GEMLIFE RESORTS HAVE ALL SORTS OF INTERESTING PETS LIVING ON SITE, BUT RAINBOW BEACH RESIDENTS MURRAY GODDEN AND TRACEY HOFFMAN HAVE A UNIQUE COMBINATION.
Murray and Tracey moved into GemLife Rainbow Beach last February, becoming the third set of residents settling at this stunning new resort. But they were not alone. Their three remarkably interesting pets moved in with them.
“We have two rescue birds and then there is Macey,” Murray says. “She’s a ten-year-old chocolate brown labradoodle around 18 kilograms and gorgeous.”
Meet Ricky
“Ricky is our rainbow lorikeet who fell out of a nest in our backyard about 16 years ago,” Tracey tells us. “He was born without flight feathers, so we had to save him and he’s been with us ever since. He has his own personality and even talks, saying ‘hello Rick, hello Rick’ and then laughs very loudly.
“Ricky is the best. We used to have a pet rabbit called Lily and they would eat out of the same bowl together, but gosh he can be naughty. He used to love destroying my beautiful plants in our old home when I let him out of his cage.”
Next came Macey
“Let me tell you about Macey,” laughs Tracey. “She is quite iconic and has a personality like no other. Macey is our ten-year-old labradoodle and has built up quite an interesting reputation over the years.
“She is well known on North Haven Beach, where we used to live, and now at Middle Rock at Lake Cathie.” Tracey says. “She’s always loved collecting sticks but now they’re turning into branches and even logs, and when people see her, they know to step aside because if they don’t, they get taken out as she passes them.”
And then there’s Peaches
“We also have a Fischer’s lovebird parrot called Peaches. She’s a small parrot that landed on our driveway on a rainy Sunday afternoon a few years back,” Tracey says. “Fischer’s are not native birds so she must have been someone’s pet. We put an ad in the paper and even went to the vet, but no one claimed her. Three years later, she is still with us.
“Peaches has beautiful colouring. She’s apricot, pink and green and she’s stunning, but can be a little bit vicious,”
Tracey laughs. “That’s how I remember what breed she is because ‘vicious’ sounds like ‘Fischer’s’, and that big orange beak of hers, oh my! Don’t get near her on a grumpy day!”
A carrot a day
With such a unique combination of pets, Murray and Tracey say there’s never a dull moment in their household and all three pets are creatures of habit, sharing a love for carrots, among other vegetables.
“Macey loves routine,” Tracey says. “After dinner every night, she must have a carrot and when I get home from work, she will sit by the fridge until I give her two little branches of broccoli. She’s definitely unique.
“Ricky loves carrots, but he must have raw corn every day too or he just goes off his nut,” she says. “We can’t give him sunflower seeds anymore because his addiction got bad, but when you don’t give him his corn, he just won’t shut up, and has been put into ‘time out’ on many occasions which he is never happy about.
“Peaches favourite is also carrots and snow peas too, but she loves ripping carrots to shreds. She and Ricky get along well. We just hang their cages up side by side on the back fence during the day and then bring them undercover at night.
“We love our brood, but I have to say they eat better than we do most of the time.”