Let’s have a chat about hippos not the hungry board game type but the short, stocky water loving mammal who’s name is derived from the Greek word for “river horse”.

It’s closest living relatives are pigs whales and dolphins and they need to stay moist so much so that its skin releases and oily red fluid. Which at first humans thought was blood but is more like a sunscreen with moisturiser and antibiotic combined.

Hippos can remain underwater for 5 minutes before needing to come up for air. Even when they are sleeping their bodies will automatically bob to the surface so they can take a breath, then sink to the bottom again.

They are also one of the most aggressive animals on the planet and the most deadly in Africa, reportedly killing up to 3,000 people each year. Also they can run pretty damn fast up to around 30km/h over a short distant so you may run but they are likely to catch you.

I have only ever seen them at the zoo.

 Hello Monday, hello world, I hope everyone is doing well. It is time for a few more wonders of Australia.

The Wallaman Falls, a cascade and horsetail waterfall on the Stony Creek, is located in the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Wet Tropics in the locality of Wallaman, Shire of Hinchinbrook in the northern region of Queensland, Australia. The Wallaman Falls are located in the Wallaman area of the Girringun National Park which is a fifty-one kilometre drive from the town of Ingham.

As the highest, single-drop waterfall in Australia, Wallaman Falls has to be seen in person to really understand its magnitude. The cascade skyrockets up to 268 metres while its pool dives a further 20 metres below.

The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 240-kilometre stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Allansford. Ready for sweeping coastal views, ancient rock formations and an unbeatable feeling of freedom? Then it’s time to hit the Great Ocean.

The Great Ocean Road was completed in 1932 and is characterised by great variation and amazing sights, including breathtaking views of the Southern Ocean, Easily one of the world’s most beautiful road trips, Great Ocean Road drive was inspired by America’s Highway 1 down the coast of California.

The Jenolan Caves are limestone caves located within the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Blue Mountains, in Jenolan, Oberon Council, New South Wales, in eastern Australia. Jenolan Caves are the largest, most spectacular and most famous caves in Australia.

Scientists have determined, through the examination of the clay found in the caves, that the Jenolan subterranean system is around 340 million years old. This makes it the oldest known and dated open cave system in the world, and it is still being heavily researched today.

The beauty of the Umpherston Sinkhole/Balumbul has to be seen to be believed. Appreciate its size and depth from the viewing platforms at the top of the sinkhole, then walk down into the sinkhole, along the terraces and behind the hanging vines. The Umpherston Sinkhole (or the Sunken Garden) is one of the most spectacular gardens located in the Mount Gambier region. The sinkhole was once a typical limestone cave that formed by the corrosion of limestone rocks by seawater waves and the sinkhole was naturally created when the chamber’s roof collapsed.

That’s all the wonders I have been able to find information on, next week I will move onto something else.

Had a good night slept pretty much straight through, waking at 2am to pee but settling straight back down when I went back to bed.

Found a container of ANZAC biscuits on the kitchen bench left by Tasha.

Having a bad morning shaking a lot.

Been awake since 3am and up since 5am after 2hrs of dozing on and off I was happy to get up.

When I spoke to Kathy she told me Sydney is still sick and off school today, and Kathy is also sick so she is off work and staying home with Sydney.

Tim has an afternoon appointment with his new counsellor, I hope it goes well and he likes the guy.

Tim not home by 3.30pm so I went and met Sam, he seemed happy to see me.

The first of August, horses birthday here in the Southern Hemisphere.

At 7.15 I started to have trouble with the internet dropping out and driving my mad.

Had an appointment with my GP just for scripts and got a copy of the last letter my neurologist sent which says bugga all.

Then on the way home I had Tim take me to Warners Bay Plaza so I could go to Hot Bargain and get a couple of things, it felt good to be able to walk around the store myself. I also went to Barker’s Delight for a couple of danishes.

KAYLA’S BIRTHDAY (NIECE)

Up at 5am not as cold but cold enough.

At 7.55am I get up to throw my warm dressing gown on to take Sam up to meet their driver, only to discover it was raining and so I rang Jess to go up with Sam. I am glad Jess was home so I didn’t have to wake Tim to take Sam.

I have cleaned out part of the linen press, then sorted out a box of rubbish and old photos that was in Sam’s room,about an hour of work and it left me exhausted and with a lot of back pain.

I told Tim that sometime in the next or so I want to sort out his office and make room in a large cupboard he has to store stuff that I had stored in a large cupboard in the dining room before the tree came through the roof. He didn’t look happy but all he said was ok.

Up at 4.50am as from about 3am my body was shaking so much it wasn’t comfortable trying to lay there.

Heard from Kathy she is very sick with the flu type C I think I can’t remember and I can’t but she is feeling like death warmed up, except she is very cold.

The day started out cold but warmed up a bit. I again managed to sort through and store more photos that came of the walls.

I also went through and sorted out a set of drawers that I have next to my computer table as they had become a right mess.

Friday at last been a mostly fast going week, and I feel good that I was able to get some things done.

While I was vacuuming Sandy arrived and she took over, she came to drop off my postage stamps. While she was here she helped me hang a few things, it was great to see her.

She told me about how her bathroom sliding door came off its runners due to her losing her balance and falling against it and how when she was attempting to fix it part of the door fell and hit her in the head cause a nice bruise on her forehead. It also gave her a damn good headache.

Tim had a rehab appointment this afternoon, but decided to take Sam’s laptop that isn’t working to Harvey Norman so they can look at it and say what it will cost to repair it, this what Tim did with his desktop computer and it only cost him $50 for them to look at it and repair it. At least Jess will find out how much it will cost to get fixed.

Tasha came down to get a cane to use she is fed up with the crutches.

Slept well till 2am when I needed to pee after that I dozed on and off till 4.30 when I decided to get up and take my morning meds. I thought I might be able to go back to sleep for an hour or so but no I couldn’t so I got up 5am as per usual.

I spent the first 45 minutes going through the songs on my flash drive and deleting ones that didn’t play.

No visit from Kathy this weekend she is still pretty sick. The flu has gone right through her family.

Well Friday is here again, been a week that seems to have passed in a blink. This morning I am listening to a book of Aussie poems, just something different for the next few days.

Being Friday it is the day for Jo-Anne’s thoughts and my thoughts today are drifting towards clutter and mess, are they the same or not, some people will say yes they are. I, however, do not agree my computer desk is cluttered but not a mess. I know where things are and have items I use daily around the desk withing easy reach.

Tim’s computer desk isn’t just cluttered but in my opinion a cluttered mess, this I say because he can never find stuff. For many years he would complain about my desk and how it was cluttered and full of stuff but then he set up his own desk and the complaining stopped.

Now days our daughter’s well two of them complain a lot about how messy our house is and how we should throw away stuff, Tim use to side with the girls and in the last few years I have had a big clean out of stuff, Tim however has not.

Recently when Kathy was here having her say about the so called mess it was mostly her dad’s stuff she was going on about. This really annoyed Tim and all I could say was “yeah I know how you feel”.

I have spent the last couple of days sorting through the photos that came off the walls and storing them away in containers as I am not rehanging most of them. I want to update the photos with modern ones not something that is easy to do as I have grandchildren who do not like their photo taken.

I told Tim that in the next few days I am going to tackle his office, I know he isn’t pleased with that but I am hoping to get him motivated to do it himself he has been talking about doing it for months.

My girls may call me a hoarder but Tim is just as bad if not worse

as he gets it into his head that he can sell items but when he tries often they don’t sell because they are old outdated things people don’t want or would use. I have no problem with his advertising stuff and if they sell, great but if they don’t toss the stuff out.

He also likes to complain that the girls bring stuff here to store as in keep it safe because Mum will know where it is when it is wanted, this doesn’t bother me much, it does at times but generally nope not bothered.

Ok I have had a whinge this morning and now to post and let others read.

Good morning because it is morning here and another cold morning but we are suppose to be in for another warm day, thankfully we have many warm winter days after a bloody cold start to the day.

Well it is time for this weeks word of the week and I have chosen a word my Nana/Grandmother use to say a lot when driving, as she didn’t swear.

Mongrel: Dog of no definable type or breed

Any animal or plant resulting crossing of different types or breeds.

Despicable person or exasperating thing

Mixed origin or character

A cold and wet Wednesday here and of course it is that day of the week I share some Aussie slang.

Cark it…….To die or cease working

Clacker……Anus or ass

Clayton’s…..Fake or substitute

Coathanger…..Sydney Harbour Bridge

Corroboree…..Aboriginal dance festival

Good morning all another Tuesday has arrived like it does every 7 days and Tuesday is creature day and we are in Africa and the creature we have is the Jackson’s Chameleon.

Jackson’s chameleon, also known as Jackson’s horned chameleon, three-horned chameleon or Kikuyu three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon native to East Africa, and introduced to Hawaii, Florida, and California.

Looking like a mini triceratops, the Jackson’s chameleon has three spiky horns protruding from its face. It’s because of this amazing headgear that it’s called the three-horned chameleon.

Found in the mountains of Kenya and Tanzania, it lives in trees and mimics its surroundings, changing its skin colour to match twigs and foliage, and rocking back and forth in time with the rustling leaves.

Only males have horns, they use them to defend territory, locking them together they try to push each other off the branch.

They are born brown but four months later they turn bright green, the grow to about 30cm’s or 12 inches. Usually docile with human interaction, they can be aggressive with other reptiles and chameleons.