Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road

This sign is here to remind you what side of the road to drive on. Just in case you flew to Australia. Got in a rental car. Drove on the wrong side of the road for 3 hours and made it, alive, all the way to this sign.

2/12 Apostles

The Twelve Apostles are a rock group in Australia. They broke up a few years back and now there are only 8 left. No chance for a reunion tour.

6.1/12 Apostles

Same photo spot, just turned around to face the other 6. Look at the pile of rubble on the ground, that fell last year!! There are actually only 8 of the original 9 that once existed. Yes that is 9.. not 12. They named it 12 to be sound more biblical or something. Can you imagine being there to watch one of these monsters crash to the ground! These guys have been here for 1000s of years!

Three Monoliths

I'm going to be in the dog house for calling Tara a monolith.

Ray & Tara

The obligatory Tara and Ray photo.

Danger!

This sign says it all. They should just replace it with "Don't do anything stupid."

Real Live Koala

Driving to the southern most tip in Victoria there are Koala bears! This came as a shock because I was certain that Koalas were just an aussie gimmick and that they didn't really exist in the wild (only in zoos). I was looking around to see if I'd find zoo keepers nearby to put them back in their cages after the tourists left.

Headline: "Laurel found in Australia"

We all thought Laurel (from Laurel and Hardy) passed away years ago. But he is alive and well in Warrnambool. Now we just need to find Hardy for a reunion show.

Red Door

Warrnambool is full of these kinds of images. My theory is that they stopped advancing in the 1980s. Guess they figured it was enough. On the way into town we listened to 50s doo-wop and there were classic cars everwhere. Manicured lawns as far as the eye could see.

Truck Train

Finally saw the rediculous trucks that ply the roads well away from cities. Double length trucks are pretty common, but this is our first triple length truck. There are 36 wheels on that thing!

Striated Pardalote

You didn't think you'd get away without seeing more birds?! This little gal had a nest nearby and was busy feeding her hungry chicks.

Superb Fairy Wren

Welcome Swallow

Grey Fantail

Aussie Antenna Range

I really did have work to do on this trip. This is our outdoor antenna range that we use to test antenna patterns. The day after this photo was taken a horse riding competition was on. Look closely at the back of the field for the obstacles.

Royal National Park

Great weekend trip! Royal National Park just south of Sydney is the second oldest national park in the world (next to the great Yellowstone NP). It has amazing vistas of the coast and a really rugged coastline.. but I just want to see the birds! Over 280 species have been spotted there. I'll have to believe them. But I did see two very exciting species, the famous lyrebird and the satin bowerbird (and his bower).

The lyrebird is famous for mimicking pretty much any sound. Other birds are their favorite subject, but people have observed them copying trains, chainsaws and even camera shutters. The one we saw/heard was apparently a star wars fan. Lyrebirds don't fly (tail feathers are like peakcocks), instead they are quite quick on their feet and managed to elude my camera at every turn.

Burned Out Tree

"It reminds us that though the fire has consumed everything, life still manages to prevail." Couldn't resist quoting Paul (friend at work) on this one. 1994 a fire swept through RNP and pretty much leveled everything. Took a while, but all is well.

Yellow Monarch

These little guys were singing away at us on our hike. The burned tree trunks provide a great backdrop for any subject.

Ray and Tara

Had to throw in the obligatory Ray and Tara shot. This is outside our packed campsite. This was not a good place to camp. If you picture Aussies with 10 man tents, bottles of wine and screaming kids, then you might be able to get a feel for it. Ear plugs are required.

Satin Bower

This was a great find. The Satin Bowerbird creates this bower and decorates it with little blue bits and pieces. In the wild there are no blue pieces other than flowers and feathers. Here we found blue bottle caps, forks, clothes pins, labels and a single blue feather. This bower of course is to attract the female Bowerbird (which isn't satin colored, but spotted white and brown). And sure enough, we spotted both the male and female nearby having their way with each other (took about 1.2 seconds).

Goanna

Finally saw a real live Goanna. I believe this is technically a Gould's Monitor, but I believe "Goanna" is a catch all for around 20 species of monitor here. This guy was huge! At least 3-3.5 feet long. As soon as I grabbed this shot he headed up the tree to hide.

Red River

The forest floor was lush and teeming with life. Same can't be said for 90% of the dry continent. But when found, it is beautiful.

Red Browed Finch

These tiny guys are cool characters with their red masks. I've seen them in two other environments, but here they were quite a bit more relaxed and let me grab these shots before taking off.

Aussie Photos

Australia - we've been here since November 2005. I'd say time flies but it really seems like a lifetime since we arrived. These photos represent most of what we've been doing - hiking and exploring. I'd show you photos of Sydney, but 27 photos of the Opera house doesn't do Australia justice.

Canberra

Canberra gets a lot of flack about it being sterile and over planned. This photo says it all. All the rumors are true. Designed by an architect from Chicago (blame the Americans), it has all the charm of a modern art museum. There are two restaurant areas and if you aren't near them, tough luck. The gas stations are hard to find which is strange because without a car you'd be SOL. The town is way too spread out and it takes leaps and bounds to get from one area to the next.

Floriade

Floriade, how exactly does one pronounce that? This is the annual Canberra flower festival and showcases the worlds best flower arrangements. Flowers battle for #1 in an all out extravaganza. Sunday Sunday SUNDAY! Stamins vs. Pistol, who will take the glory? You buy the whole seat but you only need the edge!

Waterfalls in the Blue Mountains

The Wentworth Falls area in the Blue Mountains are amazing. All the tourists flock to Katoomba to see the 3 Rocks, but Wentworth is far more interesting. The key word here is water - it never rains in Australia, so if it does run out to Wentworth to see the water fall..

Six Foot Track

Tara and I did an overnight backpacking trip on the Six Foot Track. This is a great track with a lot of features to explore. The bridge Tara is on is really dodgy and narrow. About halfway across you wish you had just hiked across the dried out river it crosses. Australia has all these bridges that go over dirt, I guess it'll rain here someday.

Rock and Tree

At our campsite we had a lot to explore. Tons of birds, cows and rocks. Wow, I lead an exciting life.

Cow Picks Nose with Tongue

At our campsite the cows were everywhere. Which meant the flies were everywhere too. I tried to scare off a mom and baby (veal?) and she stood her ground. I figure she'd win that fight. When I got back to civilization I had a hamburger to prove a point. I win.

Tree Reflection in Water

This is a tree reflected in water. Again - six foot track.

Crazy Barbed Wire Dress

Sydney is home to a great number of museums and I love them all. There are also a ton of them in Canberra, but they are all in Canberra (figure that one out). I'd post all my maritime museum photos but then you'd all fall asleep. If you come out to Sydney I'll drag you to the maritime museum whether you'd like to or not.

Birds.. lots of them

Birds??

A few months ago I'd have laughed if you had asked me to name one. But Australia is different from home (Colorado). The birds are the main players in the environment. Sure I've seen other wildlife - sharks, snakes, crocs and kangaroos. But the birds are everywhere, all the time. Go to work, eat lunch, sit on your porch and they will be there.

I have yet to go on a hike where I haven't discovered some new and amazing new species. In three months I've photographed over 70 species! Most shots are of a bird in a tree and quite boring. But these stand out as real keepers and I hope you agree!

Cape Barren Goose

This goose was bathing at Centennial Park in Randwick. The park is a good photo spot because birds are used to all the people milling about. Unfortunately for them the park is a bread crumb dump with sickly birds abounding due to the overcrowded conditions - they trade diseases amongst themselves.. please don't feed the wildlife!

Scarlet Robin

This tiny robin was patient enough to let me take this shot before flying off. This was taken in the Blue Mountains on the tail end of a backpacking trip on the six foot track.

Long Billed Corella

Another of the Centennial Park residents. Many of the Corellas gets a bit old and overweight because of the unhealthy and unnatural conditions. I love to see them there, but hate to see them sick.

Black Stilt

Olympic Park, site of the 2000 Olympics, has done a great job preserving natural marsh lands and has reclaimed a fair amount of mangrove swamps. They even provide a nice bird blind to watch the birds doing whatever it is they do.

Rainbow Lorikeet

The Rainbow Lorikeet is easily the most recognizable resident in the Sydney area. They thrive on the locally planted nectar producing trees. In Strathfield where I live they flock by the hundreds and raise quite a ruckus with their loud screeching.

Welcome Swallow

The tiny welcome swallows are lightning fast and don't sit still for long. A fair number of them live just outside of the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains.

Australian Pelican

To see them on land you'd think they would never make it aloft. But to watch them effortlessly gliding along on open wings is enough to make a believer out of me. Oddly enough, they live throughout Australia wherever water is to be found. Which in dry Australia is somewhere just slightly west of the east coast..

Superb Fairy Wren

This is one of those birds that is everywhere, yet so small most people don't notice them. I've seen them in just about every park or track I've been on. But most would be hard pressed to identify one. Their blue streaks nearly flouresce in the sunlight.

Masked Lapwing

The aptly named and goofiest looking bird in Sydney, the Masked Lapwing is an odd character. They don't like to fly, preferring to root around in the grass for food. This photo was taken just outside my work. I'd seen the parents around for a few months and sure enough the little one showed up this Spring. I took this photo from the window of my car, birds don't seem to mind cars. The moment you step out they all fly off like you just stepped through some mysterious portal.

Red Rumped Parrot

Canberra (the capitol of Australia, and no I didn't know that before I came here either) is home to this beautiful parrot. My friend Wong snuck around to encourage the parrot to take flight so I could snap away from the other side. Not real 'eco-friendly', but the results speak for themselves.

Kookaburra

No bird photo collection from Australia would be complete without the Kookaburra. They laugh and carry on with the most amazing and memorable calls. The sound of the Kookaburra is a defining element of the Australian environment.

Little Pied Cormorant

The cormorant is one a family of water birds that do quite well in Australia. Chances are if water is around, they'll be there. So far I only find them as couples and generally not in flocks. This guy was hanging out at a pond near work.

Australian King Parrot

My friend Amanda's mom lives in a great spread where Parrots, Rosellas and Lyrebirds live. The tree leaf shape is suspect if you ask me...

Taronga Zoo

These next four photos are "cheating" because they were taken at a zoo. Never the less they are some of the most exciting shots I've taken. The Taronga zoo is a favorite of mine (next to the San Diego zoo) and has the most amazing 'bird show' that I've seen once or twice, or four. The following birds are native Aussies that I'd hope to someday see in the wild.

Black Kite

Rufous Owl

The gal in the shot is the host and bird handler at the show. The freaked out kid just let the bird fly off of his gloved hand.

Wedge Tailed Eagle

Black Breasted Buzzard

This striking creature has a natural instinct to crack open large eggs. Emu or Cassowary eggs can't be opened by a mere beak. So this bird has learned to open them by smashing a rock against it. It uses tools! I myself would probably use a band saw.

Galah

Anyone who has seen the bird show will appreciate this shot. The Galah flys to the hand of a member of the crowd and steals the gold coin from their outstretched hand. The Galah then returns to the handler. The bird later returns the coin after some jokes.. But this time the bird returned with a diamond ring and thoroughly shoked the girl when her (soon to be) fiance stood up and asked her to marry her. Good on you mate!

Who's that?