Winifred Falls

We thought it was a good idea to start our new year resolution early.
More bush walking and boy did we know it.
We went to the Royal National Park again and walk to Winifred Falls from the Visitors Centre.
Roughly 6 Km all together.

It was a little bit harder then we expected it to be, we dealt with rough terrain with some moderate climbs and steep tracks with sliding rocks. And the temperature didn't help either it must have been in the soaring 3o's. We had just enough water to complete the hike and afterwards we immediately bought some more. The walk itself was nice though with hardly any people on the track. (probably because it was midday and we were on it during the hottest part of the day!)
On the the way to the falls we saw a Red-browed Finch and a hazy city in the distance.

But our main objective was Winifred Falls.

That little walk took us 4 hrs in the end, we were broken but we felt like we had achieved something.
That night we met up with some friends in the city and only when our bodies were re-hydrated with several drinks were we able to hold a conversation and we felt better as the night progressed and the walk had become a mere memory.

Eastern Water Skink

Christmas 2007

We celebrated Christmas at the same beach as we did 3 years ago when we were backpacking in Australia and that was at Shelly Beach just a short walk from the more popular Manly Beach. The weather was a lot better then it was 3 years ago it was +/-20C then and now it was maybe 25C with none of the predicted showers. It was warm but not too hot. It was just right for a great Xmas barbie at the beach. And we are already thinking of going there again next year.

We hope your Christmas was as good as ours.

The Entrance

A few weeks ago we heard of the pelican feeding at the Entrance (90 mins from Sydney) and that it was well worth to check it out for ourselves. With the Festive holidays started we thought it would be a great time to have a look. Since the pelican feeding is not until 15.30 each day we decided we would make a day out of it by leaving home early and we would visit the Australian Reptile Park in the morning and then drive on to see the feeding.

We were well prepared for any eventuality umbrellas sun block and I made sure the camera batteries were charged. When we left the next day and it came to making photos I discovered that because I thought it would be wise to load the images from the memory cards onto the laptop, that I had left all the memory cards at home. !@$#$!
Fortunately the camera has a built in memory card but with it being so small I could only take about 5 photos. But fortunately we also brought our phones with us so we took some pictures with them.

The pelicans know exactly when it is nearing 15.30 and they are already waiting to be fed. A nice chance to have some quick pics before the feeding frenzy starts of.

The Entrance is a nice place and it is certainly a place we would consider going to for a short weekend break.

North Head and Northern Beaches

A view we normally don't get from the Harbour Bridge so when Caroline drove over it when we drove to North Head and Manly for some snorkelling at Shelly Beach I could not resist but to take a photo.

View of Sydney Harbour and Sydney from North Head

Because it was still early in the day we decided to go and drive north all the way to Palm Beach. (apparently famous from Home and Away a television series neither of us have ever watched)
It is a nice area because the land bit is a peninsula and you can easily walk from one side to the other.

And then we went south again even though we visited some more beaches on our way home we were pretty much beached out.

Fuji Film

A few weeks back my Fuji F410 Finepix camera ceased to work after 4 years and 9430 photos.
As described earlier in this blog.

The last picture I took with my F410, so I thought.

This happened right before we went to Noosa and it was a shame as the camera had served me for so long and had been around the world with us, literally. I didn't want to give up on the camera yet and went to Fixya.com. There they alerted me to a known fault that several major digital camera manufacturers have experienced with their CCD chip. With that information I Googled this news article from the Wall Street Journal and I wrote an email to Fuji with a link to that article enclosed. They responded the next day saying my problem with the camera appeared to be a problem that might fall under their recall and I should send it to the Fuji repair centre too make sure. Which I did. And it turned out to be that specific problem and they repaired my camera free of charge.

My point being Fuji Australia gave me great customer service even though my camera was over 4 years old and I was no longer in possession of the warranty papers and it was repaired at no cost to me other then the postage. If you have an old camera that ceased working it might be worth checking the above described symptoms and act on them rather then just discard the camera.

Needless to say I have a new toy and Caroline has a 'new' camera to. =)

Weird Nature Bizarre Breeding

Bizarre Breeding is episode 2 of the BBC series Weird Nature.
In six engrossing episodes, many natural oddities of animal behaviour are explored, interpreted and filmed in exquisite detail. Using a unique presentation that combines elements of drama and special effects to explaining each amazing subject, Weird Nature delves deep into the every day lives of living things to reveal that the bizarre is commonplace in the natural world.

If you liked this one you might also like : Weird Nature Fantastic Feeders

An Old English Folk Song by Bob Saget

Bob Saget sings an old English folk song.

Christening the Barbie

Sunday we finally christened our barbecue. We've had it for a while but because the evenings were relatively cold we hadn't bother to buy a gas bottle yet. Until yesterday and mostly because we HAVE to try it out this week because we have invited some friends over for a barbecue next Saturday.

And what do you christen the barbecue better with then a good T-bone steak. And because we are in Australia we also put another shrimp on the barbie and ended up with a nice plate of Surf and Turf.

Needless to say the Chef was exhausted after all that hard work.

Santa's Workshop

With Christmas fast approaching it is good to see where most toys come from and how they are made.

SANTA'S WORKSHOP takes you to the real world of China's toy factories. Workers tell us about long working hours, low wages, and dangerous work places. Those who protest or try to organize trade unions risk imprisonment. Low labour costs attract more and more companies to China. Today more than 75% of our toys are made in China. But this industry takes its toll on the workers and on the environment.

The Hunter Valley

Yesterday I had the pleasure of driving Caroline and 3 other ladies around the Hunter Valley. Something I was praised for more then once by the people working at the wineries. And now I know why. (Just kidding) It is a world renowned wine region with over a hundred wineries (?). And that is exactly the reason why I was driving as I never learned to get an appreciation for wine.

It is a beautiful part of New South Wales only 2 hrs outside of Sydney. We managed to visit about six vineyards and have a 1 hour picnic on one of the vineyards grounds where the ladies sampled 2 bottles of sparkling wine and we sampled the region's local cheeses on crackers before heading back to Sydney. It was a surprisingly scenic drive and although I wasn't drinking (when I drive I am a teetotaller) I had a great time. The highlight of the day for me was when I was able to rescue this huge Blue Tongue lizard on the driveway of one of the wineries.

Mr Grumpy

It was the first one I had seen in the wild and at first I thought it resembled a big Death Adder because of its markings and shape which is a small head plump body thin tail. Obviously the legs were a dead give away that it wasn't a snake.

This is the Death Adder I 'petted' in the midst of Kakadu NP as it didn't need rescuing.
Something I still get smacked over the head for by Caroline and my best mate Matt who was there and horrified at the time when I did it.

It wasn't a snake but that didn't spoil the fun, it was the first Blue Tongue Caroline and I had seen in the wild (I can't speak for the others) and because it was in the middle of the driveway, I had a great excuse for a hands on experience. It flicked its blue tongue at me first and tried to bite me but because I wasn't holding it firmly it soon relaxed although it still remained puffed up.
The drive home was uneventful apart from some games in the car. Luckily for me all of them didn't involve either me or any singing.

So leaves me to say if you like wine the Hunter Valley is a must see. If you don't like wine the Hunter Valley is still a very nice place to visit and it is only a 2 hours drive away North of Sydney.

Noosa

The other week we went away for a long weekend and we flew to Noosa in Queensland. It is a famous holiday destination full of hotels and resorts but it has managed to keep it's small town feel.

It was the first place we travelled together and we fell in love with it. It has beautiful beaches and also beautiful scenery in the form of National Parks. It is also one of the few places where we haven't managed to see one koala even when if you believe all the road signs there should be one dying to pose for your camera or test the brakes on your car every 100m. Nevertheless that wasn't our main goal we came back to see one of our favourite spots in Australia. Anyhoo there was plenty of other wildlife to see and beautiful walks to do.

The weather forecast wasn't that promising but of course it only rained on the day we planned a picnic. Which we didn't mind because of the high temperature. We also managed to get a sneaky upgrade which included a spa.

Shrek the Halls

Shrek's Christmas special in 3 parts.

Part 2 and part 3.

Fight Science

Fight Science was on National Geographic the other day, unfortunately I couldn't watch the whole thing and I didn't think about taping it. But thanks to the wonders of the Internet.

Sweet Caroline

Although this will always remember me only of MY sweet Caroline.

Here is what Neil Diamond had to say about the song's origins.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Neil Diamond held onto the secret for decades, but he has finally revealed that President Kennedy's daughter was the inspiration for his smash hit "Sweet Caroline."

"I've never discussed it with anybody before - intentionally," the 66-year-old singer-songwriter told The Associated Press on Monday during a break from recording. "I thought maybe I would tell it to Caroline when I met her someday."
He got his chance last week when he performed the song via satellite at Caroline Kennedy's 50th birthday party.
Diamond was a "young, broke songwriter" when a photo of the president's daughter in a news magazine caught his eye.
"It was a picture of a little girl dressed to the nines in her riding gear, next to her pony," Diamond recalled. "It was such an innocent, wonderful picture, I immediately felt there was a song in there."

Top Gear in Africa II

Unfortunately the previous videos on this post have been taken offline. Here is attempt no. 2
In season 10 the producers have found a great new challenge for the Top Gear crew .
Buy a used car (not four wheel drive) for not more then £1,500 and drive from Botswana's border with Zimbabwe in the east to its border with Namibia 1,000 miles away to the west .
Unfortunately the full version is not available yet so here it is in 8 parts. But just like their Fly-drive challenge USA I will post the full version as soon as I have found it.
Enjoy.



Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6, Part 7, Part 8.

Instead of making a whole new post I edited this one. (attempt no.3 this is 08/01/08)

Is Anyone Out There?

Is anyone out there Creature Comforts by Aardman productions.

Steve Irwin Day

It has been over a year since his tragic accident and today is the first Steve Irwin Day in his remembrance. It's a day to celebrate his life and support the causes he stood for.

Prime Minister John Howard paid tribute to Irwin in a pre-recorded video message at the zoo's Crocoseum, saying the Crocodile Hunter had left an "indelible mark" on Australia.

"We all miss Steve," Mr Howard said.

"He was a larger-than-life individual who gave all of us a special and new way of thinking about the environment and all creatures great and small."

Steve Irwin on this blog

Rogue

A must see for anyone who is visiting to the Northern Territory.
It's about a croc/wildlife cruise that goes horribly wrong when a saltwater crocodile turns man eater and preys on the tourists.
We did a similar tour 3 years ago on the Mary River, NT in a boat that was hardly bigger then a bathtub (smaller then the boat in the movie) with the tour operators Gondwana in 2004 (an article from 2005) Mum don't read it. We managed to get stuck in the reeds when a 15-17 ft croc slid in the water in as many feet away from us and we had to use our paddles to push us out in what must have been knee deep water and no sight of that massive beast except for a few fish that jumped out of the water near the boat (fleeing?).
We loved it .....after we were safely on dry land again.

Taken moments before we got stuck

The VB Orchestra

The 90 men strong Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performs on nothing but VB stubbies.

Another busy weekend

Last week my Fuji F410 died on me after 9,430 photos. And because we are going on a short holiday to Noosa soon we needed a new digital camera our choice finally came to a black Panasonic Lumix TZ3 with 10x optical zoom a lot of new functions and pretty much idiot proof.
I did however went to a website called Fixya with my camera's problem, they alerted me that my Fuji may be part of a recall as a few years ago the the chips of quite a few camera brands were found to be faulty and rather then have a massive recall some companies opted to repair the fault free of charge only after a consumer has that specific fault as I read in this Wallstreet Journal article. So the camera is on its own little holiday to see if that is the case . Fingers crossed it will be back as new in a few weeks . If it's not that particular fault it is unfortunately not worth to fix and then we were better of to upgrade as we did already.
So now all I needed to do is wait for us to go out there and try out the new camera . And that came Friday when we went to Sculpture by the Sea fearing it would be really busy during the weekend. And to our delight it was relatively quiet and the weather really held up well although the forecast was showers. For anyone who is in Sydney until 18/11/07 it is certainly worthwhile to take a look.

Having been there on Friday meant we still had most of the weekend ahead of us. We then decided to go to bills Surry Hills on Saturday to have lunch at one of Bill Granger 's restaurants.

And after a great and reasonably priced lunch we just ambled through Surry Hills and visited the studio of a local artist the late Brett Whitely. Unfortunately not all his work is on display at once but rotating the studio also contains a travelling exhibitions . So hopefully in a few months some of his other art will be on display again. Don't get me wrong it was all still nice.

Oh, and we also went to Kings Cross during daylight a first for us. We hardly recognised it and we finished our day out with another fine meal, dinner this time in a very nice Italian restaurant called Il Fagiano in Potts Point.