Dive in Bora Bora

I have to admit Scuba Diving was not my favorite activity. My Scuba training was not a good experience, Thankfully my wonderful Mom Scuba dives and makes sure I have a good time and go slow. The first dive I ever did outside of training was amazing thanks to Mom. The dives this time around were both pretty awsome too!

I always wake up nervous before a dive so I did not eat much. When the dive boat came to our boat to pick us up I was ready.

Our first dive site was pretty close to our boat and it was called Anau. A-na-oo. The dive was roughly 40 minutes long and we went to 32 ft or roughly 12 meters. The coral was beautiful and my favorite part was the fish.

There were so many bright fish and things. Most people don’t know this but colors disappear underwater. They don’t actually disappear you just cant see them without special lights. Red is the first to disappear at around 20 ft then orang at a little over 50. Since we were only at 30ft I could see orange and all the other colors of the rainbow (except red and pink). One interesting thing that happened with colors is, I had hot pink nail polish on and it looked purple underwater.

Back to the actual dive. Have you ever seen a Giant Manta Ray? They can have a wingspan of up to 30ft wide! Note: Manta Rays are Not birds They are fish, they look like a sting ray. Sadly the rays we swam with were not that big, only 7-8 ft wide (roughly 2.5 meters) Manta Rays have big “ horns” on the front of their heads. They are not actual horns but fins. Reef manta rays have curved horns also know as devil horns. Manta Rays predators are large shark and Orcas (killer whales). A great show on Disney plus is called Secrets of the Whales. It has a very interesting episode on Orcas that I would highly recommend.

All in all the dive went really well, I saw a Barracuda (oooooooo Baracooda). that looked like it should be in finding Nemo, i saw lots of zebra looking fish and bright orange fish. I even cracked a joke about Deforestation because parts of the coral were all knocked over. I have to say, I was a little disappointed on my first dive when the coral was not all bright colors and the water wasn’t absolutely clear (Thanks a-lot Nemo 😒 tricking kids into thinking that the sea life talks 🙁 :). It is true that Disney movies don’t depict the real world to a T.

The Second Dive

Teavaniu was our second dive site and, you wont believe, We Went Beyond The Reef! Dun😦 Dun 😲 Dun! 😱 If you don’t know, I’m referencing to the movie Moana. A girl surprisingly named, Moana, goes beyond the barrier reef of her Island to explore the ocean and find Maui, demigod of the wind and Sea. Great movie for All ages and if you have not seen it and you love pineapple 🍍 you have to watch it!

Back to the dive, I can really get sidetracked with just a little bit of humor! 😏 No more Jokes (for now) this dive was deeper by ten ft and seince we were right next to the reef and there was huge swells above us going to crash the party on the reef ( crash onto the reef) we had lots of fun swaying in the swells forty ft below the surface. The sea floor looked like it had roads running through it big enough to fit a car. All I had to imagine was some power lines and you get an underwater dessert. There was a shark and the usual bright fish. I kept seeing fish with weird patterns and crazy colors! Fish no matter how small are very fascinating!

Great Dive Site

I think diving in Bora Bora was the best diving I ever did. You don’t have to go deep and you can see some pretty awesome fish and sea life! We used Bora Bora dive Center but one of our instructors was not nice at all. One key thing for divers is you Can Not rent gear, you have to dive with an instructor even if your certified.😒 I can also now say that I dived at Bora Bora witch is a famous dive place. If you Scuba Dive, Bora Bora is a must visit. 😁

2023-01-132023-03-11

How Brother Fox Caught Brother Rabbit

In this post I will tell a story that I read for my school subject, Writing and Rhetoric. At the end I wrote an adventure that Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit go on with another friend. Please keep in mind while reading that animals don’t talk but it is a fable and animals don’t go fishing. It is a fable and you must go along with it.

How Brer Fox Caught Brer Rabbit

Note: Brer is a contraction of the word brother. Also I am citing the next 12 paragraphs from chapter 7 of Writing and Rhetoric book 5.

One hot summer day in the South, Brer Fox actualy did catch Brer Rabbit. He got some tar and mixed it with some turpentine and shaped it into a figure about the site of a fat baby. Brer Fox took this Tar Baby and set him in the middle of the big road. Then he hid in the bushes to see what would happen.

Well, he didn’t have to wait long. Down the road came Brer Rabbit lippity-dipity, dippity lippity – just as sasy as a jaybird. Brer Fox lay low and Brer Rabbit came prancing along until he spied the Tar Baby, just sitting there.

“Good morning!” said Brer Rabbit. “Nice weather this morning.” The Tar Baby didn’t say anything, and Brer Fox lay low.

“How are you doing today?” asked Brer Rabbit. Brer Fox, he winked his eye slow, and lay low, and the Tar Baby didn’t say a word.

“How you come on, then? Are you deaf?” demanded Brer Rabbit. “Cause if you’re deaf l can always holler louder. HOWDY, I SAY! The Tar Baby stayed still, and Brer Fox, he lay low.

“You’re stuck up, that’s what you are!” cried Brer Rabbit. “And I’m going to cure you, that’s what I’m going to do!”

Brer Fox, he sort of chuckled in his stomach, but the Tar Baby didn’t say anything. “I’m going to teach you how to talk to respectable folks if it’s my last act!” Shouted Brer Rabbit. “If you don’t take off that hat and tell me howdy, I’m gonna bust you wide open!” Well, that Tar Baby stayed perfectly still, and Brer Fox lay low.

Brer Rabbit kept asking questions and the Tar Baby kept on saying nothing. Presently, Brer Rabbit drew back his fist and hit the Tar Baby up the side of its head. Right there is where he got into trouble. His fist got stuck and he couldn’t pull it loose.

The tar held him fast. But the Tar Baby sat still and Brer Fox lay low. “If you don’t lemme loose, I’ll knock you again!” cried Brer Rabbit. With that, he fetched the Baby another swipe with the other fist and that stuck too. The Tar Baby didn’t say a word and Brer Fox lay low.

“Turn me loose! Turn me loose before I knock the stuffing out of you!” shouted Brer Rabbit, but the Tar Baby didn’t say anything. It just held on while Brer Rabbit kicked. He lost the use of his feet this way. Brer Fox just lay low, chuckling to himself.

Then Brer Rabbit started squalling and saying, “If you don’t turn me loose I’ll butt you with my head! So he butted, and his head and that got stuck too. Then Fox sauntered forth looking as innocent as one of your mother’s mockingbirds.

“Howdy, Brer Rabbit,” Brer Fox said. “You look sort of stuck up this morning.” And then he rolled on the ground and laughed til he couldn’t laugh anymore. “I expect you’ll take dinner with me this time, Brer Rabbit. I’ve laid in some calamus root, and I’m not gonna take any excuse this time.”

Completely my opinion

As you can see the caricatures in this story are not exactly virtuous. Fox is clearly trying to catch Rabbit to eat him. Rabbit is portrayed as a gentlemen at first but he quickly loses his temper. This story was written by Enid Blyton. The version I used was an adaptation by Joel Chandler Harris. Note: This paragraph and beyond are my own work.

Refutation

This Refutation is about the story How Brother Fox Caught Bro Rabbit Adapted by Joel Chandler Harris. The parts of the story that are improbable and improper are when Rabbit thinks the tar baby is real and alive. An Unclear part is how Fox was able to make and shape the Tar Baby without getting himself stuck. The Improper part is Rabbit Punching, Kicking, and head butting the Tar baby.

At the start of the story Fox is crafting a tar baby that he puts in the road. Rabbit comes along and greets the baby. Being made of tar the baby did not respond. Rabbit quickly got very flustered at this and became angry enough to punch the baby. He got stuck (duh) and was even angrier. He punched and kicked the baby until he was fully stuck then finished it off with a grand finale of Head Butting the baby and getting completely stuck. Fox came out and shrewdly asked Rabbit if he would join him for dinner.

It is completly unbelivable that Rabbit would be stupid enaugh to think that the Baby was alive. It is also Improper that Fox was trying to catch and eat Rabbit. Even though fox’s intentions were not pointed out it is clear what he is trying to do. Since the animals behave like humans lets think about this story as if the charactures are human. Fox would be cannibalist and Rabbit would be put in jail for beating up another.

The author intended to write a childrens story but it (in my opinion) it turned out to be a improper fable. However if you are looking at the fable from a non critical mind you would see it as a funny life lesson. I only had to think about how to criticize it for my school assignment which I am more than happy to do.

Bro Fox, Bro Rabbit and Bro Bear go fishing

Situation: Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit and Brer bear decide to go fishing together. They walk to a nearby lake. They all want to catch the biggest and most fish.

Brer Bear: “Good morning Fox, Rabbit. How are you this fine morning? For your information I am quite well for I plan to catch the biggest fish today.”

Brer Rabbit: “The biggest fish!? How could a silly fool like you catch the biggest fish amongst us? Thats a ridiculous notion! Im going to catch the biggest fish today!”

Brer Fox: “Ha! Neither of you could come near catching anything! Brer bear is too stupid and Brer Rabbit, your Far to small to even use an oar! Im going to catch the biggest fish today!”

Brer Rabbit: “Okay since i am the only one here with any brains, I propose we have a contest and whoever wins gets to eat the others!” Note: I am sticking with the theme of the previous story. 🙂

Brer Fox: “Thats fine with me, for I know both of you will be delicious and you are to stupid to win!”

(Brer Rabbit said to Brer Bear “ Do you think if he eats us then he will become fat and stupid?”)

Brer Bear: Thats all fine by me because both of you clearly don’t have any brawn, let alone enough to haul a big fish.”

All three said “Let the Contest Begin!”

Narrarator: Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit, and Bro Bear all went to different spots on the lake and began to fish. Little did they know that all of their boats were slowly drifting to the deepest part of the lake. Fox looked up from his fishing and shouted

“ Hey you! Don’t drift so near to me, you’ll catch onto my line!”

At this the other two looekd up and realized their positons. All three fishers paddled away from each other. Then out of the blue Brer Bear shouted,

“I’ve got one, I’ve got a big, huge one!”

Then Fox shouted,

“I have one too! A ginormous one!”

At this Rabbits blood turned to ice. Only for a moment though because he felt a sudden, hard tug on his line! He too then exclaimed with joy his find.

Brer Rabbit: “I’ve got one, a huge Colossal one!”

Then all three Cotten Headed ninny Muggins started reeling in their lines but as they were, somehow, without them noticing, all three boats were quickly “drifting” toward each other.

Within seconds the three boats crashed together and capsized. A few seconds later all three fishers came spluttering to the surface and in realizing their folly they all swam to the shore and walked home in shame.

Alternate ending: Within seconds the three boats crashed together and rapidly sank below the surface. Bear, Fox and Rabbit were never seen again and there was never any quarrels of disruptions in Animal Oppidum Loquentes.

2022-09-202022-09-22

South African Penguins

The Scenery and the Drive

The scenery was amazing! The drive to the penguins was along the coast and through towns. We learned about the history of each town. At one point there was a tunnel that had one side open. I really enjoyed the drive and one thing I learned was, there was 14 mountains that were called the 11 apostles. If you are into awsome landscape photos I would highly recommend this drive!

Puppy the Seal

Puppy, in my opinion, is a funny name for a seal. It makes me think of a cute fat animal, wich is what Puppy is. When we saw him he was being hand fed by a man and he seemed to know what to do. We were told that he came up on the docks to get snacks and that he was very friendly. The friendly part might not be true. He was more exited about the food then anything. I think he did not mind us touching him and maybe he liked it but he was super exited about the food. While we were with Puppy I bought a really cute elephant satchel! We then moved on so we could see the penguins.

The Penguins

The penguins were awesome! We had to climb over some rocks witch was super fun. Then we had to wade through freezing water to get to the penguins. When I got to the place where the penguins were I saw what looked like a dead shark! I asked our guide and he confirmed it was a dead shark; and just to clarify, the shark was a baby so only a foot and a half long. The penguins were sitting on a rock and they would waddle into the water. I was surprised at how fast they could move under water. They were little bullets! We went to a second place with penguins but it had lots of people in it and it was less special.

2022-09-142022-09-16

Staying at the Zanzibar Pearl Hotel

Staying at the Zanzibar Pearl was super fun! They greeted us with fresh juice and hand towels to clean our hands when we got there. The Hotel was very nice, and the rooms were beautiful. On each bed, there were flowers and two straw hats. We did not get to take the straw hats home, but we did get to use them on the beach. The beach was super beautiful, and the sand was super fine and soft. There was a lot of seaweed on the beach from the tide, and there was also some garbage, but it did not bother us. It seemed like low tide lasted all day, and high tide only came around 4:00 pm. High tide was the only time we could play in the waves because at low tide, there are not even waves, and the water was down to the reef. When it is high tide, the waves are really fun to play in, and it is entertaining to get washed up on the beach.

Our Days of Play in the Indian Ocean

The communication between guests and staff at the hotel was challenging. One of the ladies at the restaurant named Gift was nice and friendly. One funny problem was that most mornings we asked for a plate of mangos and pineapple and they would say that they did not have those things. I would say, “that’s funny because I had those yesterday” then they would bring them.

Scuba Diving at Mnemba Island

On one of the days, we went Scuba diving at Mnemba Island. You do not actually go onto the island but rather above the reef that surrounds it. The water was pretty cold for me. I am always nervous about dives but I think once I get under the surface I feel better on the reef. There was a lot of fantastic fish and colorful ones too. The two exciting things that we saw were an eel and a turtle! The turtle was super giant and majestic looking its eyes were brown and big and it was super cute. We did two dives and the second one was the better one. I had a terrible start because my fins were rubbing my toes then I had to go to the surface to fix my goggles then when we went back down I was much more confident and happy.

Boarding the board to Mnemba Island

Hotel Review of the Zanzibar Pearl Boutique Hotel

The Zanzibar Pearl was an excellent hotel and provided a relatively good experience the people were friendly, and the food was good, and the venue was beautiful. One thing I would say is if you can not sleep on a hard matters, the mattress at this hotel are incredibly hard. The hotel has things it could work on and things to improve on, but I would still recommend it with five stars.