A new year, a new name

After a long silence on my blog, I feel I'm returning having emerged from a chrysalis in which I've undergone some significant changes. Not so much to my form (I'm far from being a butterfly!) but to many of the circumstances of my life.

I got married almost three weeks ago, so now I have a new name (Mrs/Dr Claire Urbach), a new home and neighbourhood, a new routine, new responsibilities and joys as a wife, and I'll soon start a new semester of teaching while continuing the ministry training I began last semester.

We had a lovely time away on our honeymoon and stayed in some gorgeous spots along the north coast of New South Wales - the sunset photo below was taken from the balcony of our riverfront apartment at Nambucca Heads. If only we could have stayed there longer than one night!

 We were very excited to be able to get a close-up view of koalas in the wild at Port Stephens - not just one koala, but a koala with a baby on its back, descending a tree, walking across the ground, and climbing up another tree! Very cute. I wanted to upload a video here but it didn't seem to work, unfortunately.

 There were also some awesome goannas which we were fortunate to spot - this large one (a lace monitor, I think) at Rocky Creek Dam in the Byron Bay hinterland...

 

 ...and this one up a tree at the top of Mt Yarahappini in the Nambucca Valley region.

Previously my Dutch husband has been (jokingly) convinced that all famous Australian wildlife (kangaroos, etc) do not really exist and if you do see one it'll be either at a zoo or wildlife park, or in the distance in the wild, and is therefore just a person wearing a suit. But I think these sightings of koalas and goannas were sufficient evidence for him at least for the existence of those creatures. The jury is still out on kangaroos, though, until we see one that is not in a wildlife park or dead on the side of the road!