It was now taking three long cranks to get the ute started in the morning. We were having no problems once it did start and some heat was in the engine but the mornings would only be getting colder as we get closer to winter. With that in mind I took the vehicle into the closest Ford dealership to get the second-hand crank sensor replaced with a new one and have this issue dealt with once and for all. With the repairs made and confidence now restored in the vehicle we proceeded to enjoy our next destination.
While not particularly tall as far as mountains go (the highest peak in the range is 1,138m / ~3,800ft), The Grampians provide considerable relief from the surrounding flat farmland. Quite steep in parts they contain many rocky outcrops and thickly treed gullies and creeks (when there has been rain to feed them). The many hikes, walks, scenic look-outs and waterfalls kept us busy for 4 days.
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| Heather at the base of Mackenzie Falls |
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| Rocky canyon traversed on one of our hikes |
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| Great view of the area was the reward for a strenuous hike to 'The Pinnacle' |
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| Adult Crimson Rosella parrot |
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| Juvenile Crimson Rosella parrot enjoying some free seed |
To protect the reputations of the innocent, I must point out that the parrots pictured above were 'non-biters'. It was a Cockatoo and an Emu that provided bites #2 and #3 to complement the bull-ant bite I received a day earlier.
Speaking of bite #1 - a quick update. The hand upon which the ant had bitten me, while no longer aching had started to itch a little. So I rubbed and scratched at it - as you typically do when you experience an itch. I probably should not have done that! The rubbing must have stimulated whatever juice he had spit into me which resulted in some considerable swelling such that I now had one normal sized hand and one bear paw! Anyway, back to the story of my latest bites…
Bite #2 was delivered by a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo while I was hand feeding a whole flock of them. These are pretty big birds and their beaks have some serious power behind them. Luckily it only gave me a nip to encourage me to open my hand to get at the seed I was holding. I duly complied and gave it what it was looking for - it was readily apparent that these birds have worked this scam before!
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| Biter # 2: Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. Fortunately I was spared the full power of that beak! |
Bite #3 came the next day courtesy of an Emu. It thought I had food in my hand, which was quite reasonable of him as I had extended an open hand towards him as if I had something in it for him to eat. Being bitten this time around was my fault entirely as I did in fact offer an empty hand in order to get him to come close. Well, he did come close (as I had hoped), but when he saw nothing was there he gave me a sharp nip for duping him so. There was in fact quite a loud 'snap' to be heard as his beak pinched the softer flesh of the ball of my thumb along with some more 'kiddie-unfriendly' utterances from me!
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| 'Freeze frame' from Heather's video capturing Bite #3 at the moment of impact! |
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| No broken skin but the pinch-mark is easy to see |
Heather got both bites #2 & 3 on video and had a good old laugh at my expense both times. She has since named the whole 3 bites in 3 days episode as “The Great Australian Bite”. Video of each of the bites is contained within videos that Heather produced during our stay in The Grampians. They can be viewed by following the attached links to Heather's YouTube channel:
Bite # 2: https://youtu.be/j23pCbxvAGY
Bite # 3: https://youtu.be/YSEe8cFbt7U
That is all for now. Next report to be issued here in WTF? - Where are The Farrows? should see us return to the Victorian Goldfields.
PS: For those that may be concerned about the state of my bitten hands, all swelling from the ant bite subsided after four days. The Emu’s ‘pinch-mark’ was gone after two days.
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