Watch out for mermaids and bull sharks!

We're now settled into a short house sit that was a last-minute booking. Everything was arranged just a day or two before the sit started yesterday. By contrast, some of our sits have been booked more than six months in advance. Life is rarely boring when we're house sitting!

We are now living in Mermaid Waters, in the Gold Coast area of eastern Australia. I took some shots from Google Earth, to try and explain the layout of this area.

This photo is the Gold Coast area, with the Pacific ocean on the right. The narrow strip of light colour is the sandy beach that runs for 35 miles (57 kms) along the east coast of Australia.

Here's a photo of Mermaid Beach taken yesterday, looking north to the more populated tourist area. It was blustery, as you can see from the sandstorm clouding the hotels at the furthest section on the right. 

Looking south the area appeared less densely populated. I did walk at the sea edge, but it would be a little too cold for swimming for my liking. We've also just come from a home with a swimming pool that was up to 84ºF (29ºC) some days, so I'm a little spoilt. Mermaid Beach is also known as a surfing beach, so the waves are not ideal for me.

This area is famous for its intricate system of inland canals and waterways. This is something new to us. It amazes me to see that most homes are waterfront. Again, I'll try to explain using Google Earth.

Here's a closer look at the housing area, back in off the beach. You'll see the waterways there.

This is Rumrunner Lake, one of those waterways. The rear of this home faces this lake. Apparently the lakes are dredged about once a year so that the sand is returned to the banks and the homeowners once again have sandy beaches in front of their homes. We also experience the tides.

When we met the homeowners yesterday, we were told that bull sharks are a possibility in the waterway. Apparently one or two have been sighted in the past 20 years, so it certainly seems like a low risk. However, there's a nice swimming lake within easy walking distance, so that may be my first choice. I walked there this morning with one of our housemates, Molly, a Maltese. It was hot and humid, so she went in for a swim. When I brought her home, I showered her off. She doesn't look too impressed, does she?

This evening we had black swans in front of our yard. Apparently they're native to eastern Australia, and settle in wetland areas.

We loved their bright red beaks. From what the neighbour told us, they visit frequently and are tame enough that you can hand feed them.

Anyone who follows this blog will know we've had rain following us through much of our travels this season. Yesterday was no exception, as we had a severe thunder and lightening storm during the night. Here's the sky, earlier tonight, so we may be in for a repeat.

Our policy is to respect the privacy of our homeowners when it comes to sharing photos of our locations. However, in this case our homeowners have the home listed on Airbnb (click on the "Airbnb" wording to view). With their permission, I am able to share photos of their lovely home and views from their outdoor area. When you click on the link, the bottom left corner of the main photo has a link to all of the photos.

We are certainly grateful to be experiencing a major tourist area, but living as a local in a tranquil setting. That's one of the features of house sitting we really enjoy.