There came a big spider

Don't move just hold it right there - I'm coming for you!

The Northern Golden Orb Spider! One of the biggest spiders in the world - bigger than my hand and quick off the mark, these guys' special talent is for weaving invisible webs across footpaths and then lying in wait for unsuspecting passers-by. Of course they're hoping that assorted bugs will fly into their webs and provide sustenance for a few days but these traps are also inconvenient for humans as the webs are a bit messy when you walk into them and the idea of a 6 inch spider crawling across your head is a bit unnerving - no they're not lethal unlike most of the other spiders in Australia but they can give you a painful bite! Fortunately we've spotted all the giant spiders that have lain in wait for us thus far on our rain forest walks.

Phew!

Last Saturday a hot humid Parkrun at Airlie Beach on the Queensland coast gave me a particularly slow time. Thirty degrees, humidity the like of which I've never come across before plus jet lag all conspired against me - but it was a lovely course. Will give it another go next week! Ran in a real downpour this morning and was hoping it would cool me down but it just felt as if I was sweating very heavily - will my shoes dry out in time for the 7 am start tomorrow? Managed to snaffle a lunchtime pie today - a peppered steak pie at Proserpine Pies and Pastries and finished off with a rather large custard croissant - tasty! The locals sat outside but we were content to sit in the nice chilly air conditioned interior.

G'day mate!

Quite pleased with this photo from a big deserted beach this morning as we didn't see these chaps until we were almost on top of them, they flew off but we then managed to stalk them close enough for this shot of one of them. This is a Red Capped Plover, a dainty little thing isn't it! We also spotted a couple of larger waders on the same beach - these were a solitary Whimbrel and some Bar Tailed Godwits - these latter birds travel from the Arctic on their non-stop flight to Australia - the longest flight made by any migratory bird in the world. They weren't able to tell us if this was with Quantas or BA!