Koala

Like Kangaroos and Platypus, Koala is one of Australia's best known animals. It is an icon represented when promoting Australia to the tourists. Koalas are often referred to as a Koala bear. However they are not a bear. Koalas only eat certain eucalyptus leaves. The name Koala comes from an Aboriginal word. It means "no drink" as they rarely drink water. All liquid they require comes from the eucalyptus leaves. As Koalas are very placid animals, they do not move around much. They are only active for about 2 hours of the day. The rest of the day?, they sleep. Collectible snowglobe bought by my younger daughter.

Aboriginal man with a Didgeridoo

Australian Aborigines are those people regarded as indigenous to the Australian continent and they have been specifically identified as a group of people who share, in common, biological ancestry back to the original occupants of Australia.

This Aborinal man is holding a didgeridoo in his left hand. The didgeridoo, known as Yidaki or thambaljig in aborignal languages, is a musical instrument that comes from the North Eastern parts of Australia. It is oftenly made from a hollow eucalyptus log, with no side holes. It is believed that every yidaki has a spirit inside. A spirit will wake up when someone rightly breathes into the dij.

Yidakis have been played by Aboriginal men for at least 2000 years and have been part of social and ritual gatherings in aboriginal society for hundreds of years. Didgeridoos are ‘men’s business’ and so have not been traditionally played by women. However, some aboriginal societies are no longer so strict about this now.


A magnet bought by my younger daughter.

Kangaroos

Like Platypus, Kangaroos are endemic to Australia. The kangaroo is a national symbol of Australia. Its emblem is used on the Australian coat of arms, on some of its currency as well as by some of Australia's best known organisations, including Qantas.

A common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that "kangaroo" was a Guugu Yimithirr (an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Guugu Yimithirr people of Far North Queensland) phrase for "I don't understand you."

There's a legend that when exploring the area, Lieutenant Cook and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks found the animals. They asked a nearby local what the creatures were called. The local responded "Kangaroo", meaning "I don't understand you", which Cook took to be the name of the creature.

This magnet collectible from my daughter's flight to Australia always reminds me of my 3 daughters and myself.

Platypus

A platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal found in eastern Australia where they live on the edges of rivers and freshwater lakes where burrows can be dug. It is one of the mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.

Because of its features; egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal, it became an iconic symbol of Australia. It has appeared as a mascot at national events and is featured on the reverse of the Australia 20 cent coin. The Platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales.

My eldest daughter bought this cute and very lifelike doll from her flight to Australia.