Mornings in Maleny

thank you airbnb!

I've stayed at a few unique AirBnB homes over the years, but waking up to wallabies grazing on the front lawn made this home that extra bit more special.

It was Jade's great planning skills that led us to this charming Queenslander home in Maleny. Set on an acreage, it was a little further out from town and not somewhere I would have chosen myself (usually I choose the most centrally located place available). But that's what made it all the more surprising. We took our hosts' advice to wake up early. Sure enough, when we walked out on the verandah the following morning, there were the cutest wallabies staring cautiously at us (including one with a joey in her pouch!). The butcher birds were swooping around and whistling. And there was even a platypus in the pond further down the way.

Even though I've lived in Australia for most of my life, this native wildlife encounter was pretty damn cool. Up until two years ago, I'm sure the only wild kangaroos I had ever come across were tragic roadkills.

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solothurn rural resort

On our drive back from Maleny to Brisbane, we stopped in at Solothurn Rural Resort - a quaint small farm down the road. The place was closed at the time, but the friendly owners invited us to explore the farm on our own accord. There were chickens, guineafowl, pigs, goats - all of the usual farm suspects. But what we really got excited about were the emus! It was one of those days where I was reminded of how lucky we are in Australia to have such weird and wonderful wildlife.