vrijdag 21 december 2018

Australia! From Brisbane to Melbourne

Never thought it would come this far, but in October 2018 we flew from Holland to the other side of the world, hoping that this great effort would bring something really worthwhile for the biologist and the nature loving photographer.
And so it did! It was a beautiful adventure, five weeks full of nice observations. Marsupials, reptiles and birds we’d never seen before, bird sounds we’d never heard before and lovely spring fragrances.

It was most amazing to look straight into the eyes of another (not human ;-) being (> 6 feet!), but this happened several times! First there were these enormous kangaroos, quite relaxed, but curious to know who we might be; then the Australian pelicans, also man’s high.  A week or so later we were even more surprised to meet these beautiful tall emus. They too were very relaxed and friendly and seem to say: “Have we met before?” We’ll never forget this beautiful and special encounter. 
I’m glad my Coolpix did it’s work, as you can see ;-)

By the way, it was not at all easy to make a (limited!) choice from all the pictures I made and cherish. As you can see, living beings and birds in particular, represent, together with some wood structures and water vistas, the most special moments of our fantastic time in Australia. I hope with this blog to share with you some of our experiences and the neverending beauty of nature!




First Kangaroo encounter!
                                           
Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris)
                                              
Water monitor (Varanus salvator)
                                                   
Grey goshawk (Accipiter novaehollandiae)
                                               
Stony creek Tresle Bridge Victoria
                                                   
Superb and Variegated Fairy-wrens (Malurus)
                                     
Red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus)
                                       
Rainbow bee-eater (Merops ornatus)
                                                 
Sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)­
Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)

                                       
Eastern water dragon (Physignathus lesueurii)
                                           
Urunga, Bellinger river
                                                           
Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)
                                     
View from Great Ocean road
                                                       
Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus)
                                             
Jelly fish at Shark bay, Evans head
                                                   
Silver seagull, Eastern whip bird, Brown cuckoo dove, Crested pigeon, Sooty oystercatcher
          
Rainbow in fountain at Roma Parkland, Brisbane
                                       
Merino sheep (Ovis aries) in SE Australia, Giffard
                                       
Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
                                                              
Thickets at Tura Head NSW
                                                                
Koalas at Towerhill, Warrnambool, VIC