The end of a very long year is finally upon us, and time for us to make some last minute updates, and then to run away to Tasmania while our holiday guests give Lochanbar a real run for their money. We put up just a couple of decorations to make the house look friendly for Xmas
That circular thing next to the Xmas Wallaby is the vent for a solar power roof ventilator installed for us by Solazone at Marcoola. The boss, Ernest, and his sidekick Baden, had already installed two of these at our house in Brisbane, and we knew this ventilator would help shift hot air build up in the cathedral ceiling during the summer and keep the house fresh. Our natives took to Ernest immediately 
Actually, the birds were all rather cheeky and a bit annoying this time. They had become rather too used to being fed by some of our guests, and as a result, were a lot more determined to get up close and personal with us, which is alarming enough when it’s a king parrot
But when it’s a currawong or a huge sulphur-crested cockatoo (or several of them at once!), it can really be off-putting.
It was also causing the birds to fight amongst themselves
The thing is, no one has to feed the birds. We never do, and yet we see them on the front and back decks all the time. Feeding them alters natural behaviour, removes their fear of man which makes them vulnerable to people who would hurt them, and can make them sick or overbreed. So we ask that you don’t. It’s actually a by-law of the estate, and a National Park regulation.
And when they aren’t fed, they don’t hang around and poo all over the furniture. Yours truly spent hours and hours and hundreds of litres of water trying to clean the deck chairs. Not much fun, and the birds promptly soiled it all again 
The deck is a refuge though. In our recent spate of wet weather, some nearly fledged King Parrot chicks hung around looking miserable
At least it was dry, and not that cold. They were all fine the next time we saw them in the dry.
The rain has brought grass, and the grass has brought baby wallabies. One young mum with a joey that had just left the house, was a source of much amusement, because the joey was at that stage when it looked like a skinny little rat with long legs, and was so adorable
Doug had a chance between showers to go for a short walk in the forest, and photographed these mighty trees
I’ll end this post with some of the lovely feedback we’ve had from recent visitors either through our visitors’ book or the accommodation centre feedback page:
Lochanbar was a beautiful relaxing place to stay. The renovations have made this a very comfortable accommodation – home away from home. All the little extras made it more so and we certainly would consider staying there again should we have the opportunity. Having the linen provided was a huge plus. Not having to fit sheets into our airline luggage was so helpful. The snuggle rugs in the lounge were great for we Far North Queenslanders. The beds were very comfortable and a great height for my disabled husband to get in and out of.
This short holiday was a 21st Birthday gift to our Granddaughter. On our first night there she said ‘This is such a lovely place, if I have a family we are coming here for holidays’. I think that is the best endorsement.
I rate everything A+
Thanks to the Lochanbar owners for sharing their home.
We have 4 small children and it was a delight to walk into such a kid
friendly place… with lots of other properties I have to do a sweep of the
property lifting up ‘breakables’ and putting up stair gates!We were able to unpack and immediately relax, we can’t thank you enough! We
had a wonderful weekend of relaxing quality family time!
And this gorgeous picture recent guests left with their note
So all that remains is for me to wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a safe and joyful 2018!