office building over church over fountain over subway stop
I <3 jacarandas...
...for obvious reasons
on a little walk around the Rocks and CBD
ben finds the shade
the harbor bridge really is a gorgeous piece of engineering
the clue bench
the game clue bench has a great view
the Masked Lapwing -- very “Phantom”
ibis and office
a late-blooming duckling
duck ramp!
MYO-ammo tree
botanical gardens break
Featherdale Wildlife Park
wallabee cuteness
hello roos!
echidna feeding time
ibis yoinks bugs from the echidna
ok, so, that is a baby fruit bat on momma bat's stomach
koalas are a bit surly
how to carry a koala
big ol' croc
awesome half-albino peacock
totally loving this peacock's colorings
cassowary
hello rainbow lorakeet
wombat foot
rock wallaby
they like albinos at this place...
dingos
dingo lunch
penguin feeding
frilled lizard wouldn't frill for us
guess what
peacock butt
no wind was used in the making of this photograph
peacock booty shake
quoll
more echidna time
hello eye
more crazy owl eyes
tasmanian devil
Tiger Quoll - soooo cute
redneck wallaby -- literally! that's what it's called. sweeeet.
surly cassowary
more echidnaville
long-necked turtle!
albino wallaby
hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil...squak no evil?
the goodfeathas
sleeeepy koala
koalas really know how to chill
baby emus
the Shelton-Lea B&B in Katoomba
our bedroom windows
the front door
our sitting room with fireplace and breakfast table
check out the awesome old skool lightswitches
our bedroom
this town looooves its rhododendrons
cute japanese maple-y garden
echo point overlook; ben and the three sisters
there is no way for my photos to convey how windy it was
evergreen orchids???
the cicadas were SO LOUD we had to plug our ears several times during this hike
katoomba cascades (top of the waterfall)
hey chuck and amy -- future vacation spot! (reid's plateau)
way to grow in the niche, tree
lots of waterfalls on this hike, dunno what most were called
katoomba falls
cool echo-y bird sounds near katoomba falls
it's a long way down over those falls
more katoomba falls
that is how windy it was.
ahhh, the blue mountains
supposedly more blue because of eucalyptus tree residue
pretty falls
now THAT is how windy it was...right before the falls got blown onto us and we got soaked!
the falls themselves are fenced off, so it was “nice” of the wind to bring the falls right to us!
arm-length photo
i <3 big trees
there's the whole upper chunk of the falls
old coal mine vent
here's the crazy ex-mine railroad turned passenger cars
you start reclining
and then ZOOM!
you're vertical!
it's like the climb to a rollercoaster's big drop, only with a wayyyy better view
the end of the ride
thanks for the lift!
back to echo point for sunset
lovely light
walking to the three sisters
the gateway to the giant stairway
top of a sister
my cutie, high above the valley floor
blue mountain skies are gorgeous
goodnight, blue mountains!
good evening, forster-tuncurry
the entrance to wallis lake
neato red passiflora
mini-hike to the seal rocks lighthouse
lighthouse beach
semaphore tower
great sign!
this is, like, the most “designed” lighthouse i've ever seen
love this sign -- jazz hands! even while plunging to his death
colonial architech, eh?
it was a steep walk up the hill! but lighthouse beach is appealingly empty
hello!
lighthouse ladybug
it's got many of the original charictaristics built in 1875
the fresnell lens is the original 1875 glass - still functional, just electric now
aboriginal painting accent is a nice contrast to the englishy lighthouse
next...on to the beach
everything you wanted to know about the sugarloaf lighthouse
now on lighthouse beach
these are mini dunes compared to where we'll go tomorrow
thanks, lighthouse beach...onto the next one!
another seal rocks beach
some nice tidepools too
the Tuncurry side of the city beach
it's the after-work surfing rush hour
everyone was riding shortboards
dunes restoration project in tuncurry
downtown tuncurry, past the dunes
looking towards forster
goodbye wallis lake, seeya later foster...so long and thanks for the dolphins!
on the road to stockton bight, you have to cross a toll ferry!
aren't you a cute ferry, yes you are...
little walk while waiting for the ferry
driving on the ferry
on the cute ferry!
leaving one “dock”
heading towards the other “dock”
there's only room for about 4 cars on the whole ferry
ropes guide the ferry
one winch on each corner of the ferry; the ferry pilot is still “driving” the thing, but the ropes provide guidance
approaching the far side
into the Myall national park
so many cool bird sounds
a gray day on the lake
welcome to the dunes at Little Gibber (aka Dark Point)
it's a bit of a hike to the beach
but we were the only ones headed for the beach that day
we spy the ocean!
but there's still a lotta sand everywhere
it's a gray day behind us
other people have come to look at the dunes
but we were the only ones goin' to the beach
climbing up the side of a nearly-vertical sand hill
hello up there!
ben comes bouncing down the hill
deb rolls down the hill
ben belly-crawls down the hill
pretty pretty sky
almost to the beach
...almost...
opening onto...
...the beach!
not a single person besides us
yay for the “low season”
the water was soooo gorgeous
now later afternoon, time to say goodbye
there was a fenced-off area in the dunes; an Aboriginal shellmound (midden = trash heap)
another crazy vertical hill to run down
hi down there!
bushes growing right out of the sand
goodbye stockton bight!
hello Terrigal - the Amilee B&B, home of the Central Coast's best brekky!
Terrigal lagoon, right outside the front door
Avoca beach, right before the rain arrived
we hung out and read until it started thundering...
and went to The Entrance (kendra's grandma's town)
for the daily pelican feeding!
long reach!
the entrance with the tide in
sandbar sitters
blue feet!
pelican coterie
they use a big FLAP to get out of the water
the colored beak-pouch means this one is in heat
crazy water-fountain-kid-playzone
walkin' out to where the sea meets the lake
it's gonna rain again any second
morning glories on the beach!
thanks for having us, NSW! it was fun.
