A coastal treck

It was good to have Denis come down for another visit last week.
It gave me an opportunity to share some of the wilder parts of the territory in which I live.


Hidden coves with mountainous surrounds, riddled with treacherous slippery rocks is where we went.
I'm sure the scenery was worth it :)

These rock pools, with vivid red anemone were a good find.
They show the way in which the creature retracts its tentacles when faced with violent seas and the waterless conditions that it endures.



This Striated ( or Mangrove) Heron was a little shy of the camera.
Possibly due to the fact that he usually seen this far down the NSW coast.


As was this White Faced Heron.


Though, with careful stalking, I was able to get close enough for this shot.



Yes, an eventful trip that saw two weary photographers glad to be home.



We have yet to track down the elusive Death Adders that live down here.
Perhaps that will have to wait for another visit :)

Return from Summer Break

Well this Summer Break proved to be one of interest with friends and relatives over from Europe.
They were all surprised( including my side of the family) to find out that Petra and I had gone off to " tie the knot " 4 weeks earlier up at Carrington Falls in a small personal ceremony with 2 friends to act as witnesses for our great day....hey call it artistic expression.



Congrats to RayRay on the shots...you didn't do bad at all mate :)

...Anyway, once everything had settled down(lol) it was time for a little Aussie tour.
What better place to start than the roof of Australia....



Insects will live almost everywhere, and the warmer months of this Alpine environment are alive with a variety of forms.



It was cool, although the sun was quite hot.
There was even some scattered snow on the peaks...



Another national park we visited was the first such park in the world.
Royal National Park, just south of Sydney, has recovered well from the 90 percent burn of 2000.
The heath lands have greened remarkably from the ashen state I saw after the fires.
Audley is a good spot for a picnic with a friendly ranger pointing out this little guy...An Eastern Dwarf Tree frog. At around 1cm in length, its aptly named.


The Eastern coast of Australia holds many environments, and species...Including birds such as this King Parrot.


... and these huge orb weavers with circular webs over 2m in diameter






Coastal birds..like these pelican... travel way inland top have their young, only to return in warmer months for the great fishing of the far south coast.



Yep...good fishing down here :)



Hoping all had a good Xmas, and a Happy New Year.
May this year be prosperous and safe.

Escarpment Trip

Last week, although a little tired from getting an hour or two sleep, I accompanied Denis on a trip to the pristine eucalypt forests that exist at the very lip of the escarpment.



As Denis had access granted to a friends property, we proceeded through paddocks surrounded by sections of old rain forest similar in nature to that of the Robertson reserve, though all large canopy trees, such as coach wood, had been removed long ago by loggers.





















This old fence post giving
an idea as to the tenacity of life.



We then , after approaching the eastern boundary of the forest, descended at about 25 degrees through dry rain forest. Sounding a contradiction of terms,the place is. Dominated by large canopy trees, such as Black wood, the area was devoid of any undergrowth and was heavily leaf littered. The few tree ferns were large and ancient, pictured below with Denis for scale. The bole of the fern giving an idea of its age.






















Eventually we reached the escarpment edge.

The rain forest gave way abruptly to unspoilt eucalypt forest.
Too difficult to log, the area is basically unchanged.
The picture, below, not doing justice to the size of the trees that inhabit it.























A most interesting excursion to visit true local old growth forest.
Nothing like it.
Thanks Denis.

Creatures of the forest

The rain forest is full of creatures presently and no just the ones carrying cameras.

Following are a couple of shots I got with Denis the other day.

The weevil pictured was quite small and had antenna located on the sides of his proboscis.

This native snail was an unusual golden colour, and is almost transparent .