Desaru, Malaysia

The last time we were in Malaysia, it was 2007.

We were shooting mostly slide film. 

Things have changed. 

We took our first weekend trip out of 

Singapore a few weeks back to explore a bit and enjoy the beach. Desaru is about 2 hours from Singapore, give or take a few hours wait at the border.  We were lucky and made it through pretty quickly both ways. It's been ages since we have rented a car and driven across borders and it can be a little logistically challenging sometimes, but this trip was smooth.

It was a quick trip, but we got in some hermit crab races and a enjoyed a nearly full moon.

We also visited an ostrich farm - a bit underwhelming for the adults, but Cata loved feeding them and checking out the extra large eggs.

 

The beach where we stayed was less clean than the Singapore beaches we go to. The amount of plastic accumulating in the environment in many places we visit is worth worrying about. Cata was also fascinated by the random bits of rubbish we came across on our beach walks. She was especially captivated by the large assortment of flipflops, a motorcycle helmet, and the nest of a Malaysian Plover that we came across.

 

Red-wattled Lapwing

The beach - Tiara Desaru

 

Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Family trip to Australia! We took advantage of our recent spring break by flying to Brisbane and spent a week enjoying the Sunshine Coast. Traveling from Singapore is getting easier all the time and we can't wait to continue to explore.

We stayed in Caloundra and ventured up and down the coast to enjoy some beaches, and inland to the forest, zoo and some wineries. This photo is a view from our balcony.  We rented an apartment via Airbnb right across from Bulcock Beach, which was very family friendly; a playground and a coffee hut right out the door.

Cata did some bird watching, she especially enjoys turning the binoculars around to make small flighty birds even smaller and harder to see.

The country side was beautiful and we found a couple of wineries to visit, a visit to Flame Hill Vineyards in Montville being a highlight. Cata even found a chardonnay that she didn't hate.

Another day was spent in a kayak exploring Bribie Island, a sand island that is accessed only by boat or 4x4.  This island provides some nice sheltered beaches around Caloundra, which were perfect for our 3 year old beach bum. She even took an in-kayak nap on the way back to the put in.

We spent some time looking for wild kangaroos but eventually only found them at the zoo. Cata had a good time feeding them and also enjoyed the giant bouncing structure. The Australia Zoo, founded by the family of Steve Irwin, is definitely a place to check out should you be in Queensland.  

Bright sun in Tee Tree Bay beach in Noosa National Park. This beach is about 30 minutes walk from the main parking area, but well worth the work to get here! Beaches certainly dominated our time in Queensland, but we managed to do a few other things as well, including some bird watching. 

Peaceful evening at Castaways Beach

Blue Tiger Butterfly at the Ben Bennett Botanical Garden

Wallaby in the Bobbie Sattler Nature Reserve

Osprey

 

Silver Gull

Gray Butcherbird

Rainbow Lorikeet

Crested Pigeon

Florida Keys

 

We traveled to Florida for our winter break from school. For the first time since COVID started, we took a trip outside of our host countries and not to our home in the Northwest. We found a vacation home and spent a couple of weeks enjoying the weird, wild, and beautiful Keys of South Florida. We stayed in Key Colony, in the Middle Keys and took day trips to Key West and up to Key Largo. 

We met Matt's brother and parents for a family Christmas. Cata had a great time with uncle Ben, Grace, Grandma, and Grandpa. Matt and Kristi got away for some paddling, diving and fishing.

Left: Ben checks the flats in the backcountry and below a day of conventional fishing = ceviche and fish fry.

Kristi completed an open water course in Kuwait at the end of 2019. We did a bit of diving the last time we traveled in 2019 and then had to cancel a dive trip to the Red Sea. She was excited to get back in the water for a couple days of diving in the Florida Reef-the 3rd largest in the world. (We dove with Captain Hook's in Marathon and Rainbow Reef in Key Largo and can recommend both!)

Initial phase of the stoplight parrot fish (above). Hog fish to the left.

Mahogany Snapper

Yellowtail Snapper

Blue Stripped Grunt 

Squirrelfish

Banded Butterflyfish

Redband Parrotfish

Florida has some gorgeous sunsets!

We had a good time exploring the area around where we were staying by kayak. This led to watching some great sunsets and checking out the local wildlife. Unexpectedly, this included a family of manatees that swam right up to the dock at our rental!

We also stumbled upon this small, wooden boat that had just been abandoned at the end of a journey from Cuba. People who saw it land told us that 4 people had climbed out, changed into clean clothes, and run through the forest towards the highway. In the boat was a large bag of bread and a few fuel containers. The boat would have required constant bailing. In the time since the occupants had left, water leaking in had covered the engine which was clearly repurposed from some other non-marine origin.

Obligatory American Alligator Pic

Ben enjoying the backcountry

Our adventures have become a little less adventurous than they used to be. In fact, we now prioritize going to one place and staying in the vicinity over more exploration. The adventure now is guided largely by enjoying the personality of our 3-year old and watching her eyes light up as she experiences new things.

The Florida Keys also turned out to be a great place to check out bird life. My favorite was this Yellow-throated Warbler that frequented the yard where we were staying.

Also near the house in a marshy area were the Greater Yellowlegs (left) and White Ibis (Right).

Tricolored Heron in the marsh and Least Sandpiper at the beach.

Right: Northern Cardinal. Left: White-eyed Parakeet (we spent two days in Miami before flying home and noticed that, like in Singapore, many of the birds are introduced species from other parts of the world).