Today perfect host and sessioneer, Arktik Lake Tony, took us on a promised sightseeing trip to the Central Coast, his old hood. So we visited Hardys Bay, Woy Woy (Spike Milligan’s mum retired there, After visiting in the sixties, Milligan called it “the largest above-ground cemetery in the world”, whoops.) We went through the rich houses of Wahroonga and other beauty spots in this picturesque area of New South Wales. We drove up and down winding roads between the eucalyptus and various other mysterious exotic trees but the key part of the trip was a visit to the Australian Reptile Park.

We arrived around lunchtime and the car park was full. Inside, there were lots of people, families and kids enjoying Sunday at this special place, a perfect destination for families to come and see these bizarre and beautiful creatures. From cute to carnivorous, getting to pat a kangaroo and stroke a koala was really something both unexpected and memorable. It was one thing experiencing the feeding of the saltwater crocodile and hearing the sound of its jaws snapping at its lunch, another to witness an owl happily being plucked from its perch and sitting comfortably on a keeper’s arm. The aggressive and the passive.

We managed to see a duck-billed platypus, swimming and somersaulting playfully through the water and found out that they are only about 15 inches long with a 5-inch tail. I always thought they were much bigger. We saw echidnas which I also thought were bigger. I suppose I could list all the animals we saw, from kangaroos to carnivorous frogs, exotic birds, bats, spiders, snakes, lizards, alligators and children.

Flying foxes, hanging upside down, black-winged stilts with their super-thin legs and tadpoles. A giant Galapagos tortoise, a creature that can live for 200 years and the scary cassowary. I think if you are going to come to Australia you have to do this, see these amazing creatures and the Australian Reptile Park is the perfect place to do it.

Today started with a sesh with Space Summit Jed in Minneapolis and tomorrow we are back in the studio to assess where we are up to with the guitars and how we are going to plan the rest of the recording. We are here for another month but there’s still a lot to do including the lead vocals. But for now beauty sleep.

Music today has been a compilation from sixties Scottish popsters Marmalade, including I See The Rain (1967), Jimi Hendrix‘s fave song of 1967, Baby Make It Soon (1969), a UK No. 9 and a South African No. 3, Lovin’ Things (1968), a UK No. 6 and Reflections Of My Life (1969), a UK No. 3 and US No. 10. Rainbow (1970), a UK No. 3. A cover of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da reached No. 1 in 1969.

Music Of The Daze