Saturday, December 20, 2008

Emus, roos, cockatoos and sundry Australian!

Hi, welcome to a rather bumper issue featuring some of the wonderful animals, birds and reptiles we met in Australia.

The first part shows those we saw at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, including the highlight of a Koala hug! We took the boat from Brisbane. As you can see from this photo of Daniela, the weather wasn't looking promising. But it cleared up later. It was great to see the Koalas, emus, wombats, birds and lizards.

We visited a town in New South Wales called Kyogle (population 4000 people) where parakeets and wallabies live in the wild. Seeing them in their natural habitat was special.

We went for a walk in one of Brisbane's botanical gardens and also met some wildlife there.

The final part shows some shots from the return boat journey back to Brisbane from the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

A very happy Christmas and New Year to you if you celebrate at this time.

Alan





















In case you want to know how
far you are from the Sanctuary!






















I am on sentry duty. We sleep
20 hours a day! are you jealous?






















And boy, are we the experts!
















There are about 50.000 of us in Queensland






















If I'm a lady I might live up to
17 years. If I'm a bloke maybe
less than 10 years
















Double vision! We smell very sweet because
we only eat Eucalyptus leaves.






















My name is Specs. This is a
very soft tree I'm on right now.
I could get used to it!
If you want to know more about
me and the gang have a look here
















The Red Kangaroo and the Emu support the
Australian Coat of Arms
















The clueless guy that took this photo doesn't
know what species I am. If you do please
enlighten him (Ian? or anyone?)
(Thanks to Ian and Maureen I now know
this bird is a "Noisy Miner" )
















Yeah! and unbelievably he doesn't even know
who I am?
Someone as sexy and gorgeous as me?!
(And this lovely lad/lady is a Southern
Cassowary.
The crest is called a 'casque')
















I bet you don't have a hat like this!
















Getting up close and feeding the locals was fun
















Though most of the gang looked like they were
recovering from a rough night and weren't too
interested in food
















This little chap decided he wanted marry my
wife. He was really quite attached!. My wife won't
believe it was just cupboard love.
















Here we are on the streets of Kyogle.
These guys are out for an early morning
stroll/hop
















Always very curious, but ready to run if you
go to close






















In this case it would be me doing the
running, but I'm safe at the
Sanctuary
















I'm a wombat. I'm trying to work out how to
bring about a world economic recovery.
















Maybe if I sit in the shade it will cool my brain
















Who said sunbathing is bad for you!






















Early morning hang out for
rainbow lorikeets in
sleepy Kyogle
















We're friends
















Considered a pest in Australia, this is a
White Ibis















Majestic sea eagle
















Swooping for food


















Mr and Mrs duck
















Sulphur crested cockatoo
















These last few photos were taken on the boat
that carries you to Lone Pine Sanctuary and back
to Central Brisbane
















It's a beautiful and relaxing trip. As you can
see the weather improved significantly


















Some of the houses are pretty amazing

















The classic Queensland style of these last two
is beautiful
















And this is my favourite. Thanks for coming.
See you in a couple of weeks.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

The Gold Coast, Australia

Hello. Thanks for coming to see my blog.

Last time I showed you photos from Brisbane. We also went for a couple of days to the Gold Coast.

The first day we explored the beach and played in the surf. It's a long time since I've done that. Exhilarating!

We loved the pelicans. So great to see them in their natural habitat, here, as well as in Brisbane.

The second day we hired a BBQ boat to wander around the waterways and see the houses of the rich with their boats. The boat could only go about 6 knots so we all took turns at being Captain. No risk of ending up in New Zealand! Having a BBQ on the boat was also a novelty for us.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Next time roos, koalas, wombats and emus! Hope to see you then

Alan
















What do you mean "smile".
How'm I s'posed to do that?
















OK that's enough, I'm off.........
















I bet YOU can't do this!
















There's a gorgeous chick watching me,
I'd better do this in style....
















As we arrived at the Gold Coast
















Now that's what I call a beach!
















Cloud, beach'n surf
















Up and down it's 57 kilometers long!






















A building that caught my eye at sunset
















In the evening we went for a walk to Surfer's
paradise along the beach
















Off we go....
















The "Gold Coast" living up to its name
















Haven't worked out yet how to straighten
leaning buildings because of wide-angle distortion.
















This is Jim being the first cap'n on our trip
around the waterways
















Looking towards the beach
















"How do you travel to work sir?" "By chopper,
I can't be dealing with public transport..."















Floating Church, do you think they take it out
to lighthouses and oil rigs?
















Our anchoring spot for lunch
















The galley crew busily preparing...
















Waterfront houses
















If you can't have a helicopter,
I guess this is the next best thing
















Making our way back
A great way to spend 4 hours!