Mystery Footsteps In the Kitchen

Mr Sunshine was dozing in his recliner (it happens when you get old, doesn't it?) and I was reading when I heard something walking around in my kitchen. There were other sounds too that I couldn't make out.  Sort of scraping sounds. Maybe it was a bird trying to steal some rubbish from the kitchen tidy.  Maybe it was a possum, but possums are usually asleep during the day. It sounded too heavy to be a mouse or rat and too noisy to be a snake, but it was odd.
As I got up to investigate the chair made a squeaking noise and my mysterious visitor heard it and disappeared before I could see him (or her).  I hadn't seen a bird fly off as I thought I would and that just added to the mystery because I was thinking it sounded like bird feet on the vinyl.
In the next few days I heard it again several times. Usually as I walked in from outside something would scuttle away before I could see it.

Not today.  Today he just wasn't fast enough or maybe he was getting slower from the cool weather or not having anything to eat for a few days.  Here he is - or she is. I don't know how to tell the difference.  How about I call her "she" because she is beautiful and she has been very discreet?
She is a sand goanna, also called a yellow spotted monitor, over 60 cm (2 ft) long from nose tip to tail tip and she just couldn't find her way out.  She is only an adolescent.  When she is full grown, she will be more than twice as long as she is now,  like her friend who lives under the neighbours house.  The one next door would be nearly as long as me if I lay down next to her.  I'm not going to do that in the near future.  I estimate she is about 1.5 metres (5 ft).
Soon two of the grandsons are having a sleepover here.  They love wildlife, but a goanna in the house just might freak them out so we won't tell them where she was. 

I'll just tell them about the one next door.

Butterfly

I know that I posted about birdwing butterflies recently.  I know that there are a million things I should be doing rather than chasing butterflies around with a compact camera.  But I couldn't resist this fellow who let me get pretty close.  Unfortunately I only have Mr Sunshine's camera and this is the best it can do, but I'm still pretty pleased with it.