by Peter Klein
“SQUARK, BUST-MY-BILLY,” shrieked Kev, “Look down below!”
Mudpoo, and all the animals ran to a vantage point from where Kev was pointing.
The sight before them was something none of them had ever seen before. Humpback and minke whales were appearing like magic, out of thin air, high above the water near Bluff Beach, each dive-landing into the ocean with an enormous KERR-SPLASHHH!
Mudpoo, Harry and Jess looked at each other with a grin.
“WE DID IT!”
Together, Mudpoo, Harry and Jess bounced up and down with joy.
“Well WIGGLE-MY-WHISKERS,” cheered Percy Possum.
“SHEESH-KA-BOB-A-ROOEY!” danced Foggerty, hugging Mudpoo.“Amazing,” said Andrena ant.
“Amazing! See? That’s what GET-A-LONG-ABILITY can achieve,” smiled Sally Snake.
Grumblegoo felt enormously proud. She knew that they had achieved an amazing rescue, only this time they had achieved it with humans and animals working together.
Grumblegoo was so proud of her Magic Tree Stump and her friends (especially Foggerty Frog) that she leapt out from her hidey spot shouting, “THREE CHEERS for the magic tree stump and all its friends!”
Mudpoo, quickly replied, “THREE CHEERS for Grumblegoo!”
Grumblegoo blushed as a rowdy chorus of several ‘HIP-HIP HOORAYs’ echoed throughout the Iluka Nature Reserve. There was lots of squawking, cheering, flapping, hopping and hugging, as the animals and Mudpoo celebrated the rescue and safe return of their whale friends. The whales sang a special rendition of the ‘Blue Danube’, slapping their enormous pectoral fins against the water to play the beat for their song;
From the shore, it sounded like an orchestra of whales; which is of course, what it really was! Several of the humpbacks breached high, up out of the water, creating a spectacular display as they celebrated their miraculous escape from the pirates.
Each time a humpback crashed back into the water, it sent up a shower of sparkling, glistening spray, and Mudpoo and the forest animals cheered each one!
“Did you know that the scientific name for a humpback whale is Megaptera novaeangliae, which means ‘big wings,’” announced a smiling Foggerty.
“THREE CHEERS for Foggerty Frog,” shouted Grumblegoo, who knew that without little Foggerty’s amazing knowledge, they may never have saved the whales.
“HIP-HIP, HOORAY!” they all shouted and the whales added their approval by sending up enormous jets of vapour clouds from their blowholes.
They might have continued to celebrate all day, except that they heard the concerned voice of someone calling from afar; “MUDPOO? HARRY? JESS?”
After their yummy breakfast, Captain Pete and Liz had decided to follow the trail the others had left. Rod said he’d stay back and have another ‘cuppa’ as he wanted to write another poem for kids.
“Fair enough,” said Captain Pete, “we’ll leave you to it.”
It seemed like a peaceful morning as they strolled along Back Beach, following one set of foot prints, two sets of paw prints and occasionally another print that Captain Pete couldn’t quite make out. “They love exploring don’t they,” smiled Captain Pete.
Then they heard some strange sounds coming from Bluff Beach. There were several loud “KERR-SPLASHHH!” sounds followed by a strange kind of rowdy racket.
You and I know what was happening, but Captain Pete and Liz could only guess.
“It must be that Monstrous Goanna!” cried Captain Pete, “C’mon, they could all be in trouble!” and he started to run as fast as his legs could go (which was not very fast . . . if you’ve ever tried running on dry beach sand, you’ll know it’s not easy!).
Puffing and out of breath, Liz and Captain Pete stopped at The Bluff picnic spot.
“Look over there,” beamed Liz, “isn’t that a whale?”
Captain Pete and Liz looked out to sea and spotted the incredible sight of dozens of humpback whales, breaching and swimming, waving their enormous tails.
“Wow,” said Captain Pete, “wait until I tell Mudpoo and Harry about this!” “Mudpoo and Harry!” cried Captain Pete, who’d almost forgotten why they were there in the first place, “we’ve got to save them from that monstrous goanna!”
Liz was a little doubtful about the ‘Monster Goanna’ theory, but still hurried along behind Captain Pete.
When Captain Pete reached the spot where everyone had been, only Mudpoo and Harry could be seen; all the other animals went into hiding. Jess was on her way back to camp, thinking that Rod might be waiting for her with some yummy blueberry pie.
“Great to see you, did you see the scary, horrible Goanna?” asked Captain Pete wildly waving his arms about.
“No,” replied Mudpoo truthfully as he didn’t consider Grumblegoo to be horrible.
“Phew,” replied an exhausted and puffed-out Captain Pete, as he sat right in the middle of the Magic Tree Stump.
“Did you hear all the noise?” inquired Captain Pete.
“Yes,” replied Harry, “we were yelling out in excitement when we saw the whales.”
Captain Pete smiled, “Aren’t they wonderful? It’s hard to believe anyone in the world would dream of harming them.”
“Monstrous goannas on the other hand . . .” he went on, “ . . . are a different thing altogether. (Mudpoo and Harry could sense Captain Pete might be getting ready to tell another tall story). “Why I’d show a goanna a thing or two. As a matter a fact, I wish Ned Kelly could be here for a few seconds, he’d show that monstrous goanna a . . . ”
It all happened too fast for Mudpoo and Harry to stop it from happening. In a flash, Captain Pete was covered in a silvery dust and there was a familiar ‘SWOOSHING’ sound, right before a very surprised Ned Kelly appeared out of thin air, wearing his full suit of armour.
Captain Pete’s jaw dropped.
He glanced at Ned Kelly for a few seconds and then, just like that, Ned Kelly vanished.
“Wha . . . ? Did you see . . . ? Was there . . . ? Am I dreaming . . . ?” stammered poor Captain Pete who couldn’t understand if what he’d seen was real, or just his imagination.
“Did you see? Was there? Did Ned Kelly . . . ?” he shook his head, “. . . oh never mind,” sighed Captain Pete. He convinced himself that the long walk must have given him a severe case of sunstroke.
Liz, who had her back to Captain Pete the whole time, had missed the whole thing.
Ned Kelly was just as surprised as Captain Pete. He was under a police siege in the Glenrowan Hotel in 1883 when Captain Pete had accidentally wished him to Iluka. When the Magic Tree Stump returned him to the siege at Glenrowan, he found himself suddenly behind the police lines. Ned shook his head; ‘I don’t know how I got here, but I think I’ll have a little nap and surprise the troopers in the morning.
The rest is history . . .
Suddenly, a roaring engine sound was heard before a curious Gus appeared, a little concerned that they might all be lost.
“C’mon, let’s go back to the camp with Gus,” cheered Liz.
“YAY!” cheered Mudpoo and Harry; who by now were exhausted and hungry.
“There might be some pancakes left over with blueberry sauce,” beamed Liz.
“YUMMY!” said Mudpoo and Harry together.
They all piled into Gus, “We’ll return soon!”
“GOODLUCK FOREST!” cried Mudpoo, leaning out of Gus’s window.
“Who were you talking to?” asked Captain Pete, a little confused and still wondering whether Ned Kelly was real, or not.
“To everyone and everything that cares about the Iluka Rainforest,” replied Mudpoo thoughtfully.
“ . . . And the animals that live in the ocean too,” chimed Harry.
“Especially whales . . . ” added Mudpoo.
Gus happily drove them a little way up the track to the lookout where everyone could wave to the humpback whales as they swam by.
“Whales are such a beautiful symbol of all that is magical in this world,” said
Liz thoughtfully as they watched the whales swim gracefully towards Hervey Bay.
When they all returned to their campsite at Woodyhead, they found Rod and Jess had prepared another billy of tea and more damper with yummy blueberry jam.
“It’s been lovely and quiet here,” said Rod smiling, “Ranger John dropped by. He told me there are 221 different species of fauna living in the Iluka Nature Reserve. Can you believe that?”
“That’s amazing,” replied Captain Pete.
“Yes,” continued Rod, “and he’s also seen an unusual goanna that he couldn’t identify, on thirty-six different occasions. I wonder what that could be?”
“Unusual goanna . . . ?” asked Captain Pete, scratching his head.
“Could it be that the mystical, magical Grumblegoo in your stories is this same unusual goanna?” teased Rod.
“Magical . . . now there’s a word,” added Liz thoughtfully.
“You know, I think there is something magical about the Iluka Rain forest, Monstrous Grumblegoo Goanna, or not!” replied Captain Pete.
Mudpoo, Harry and Jess winked at each other. They had learnt that many friends working together created incredible ‘magic!’
They all felt so proud that they had been able to help. It’s part of the same Magic that allows us to preserve and protect our environment, our native animals, our rainforests, and especially all of our whale friends!
If we keep working together, maybe we can be a part of this story too.
What do you think?
A message from all of the rainforest animals who live in the Iluka World Heritage Area:
“Thank-you to all the people, past and present, who helped to care for and protect our home environment, for future generations to appreciate and enjoy!”
Mudpoo and his friends hope to meet you all again soon . . .
(Here’s some important information for you. You’ll find more on the website . . . )
BETHANGA: A beautiful, sleepy, historical ex-gold and copper mining town nestled amongst rolling hills, on a peninsular surrounded by Lake Hume in the far North-East corner of Victoria, Australia. It’s where you might find echidnas, wombats, possums, eagles, platypi, boobook owls, rabbits, Captain Pete, Gus, Harry and Mudpoo.
GOANNAS: These are Australia’s largest lizards; they have very powerful legs and strong claws. The National Park Rangers have identified many sightings of an unidentified goanna in the Iluka Nature Reserve!
HUMPBACK WHALES: These are majestic animals that have been described by some as magical. Their scientific name is Megaptera novaeangliae, which literally means ‘big wings’; they have huge pectoral fins. Humpbacks can weigh as much as 45 tonnes. Every year humpback whales migrate from Antarctica to Australia to breed; a 10,000km journey! Humpback whales are amongst the most amazing and beautiful animals on our earth. Whales need your help to support and protect them.
KARRI TREE: Karri trees (Eucalyptus diversicolor) are giant eucalyptus trees grown, on Karri Loam soil in areas of good rainfall in the South Western tip of Western Australia. They are giant trees that can grow up to 300 feet (90m) high. They cannot grow in the Iluka Nature Reserve unless there’s powerful magic around!
ILUKA NATURE RESERVE: The Iluka Nature Reserve is a World Heritage rainforest because of its ancient and isolated location and because it’s filled with a wonderful variety of plants and animal species. There are over 221 species of amazing animals and 187 plant species from 37 families living in a rainforest of only 135 hectares. It is a living example of how much can be preserved and protected when an entire community (past and present) work together, to create a magical environment for future generations to love and enjoy.
Pssssst! You’ll find Rod’s yummy damper recipe (and much, much more), right here: WWW.MUDPOO.COM.AU
