11/7/2008 - It's a dogs life!
After a couple of hours of whale watching at the Seaway today, I headed back towards the car with a smile on my face. When I saw this dog playing, my smile got bigger and I thought to myself, don't waste an opportunity and lifted the camera to my eye. A good shake. … … And it's back to business. "Come on dad, throw the stick". … "Yippee, I'm airborne!" … … "Come on dad, throw the stick." … "I'll get it, I'll get it!" "Where did you come from?" "Excuse me, this is my stick." "Didn't you hear me, mine!" … "Quick dad, throw it again." "Yippee, I feel like I am flying." … "Got it!" "Oh bother, you're back again. I thought this was my game." "You can't catch me." … … … … "You still following me." … … … "Argh come on..............we'll both carry it."
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2/7/2008 - Fingal Head, NSW
Winter is here, the days are perfect, so what better place to spend it than at Fingal Head, just over the border in New South Wales. Who would have thought a visit to a light house would be the start of a fantastic morning. My thanks have to go to Cora, my friend in Georgia, USA, who wet my appetite by sharing her beautiful photos of American light houses.
This is the Fingal Head Lighthouse, built in 1878 with Sydney sandstone. Fingal headland was sighted by Captain James Cook in 1770 and named Point Danger, which it is still known as today.  … … … … … … The Island seen from the headland is Cook Island. Fingal Head is rich in aboriginal history and mythology and is home to many aboriginal people. The local name for Fingal Head is Buninybah, meaning Home of the Echidna or Echidna Country. According to aboriginal mythology, Fingal Head contains the spirit of a giant echidna that is embodied in the hexagonal columnar basalt formation on the northeast point. The columns are said to be the spines of the echidna. The headland is part of the Mt Warning caldera and the basalt columns were formed from slowly cooling lava from the Mt Warning volcano. … The views of course are spectacular and school holiday makers enjoy the perfect conditions in the surf. … … With this much ocean in front of you, sightings of whales heading north on their annual migration are common and of course, pristine waters like this, must have dolphins. … … … … … … … And then the highlight of my morning. An Osprey having his fish breakfast in a tree, so close that I felt I could nearly touch him. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … As I watched the Osprey soaring through the sky this Whistling Kite flew so close, I couldn't fit it in my viewfinder. What a great morning!
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12/6/2008 - The Great Sandy National Park and its attractions.
The Noosa North Shore Resort, was our recent choice of accommodation while on the Sunshine Coast. It is only 20 minutes from the very trendy Hastings Street in Noosa and a 5 minute barge ride across the river from Tewantin. The barge operates from dawn till late in the night, for locals who live on the north shore, for 4wds accessing the Great Sandy National Park and for people having a weekend away, like us. After checking in to the resort and meeting the locals … … … … … … … … we made our way up to the beach.
Sand, wind and water have sculpted a varied landscape at Cooloola, the largest coastal vegetation remnant on southern Queensland’s mainland. High sand dunes, coloured sand cliffs, sweeping beaches, sandblows, freshwater lakes, tall forests, paperbark swamps and wildflower heath plains make this a spectacular part of Great Sandy National Park.
Cooloola protects the headwaters of the Noosa River, the cleanest river in south-east Queensland and the only coastal river in Queensland with most of its catchment protected in a national park.
At the northern end of Cooloola is Rainbow Beach. a further 15 minute drive and you will find yourself at Inskip Point where there is a barge that carries the 4wds across to Fraser Island.
 … … It wasn't much of a day for the beach but when you are on holiday, you make the most of every moment. Recent heavy rain and big swells has caused severe erosion unfortunately. … … … Looking south Noosa can be seen in the the back ground. Scattered along the beaches are outcrops of soft, dark-brown "coffee rock", made up of sand grains weakly cemented by organic matter (plant remains). This is a reminder of a time when the sandmass stretched further to sea — and the currently exposed coffee rock was inland, formed as part of the sandmass's soil layers. … … … Passing the coffee rock at high tide can be a challenge at times. Crested Terns gathered in their hundreds. And the sky ahead gave us a reason to turn around and leave the beach driving for another day. The next morning we headed back to the beach, passing the Paper Bark Trees which are native to Australia along the way. … While Tony and Daniel fished Ricki and I went bird watching along the beach. Kites and Eagles could be seen in abundance but getting them out of the sky and into a tree was a waiting game. This is a Whistling Kite and he did just what I wanted, even if I had to climb the dunes to get close to him. … … … … … … … … … And then the bird I have been so eager to find, a mature White-bellied Sea Eagle but not perched in a tree. This is the second largest eagle in Australia. As we passed some of the coloured sands at Teewah, I managed to get a quick shot. Driving along the beach, Ricki made a comment that he thought he saw a turtle shell. I shrugged it off and said it must have been a rock. On the way back, I kept my eyes on the beach in front of us, not in the sky above and yes, he was right. I can only guess that a shark had got it. Back at the resort, I opted to wonder around with my camera while Ricki and Tony took Daniel back to his home in Tewantin. I had one thing on my mind and that was the camels that trek past the resort daily on their way to collect the tourists who want a beach safari of a different kind. Other than the many kangaroos I photographed, I found some Banksia and another flower unknown to me but definitely eye-catching. Fungus growing on old tree stumps. … … I looked up to see Ricki coming down the road with his head out the window. "Did you see them" he yelled. What was he talking about?
The camels of course. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … I had a chat with this cute looking guy who is the camel trainer and leads the safari treks to the beach. He was telling me that he used to train camels out at Alice Springs which is 440 kms or a 6 hour drive from Ayers Rock. At a place called Stuart Wells, 90kms south of Alice Springs is a large camel farm, where you can actually take a camel out on your own to explore the area. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask, how do you direct a camel when you are sitting on its back, it doesn't have a bit in its mouth like a horse. He explained to me that a camel is steered with the feet, sometimes in conjunction with a stick for tapping him on the shoulders, and with a single bridle, either in the form of line attached to a nose ring or nose peg or in the form of a rope attached to head collar or halter.  As the camels headed to the beach I got my last shot and then I jumped into the waiting car being driven by Ricki and headed in the same direction as the camels. As the camels made their way down to the sand, I failed to get any more shots, as some of you know already, I kicked sand all over my lens.
I have copied a map of the area that I have been talking about so you can see better for yourselves.
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29/5/2008 - Magpie Geese and more on a wet, miserable day.
Only earlier today, I mentioned that I had discovered some Magpie Geese in a paddock and that I was hoping to get over there and get a closer look. Well that was what I did today, in between showers and rain.
The Magpie Goose has a black neck and head, with a characteristic knob on the crown (larger in males), which increases in size with age. The underparts are white, with contrasting black edges on the underwing. The bill, legs and feet are orange. The Magpie Goose differs from most waterfowl in having strongly clawed toes that are webbed only on their basal halves (i.e. only partly webbed). Females are slightly smaller than males.
The Magpie Goose is widespread throughout coastal northern and eastern Australia. It is seen in floodplains and wet grasslands. Large, noisy flocks of up to a few thousand birds congregate to feed on aquatic vegetation. During the breeding season, Magpie Geese build nests in secluded places, usually close to wetlands. The nest is almost single-handedly constructed by the male. It usually consists of a simple unlined cup placed either in a floating platform of trampled reeds or built in tree-tops. Pairs of geese mate for life, but a male may have two females. Two females may occasionally use the same nest to lay the large, oval, off-white coloured eggs. All adults share incubation and care for the young. … … … Notice the feet in the next shot. … … … … … … … … … I love this next shot where they are putting their brakes on. … … … … … … While photographing the geese, some of the cows seemed a little bewildered by my visit. I soon discovered these cows were not girls but gorgeous bulls with the most beautiful curls and eyelashes. … … … … … … These guys were simply adorable and as you can see were very happy to pose for me. … Just up the road a little, I stopped at another spot where I often see a Great Egret.
This is no Egret but there were so many Swamp Hens, that I had to at least take one photo. A female Darter (Anhinga) … … … … … This little bird I am thinking is a Fuscous Honeyeater … And you may be wondering what happened to the Great Egret, well it was there but not very co-operative when it came to having a photo shoot. But I did see these Cattle Egret and it made up for it. … … … … … My last shot is of the flower of an Australian Native shrub called a 'Bottlebrush'.
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28/5/2008 - Birds and more of Paradise.
It is very hard to know where to start when one sees so many beautiful birds, so I shall begin with the first bird that caught my eye as I walked onto our balcony on Hayman Island and looked down at the lagoon. Such beauty was not wasted, I took so many photos. This is a Mute Swan and they have a distinct knob on their bill. They are not native to Australia, infact they were introduced from Europe and those that are here, are mostly for ornamental reasons, like the 3 at Hayman Island. No expense was spared to get the 3 swans to Hayman, so on the odd ocassion when they are seen on the beach making a getaway, staff are called from every department to get them back to their lagoons.
There is 2 males and 1 young female whom hasn't lost her juvenile colouring yet. One of the males is 18 years old and lives solitary on one side of the lagoon. He is so gentle and enjoys total luxury being pampered by the dedicated staff. He also shares his lagoon with a massive eel which I saw on 2 ocassions. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … The Swans share their lagoons with Swamp Hens And water lillys, so many and so beautiful. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Now if that wasn't enough swan photos, here are the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo's and what characters they are. … … … … … … … To some, especially the staff, these birds are an absolute menace. They steal food from everywhere and everyone and they are loud. Mornings started very early as the Cockatoos arrived on the island. Their screeching along with the other birds, was a welcoming sound to my ears. Breakfast on the beach front was hilarious as everyone tried to protect their plates.  … … Sugar is their favourite and they know exactly how to get it. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … These birds are so fast, they don't give you any warning that they are about to take flight but I did get a half hearted version. And then there are the very grubby ones. … … … … One lone Great Egret made a daily visit, arriving punctually at 7.30am and leaving late in the afternoon. … … … … … … … … Then there was the Bush-stone Curlew. These birds are so loud that they would wake you in the night when they are most active, with their calls. They were so easy to photograph because they freeze on the spot to escape being noticed. One night we had dinner at the Beach-front restaurant and Tony was first to notice them making their way along the beach towards the restaurant to see what was for dinner. Visitors to the island are of course asked not to feed the birds.  … … … Further south of Hayman Island also on the Barrier Reef is an island called Heron Island, I think they have a mistake because there was an abundance of them on Hayman but they were very shy and I only saw them at the lagoon once. That was the only photo I got but whenever I walked over to the marina, they could be seen in the distance on the marina rock walls and on low tide, the beach was full of them. I did merge these shots to show you that in one of the helicopter landing pads, there were 10 Herons. What they were waiting for I am not sure, maybe low tide. On the morning that Tony went fishing I took a walk to the top of the island and made my way down to Blue Pearl Bay, known for it's sheltered anchorage, great snorkelling, birds and Black-tipped Reef Sharks. … My first sighting I believe was a Grey Goshawk but I frightened him so he didn't hang around. My next was this gorgeous Nankeen Kestral. … … While looking at this nest amazed at how it had been put together two eagles soaring through the sky caught my attention. One was my first ever sighting of a Wedge tailed Eagle but I was too late to get a photo. The other was a juvenile White-bellied Sea-Eagle and in the 3 days we were on the island, I saw many of them but only in the sky. … … … Once on the beach, I was running back and forth from one side of the bay to the other, chasing Brahminy Kites and anything else I could find. … … … … … … … … … … Ospreys. … … … … So far in this little bay I had seen a Wedge-tailed Eagle, three White-bellied Sea-Eagles, the Nankeen Kestral, the Goshawk, the Osprey and I lost count of the amount of Brahminy Kites I saw. I also saw to Whistling Kites but was unable to photograph them. What a morning! How could it possibly get any better????? But it did. In the above photo, can you see the dark patch on the waters edge. It looked like black pebbles, till I got closer and discovered it was bait fish. Now that jogged my memory, what was I here to see.................Black tipped reef sharks. While walking back along the rocks from following a Brahminy Kite and Osprey, I saw some movement in the water that I thought was a sting ray flapping it's wings to get off the sand in shallow water. As I ran to the waters edge, I was stunned at what I saw. … … … This was no small shark. I estimated about 6 ft. … … … … … … The next couple of shots show you the dark area of bait fish and the shark close by. … A long, steep, hot, humid climb up to the top of the island, made me feel like dying but I was so excited about my sightings for the day, I couldn't wait to share them with Tony, so I practically ran down the other side. While I was waiting for Tony to arrive back from fishing, I captured these Pied Oystercatchers on the helipad area. I loved the colours that came out in these photos. … … It was time now to put my camera away and spend some time with my husband lazing by the pool. Of course I had to have one of my favourite cocktails that I was introduced to on our first day.
Mango Magic (and here is the recipe)
1 nip of Malibu
1 nip of Mango Liquer
Mango Puree made from fresh mangoes
2 scoops of icecream and some ice.
Blend and serve..............delicious.
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25/5/2008 - Hayman Island and the Reef
Most of you who read this will know that I had just returned from 3 days on luxurious Hayman Island in the Whitsundays. To get to Hayman, you must fly into Hamilton Island airport where you are then transferred by luxury boat to Hayman.  As you leave the Hayman Island private jetty on Hamilton Island, you are treated to the view of Hamilton Island and the entrance into the marina. With champagne in hand, beautiful weather, calm seas, magnificent scenery, the one hour boat trip to Hayman goes by too quickly. While sitting on deck, your check-in is completed, so that when you arrive on the island, you are taken directly to your room. Yes, finally there is a photo of me, three champagnes later and I thought I didn't drink!!!! Hayman Island welcomes us as we make our way through the narrow, man made channel into the marina. … … We were taken by private buggy to our room. … that overlooked the lagoon. This side of the resort is called the Lagoon Wing. … … … To give you some idea of what Hayman looks like, I have taken some shots for you. At the other end of the resort, there is the Pool Wing. … … The entrance to the Pool wing. … There is a shopping alley that caters for the rich and no, I did not buy anything. I looked at one teeshirt for $99 and put it back on the rack. … … There are five restaurants that do not all open on the same nights. La Fontaine is a french restaurant and very exclusive. Azure is the beach front restauarnt that is open for breakfasts and some nights.  The view from this restauant is exquisite especially at high tide. Not so good at low tide. There is also the Beach Pavillion where we had many a cocktail and then there is the Oriental restaurant and La Trattoria, the italian restaurant.
Hayman Island also boasts the smallest school in Queensland. It has 3 teachers and 10 students. Prior to our arrival on the island we booked a seaplane tour of the outer reef and Whitehaven beach. We had no idea what to expect as we made our way down to the marina's seaplane ramp. … … … … … And I didn't even have to get my feet wet. Ready for take off and my first thrilling sight was to see Hayman from the air. The Lagoon wing is not seen in this photo and either is the Marina. Langford Island opposite Hayman is great for snorkelling and I have been there a couple of times in the past. … Bali Hai another island very close to Hayman is often visited by Hayman passengers wanting a private, secluded beach. The Marina can organize a boat to drop you off there or on many of the other beaches and islands close by. No, in case you are wondering, we didn't have time. Another island close by is Arkhurst island. This shot was taken when I climbed the hill one evening for sunset shots.  The passage between Hayman and Arkhurst is not passable by boats. It is extremely shallow as you can see from this shot. I know it's not the best photo but when you are trying to take photos from a plane with a seatbelt that doesn't allow you to move and a tiny window to look through, any shots I got I was greatful for. I didn't dare ask the pilot to turn around so I could get the shot again. Besides everytime the pilot did a turn and one wing went up and the other went down, I wanted to be sick.  Leaving the Hayman area we flew towards Whitehaven beach. This shows the channel between Whitsunday Island and Hook Island, the two largest islands in the Whitsundays. On the southern tip of Hook Island there is an underwater observatory which Tony and I visited when we chartered our own boat for our honeymoon 12 years ago. … And now I get my first look of Whitehaven beach from the air. I have been to this beach a few times by boat but nothing is more spectacular, than seeing it from the air. … … … We had an hour on Whitehaven to enjoy the white sands and enjoy a glass of bubbly. No, I declined this time! … … … That's my husbands head in the water. … … Across the water from Whitehaven Beach is Haselwood Island with the beautiful sheltered beach called Chalkies. A fifteen minute flight and I see my first sign of the reef, Hardy's reef. The dark side is the continental shelf. … … … … … This fast flowing, very deep channel separates Hardy's reef from Hook reef. And this little reef is Heart reef as the name implies.  … … Our seaplane lands and we transfer to a pontoon boat with a glass bottom.  The pontoon boat doesn't look much at first as it is covered in nets to try and keep the sea birds off it. Everyday, the pilots are meet with an awful mess from a 24hr bird dropping marathon. Before we can board, the pilots have to clean the boat off, it is a daily occurence. Another seaplane arrives and the planes are tied up to anchor bouys, while the pilots take us in the pontoon boat through a narrow passage in the reef, to an area for snorkelling. This shot shows the passage through the reef and the bouys to mark the way. A good hour and a half was spent snorkelling and what a paradise it is. No wonder it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Back in the air for our flight back to Hayman. … … … … … … Below is a couple of aerial shots of Fantasea Reef World, the largest floating structure in the Barrier Reef. Here, passengers are carried out in enormous high speed catamarans for a day on the reef. … … As we head back to Hayman, we pass over Bait reef which is very popular with scuba divers. Only 2 days after we left the reef, 2 American divers were swept away with the currents and were not found till 19 hours later. I am sure this made world news. Coming back into Hayman, I was felling like I wanted to be sick but I had to try and get my last shots of Hayman. Unfortunately, they weren't the best but I have joined them together so you can see the entire resort, excluding the marina which would be on the left of the photo. To end this entry, I am going to finish with some sunset shots. I think I choose the perfect night, as there was just enough clouds in the sky to make the photos more appealing. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Next entry will cover the many birds I saw on Hayman and of course, the black tipped reef shark.
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17/5/2008 - Bird Life on the Broadwater.
Thursday morning, I woke early as I had to get my son's car over to the shop for a service by 7.30am. While it is on the other side of town, there was no point in me getting a ride home, so I threw my camera in the car and thought I would make the most of the 3 hours I needed to fill in. What could have ended up being a 20km walk, ended up being a wonderful time spent with a very hospitable subject on low tide in the Broadwater. This White-faced Heron startled me when I first discovered him in the grass but we went on to spend an hour and a half together. He showed no fear and would let me get to about 2 meters from him. It is the first Heron I have seen that I was able to get so close too. As the tide was going out, there was plenty of food for him to find, whether it was in the sand or up in the grass. Some of the colours in these photos I thought were really beautiful, it was just a perfect time to be photographing as the sun was rising. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … I watched these feet absolutely mesmerized by them.  First he starts digging in the sand with his beak then very slowly the foot comes up and it appears to be patting or softing the area he has dug at. Maybe the patting helps bring the critter to the surface. It really is something to watch. … … … Over 300 photos later, my friend decided it was time to go on his way. On my way I went again, searcing for whatever I could find. My next culprit was a one footed Black-tailed Godwit. … … A gorgeous Crested Tern. … How can people call them Seagulls, there is a big difference. If only people would open their eyes. … This lone Pied Oysercatcher was another very co-operative candidate. I was able to get withing a couple of meters from him. … … … … One of the choices on the menu this morning for the birdlife as the tide was going out, was crab and lots of them. They are commonly known as Soldier Crabs. And my last shot for the day I only got one chance to get it. It was as this pelican floated past the reflection of a boat, creating beautiful colours in the water.
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30/4/2008 - A winters walk amongst the butterflies
Our weather has turned and winter is on it's way, so I discovered one morning this week when I decided to take a walk amongst the butterflies. When I first arrived at my destination on the border of New South Wales and Queensland, it was early, the wind was already up and NSW had had it's coldest April night on record. As I eagerly got out of the car, I was nearly knocked back with shock at how fresh it was. Instead, I reached for my jacket and my camera. A brisk walk would warm me up. I was a little early for the butterflies so while I waited for the sun to warm the day up, I watched the many raptors that live in the area. White-bellied Sea Eagles, Black Kites, Osprey, Brahminy Kites were all seen, but the only one I was able to catch on camera was the Whistling Kite.  … Even the cows were wondering why I was out so early. Soon the butterflies began to appear. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
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4/4/2008 - Australian Wildlife at Currumbin
My first day in 2008 at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary was a big one. I got there before the doors opened at 8am and did not leave till 5pm. At midday when I was thinking about leaving, the Koalas decided to come to life. These cute and cuddly little creatures may not do an awful lot in their lives but they sure are adorable. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … And there is even Koalas that think they can fly. Well maybe just from branch to branch. There was time for the Emu's, who share their walk-in enclosure, with the Kangaroos. … … … And when they have feet that look like this, it makes you a little weary about what damage they could do. Feathers like this And such a beautiful face. … Then there's the Echidna … The Goodfellows Tree Kangaroos … The Dromodery Camels … The Northern Bettong who was very happy to pose for the camera and show me her very large swollen tummy, full of babies. This little lady, lives on the ground of the male Koalas enclosure. … Then I spent some time watching the crocodiles. First up was the 5.1 meter (16 1/2ft) Saltwater Croc. He is 36 years old and is massive. This photo was taken as two shots and merged together. … And to show his size, there is a little lizard about 12 inches long on his back. Onto the Fresh-water crocs that are some what smaller than the Salties but a lot more active this day. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … Right next door to the crocs, are the Kangaroos in their very large walk through enclosure. There are two species in this enclosure, the Eastern Grey Kangaroo and the Red Kangaroo. … … … … … Mummys with joeys. … … … … … And mummys with joeys 'at foot'.  This term 'at foot', is used when a female kangaroo has a joey about 10 months of age, that is able to live outside the pouch but still comes back to put her head in the pouch for a feed. At the same time, there will be another younger joey in the pouch and in a lot of cases, an embryo will also be in a dormant stage waiting for the move up to the pouch. This mummy has another joey in her pouch. … To make all these joeys, there has to be some males and this next photo shows the biggest of the males at Currumbin. He is a Red Kangaroo and is the dominant male. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … A group of Kangaroos is called a "mob" and this is most definitely tucker time for the mob. … … … … … … … At the end of the day, there is some aboriginal dancers performing not far from the enclosure. The Kangaroos all stopped in their steps to look in the direction of the music. Of course there is one or two that won't be disturbed by anything. The last part of my visit to Currumbin is saved for some of the birds that I encountered through-out the day.
The Bush-stone Curlew The Pied Heron … Shelducks The Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. The cockatoo with the yellow markings is the female. … … The ever beautiful Rainbow Lorikeet The Glossy Ibis The female Satin Bower Bird, who's partner is glossy blue in colour but was very busy making her nest, so was not free to have his photo taken. This female Darter (Anhinga in other parts of the world), flew directly at me. I thought I was her target. Fortunately she landed a couple of feet from me. … The Jabiru or Black-necked Stork Amongst the trees, Kookaburras can always be seen. And my last bird for the day is the Wedge-tailed Eagle, our largest raptor. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
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19/3/2008 - Polar Bears
Well it has taken time, but I have finally got around to working my way through 830 photos of polar bears. They are such a joy to photograph as you will see. … … … … … … … … That was quiet time, now the fun begins. As you all know, I don't like to see animals in captivity but when you watch these guys having so much fun, it makes me wonder, maybe their life isn't so bad after all.  … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … With play time over and two exhausted bears, it is time for some serious back rubbing. Check out the paws. … … … … … … An itchy nose. At midday the bears decided to curl up together behind a rock and sleep for 3 hours. So I stood there for 2 1/2 hours not wanting to miss the boys waking up. Eventually, I couldn't take the standing any longer and went off to visit the bird rehabiliation area. Of course, when I got back, who should be awake, or nearly. … Still fighting off the need for sleep. … And my final shot tells me, he has had enough of photos for the day.
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About Me
Friends
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We then turned our attention to a pod of 3 whales that were travelling up the coast line together.
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Our most spectacular sight was watching two of these whales slapping their tails on the top of the water in unison. When one tail was up the other was slapping the water. This went on for sometime and if it wasn't meant for our amusement, then they were having one hell of a fun time.
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If you look really closely in the shot below, you will see the whales eye on the water line.
This Petrel was the only bird I was able to photograph as he landed very close to the boat.
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It was quite something to watch this bird run on water as it prepared to take flight.
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Next time we go whale watching I will definitely be taking a better look at the off shore conditions.
You can imagine my excitement, so when Ricki pulled up in his car and I told him what I had seen, he laughed at me and told me to follow him.
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Now that you have seen there was not a shortage of kangaroos, you will understand why I took so many photographs. 
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Females far out-weighed males but this is a male below.
The next few photos are definitely of a male. 
And he was a big boy.
I would say this chap had a lot to do with the number of joeys that were appearing in pouches.
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Male and female.
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Nature calls........
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Do you think that this mummy was trying to tell me no more photos!
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My next entry will show you some of the area and some of the bird life.
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This Whistling Kite flew over my head as I got out out of the car. He was so close, I thought he was going to land.
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Then came the Black-shouldered Kite sitting on the telegraph lines. When I first saw it from a distance, I thought that it must have been a seagull and as I drove past, I could see those enormous eyes looking at me. The brakes went on suddenly, I did a quick turn and then I saw the beauty of this bird.
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After coffee at a friends house, I went down to the ramp where the fisherman bring in their boats. The Pelicans were there in all their glory and putting on a great aerial show for me.
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While I was sitting on the ground photographing the Darter, the Corellas were making an incredible amount of noise in the pine trees on the other side of the lake.
After I finished, I walked around the other side to get some closer shots. I didn't stay long as it is very dangerous with these birds flying around. They are constantly dropping pine cones and it is like missiles coming down on you.
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As I turned to walk away, these gorgeous little duckings appeared in front of me.
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That's the Australian Pelican if you didn't guess.
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The Pied Cormorant
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The Little Pied Cormorant with the yellow beak and no facial colouring.
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The Little Black Cormorant and wow.......did his colours stand out.
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The Brown Booby
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And the Fairy Penguins.
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This little guy stole my heart.
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As most of you know I never show fences, walls, doors, nets or anything else in my photos, that shows the animals are in captivity but I caught this fellow passing beneath me as I crossed a bridge and had to grab the shot.
The Polar Bears are coming up next.