Sunday, March 04, 2012
Upmarket Penguin Lodgings
Not all of the penguins on Montague Island live in burrows or small caves. The rangers have an ongoing battle with kikuyu grass which has been choking the island vegetation and making it difficult for penguins to burrow through it. They are slowly managing to eradicate the grass. One thing that they tried to make it easier for the penguins was to place nesting boxes around the island to see if the penguins would use them instead of trying to dig through the tough grass. Well, some did and lots didn't. One of the ones that did has claimed the top real estate deal on the island. Not just a box. This penguin apartment seems to have central heating and TV, if the structures on the roof are to be believed. His apartment is just to the side of the track between the jetty and the lighthouse so he gets lots of visitors. Lucky Ralph.Labels: birds, lighthouse, New South Wales, south coast
Montague Island Quarry
All of the rock needed to build the Montague Island lighthouse came from this one big granite outcrop at the top of the island, just over 100 metres from the tower site. You can see the drill marks in the face of the rock where explosives were set to split the rock. Near the main rock there are small piles of roughly squared rock left over from the material needed for the tower. If you look carefully around and under these left-over rocks you can find some interesting things. When I was there a mother crested tern was watching us and making a great noise. The reason was that she had a nest and a chick on one of the rocks. Underneath another rock a little penguin was nesting. Normally penguins nest in burrows in the soil down among the vegetation. This one obviously prefers the security of a good solid roof and walls. There are no cats, dogs or rats on the island so she is quite safe in her stone house.Labels: birds, lighthouse, New South Wales, south coast
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Montague Island Light
Here it is, Montague Island lighthouse. Construction of this lighthouse started in1878 and was completed in 1881. It was built by James Barnet who built 15 other lighthouses in NSW. The tower is built from stone quarried on the island. The light has been automatic since 1986 and the original lantern and lens is now in the Narooma Visitors' Centre. Power for the light comes from arrays of solar panels near the tower. To get onto the island you have to climb a ladder up to the jetty you can see in the top photo. The crane is there to unload supplies. It used to be the way that lighthouse keepers got their stuff, but now it is used by National Parks and Wildlife rangers based on the island. The whole island is a wildlife sanctuary and access has to be arranged with NPWS. The track from the jetty up to the lighthouse is steep in places and a bit slippery after rain (anyhow, Dad says it was). The rangers are having a big push to rid the island of weeds. It is complicated because Little Penguins nest in the weedy areas, so the penguins in a small area have to be caught and removed, then the weeds sprayed and burned to allow native vegetation to take over. It is slow but is successful and the penguin numbers are increasing. The surprising thing about the lighthouse is that the tower is not as high as it looks from the sea. It is actually built on the top of a big rock. Well worth a visit if you are in Narooma on a day when the bar is safe and one of the boats are operating.Labels: lighthouse, New South Wales, south coast
Across The Bar
The most exciting and scary part of our trip out to Montague Island was getting out through the breakwalls at the mouth of the river at Narooma and into the ocean. The passage is fairly narrow and it has a sand and rock bar across it under the water. That makes it very rough when the tide and wind are wrong. We hit it on a rough day and the waves were taller than our boat. The captain, Andy, waited just inside the breakwalls and when he saw a gap in the breakers he gunned the motor and "The Sherrif" went like a speedboat. We hit the gap and literally flew over the wave crest into calmer water. Dad tried to take photos as we went over the bar but the camera got splashed a lot and he was busy hanging on, so this is the only one that is OK and it doesn't show a really big wave. The run out to the island was fairly smooth after that. By the time we went back across the bar on the way home the sea was a lot flatter and Andy just surfed the boat across. On the way out to the island I had a go at fishing. Nathan, the crew, set a couple of lines out behind the boat and set me up to mind one of them. During the day we caught three big snapper. Actually, I felt a bit sorry for the poor fish, but it was pretty exciting as well.Labels: boats, New South Wales, south coast
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Cloud Critter
Clouds are fascinating things and I could watch them for ages. They are always changing shape and colour. The ones you get in summertime (Dad says they are called Cumulus clouds) are the best. They start building up around lunch time and sometimes they develop into monster storm clouds. Here's a photo of one I saw two days ago. It is not very big as clouds go, but it has a very interesting shape. It looks like a dog's head sticking out of a fluffy bush. Maybe the cloud doggie was lurking in ambush, waiting for an aeroplane to go past so that he could chase it. I tried to get another picture without the house roofs in the way, but by the time I walked far enough to get clear the cloud had changed and the shape was gone.Labels: Canberra
More Ships at Sydney
Last week we ducked down to Sydney for a couple of days. There were two reasons why Mum wanted to make the trip. Firstly, she wanted to take us to see an exhibition of paintings by a guy called Pablo Picasso at the Art Gallery of NSW, and secondly she wanted to take us to a concert at the Sydney Opera House. Well, I have to admit that I really can't see why some people think Picasso is so great. To me it looks like he draws things the same way as I do when I am mucking around with Dad's model paints. Some of his drawings look like he has cut them into small pieces and reassembled the bits in random order. Mum really liked the exhibition, Dad and I liked some of the other paintings in the rest of the art gallery. The concert was by Il Divo. They were OK, but we were totally impressed by the Opera House Concert Hall. Superb architecture and acoustics. Do experience it if you possibly can. For me, the highlight of the trip was where we stayed. Mum found a great deal in a place near the Opera House, right on Circular Quay. From the balcony I could see all sorts of boats, from small ferries to big cargo ships. Moored on the other side of the quay was the cruise ship "Pacific Jewel". I was able to watch the passengers go on board and the tugs backing her out to set off on a Pacific cruise. And guess what? From the Art Gallery cafe we could see our favourite ocean liner "Queen Mary 2" moored at Garden Island. I could even see the cabin we were in last year. It really is time that the Oldies got the necessary cash together to take us all on another cruise (Dad take note).Labels: boats, New South Wales, Sydney
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Gumboots
While we were at Araluen, I did a bit of exploring down by the river. Last year the river flooded and dumped loads of broken trees and junk along the banks. Now this stuff is slowly rotting away and it provides lots of homes for all sorts of bugs, beetles and small mammals. The problem is that it is still damp and mouldy and that means that Mum wasn't happy about letting me go pottering around in it. The solution? Borrow Aunty Vicki's gumboots. Gumboots are great things. They keep your feet dry in shallow water and are too tough for mozzies and snakes to bite through. In the top photo you can see me coming out of a little cave, probably dug out by a small wallaby for a resting place (at least there was lots of wallaby poo in it). Sharp-eyed readers will notice that I have the boots on the wrong feet. That didn't matter because my legs aren't long enough to get my feet down there anyway. As for the bottom photo, well, as you know, gumboots are very necessary gear for crossing puddles without getting your feet wet.Labels: family, New South Wales, south coast
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Whoops, Dropped Them.
Yesterday we did something a bit different. Unka Mark, Aunty Vicki and their friend Sonya were camping in their caravan down at a pretty place called Araluen. That's less than 2 hours from home so we drove down to stay with them for a while over lunch. Unka Mark does great barbeques and Aunty Vicki makes really tasty salads. Well, one of the great things about camps is that usually you have a fire there. Not always in summer in Australia because sometimes they start bushfires. Anyhow, Unka Mark's fire was just the right size for toasting things. I tried to find some marshmallows but there weren't any, so I tried a couple of snails that were sitting on the stick I wanted to use. The snails weren't happy about that and dropped off as soon as they felt the heat. I had to be satisfied with just poking the ashes and watching my stick burn. Next time, I pack the marshies.Labels: family, New South Wales, south coast
Thursday, February 09, 2012
We Got There!!!!
We finally managed to do it! We got out to Montague Island and saw the lighthouse, seals and seabirds. Mum has been trying to do this for around 35 years but the weather or the rough seas have always prevented her. Not this time. We went out on a little boat called "The Sherrif". The captain was called Andy and the deckhand was Nathan and they were great guys. They even tried to teach Mum how to fish; they caught 3 big Snapper, Mum didn't. Of course, having a small bear on the wheel and at the throttle makes a big difference on any boat trip, and Andy and Nathan were glad of my help. I looked after things in the cabin while they untied the boat and moored it at the wharves. Because we had to go out and back across the bar at the entrance to Narooma inlet we all had to wear lifejackets. I would like to have a picture of just how rough it was getting across the bar, but I was too busy hanging on. Lots more photos of the trip coming in the following posts.Labels: boats, lighthouse, New South Wales, south coast
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Wollongong Harbour
This is one of the prettiest harbours in New South Wales. It is Wollongong harbour and is really two harbours combined into one by the breakwaters. The first harbour is called Belmore Basin. It is on the far side of the picture behind the wharf where the fishing boats are moored. Belmore Basin was dug out by convicts in the 1860's and the small lighthouse was built on the end of the breakwater. Later on the breakwater in the front of the picture was built to make a bigger harbour, today the new area is used by yachts and motor-boats. The hill in the background is Wollongong Head and it has a historic fort and a bigger and newer lighthouse on it. No doubt about it, harbours with boats and lighthouses look really great when the weather is good.Labels: boats, lighthouse, New South Wales, south coast
Blue meets Blu
There is a big blue fish that lives in the aquarium at Merimbula. I am not sure what sort of fish he is because the labels on his tank didn't say. Maybe he was a new catch and the aquarium people hadn't had time to label him yet. Anyhow, he was very interested in us when I was showing Blu around the place. He followed us whenever we got close to the glass. Maybe he was curious about us. After all, he wouldn't see many small bears under the ocean. Maybe (horrible thought) he thought we were something edible. Fish this big make me sort of glad that Mum won't let me go snorkeling with the Oldies, but I won't ever admit that to her.Labels: fish, New South Wales, south coast
Monday, January 16, 2012
Derelict Dockyoard
Here's a couple more photos of the old dockyard on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour. For nearly a century this island was Australia's main shipbuilding and repair centre. Now it is deserted and falling gradually into ruin. Some of it is being restored as Museum exhibits, but the large things are beyond it. The top photo is of the turbine workshop. This used to be full of huge machines that could make or repair anything in a ship's engines. Some of the gigantic machinery is still there in the side bays, but the smaller stuff has been sold to other factories. It is sad and a bit spooky to walk through this huge building. The bottom photo is of one of the dry docks (full of water ) where Australia's O class submarines were refitted and repaired in the 1970's and later. At the end of the dock is the headquarters building for the submarine repair depot and it has the nose of a sub coming out of the lawn in front of the building. There is a large camping area on the island. It is on the area where the metal shop used to be. Other big workshops have been removed as well and one of those areas is used for concerts and stunt shows. That's one use for the island, but to me Cockatoo Island is a sad reminder of the way that Australia was once almost self-sufficient and of the industries we have lost.Labels: boats, New South Wales, Sydney
Friday, January 06, 2012
Christmas Clowning
Incidentally, I had a great Christmas. I really love my new bobsled, but it was also lots of fun spending the day with Unka Mark and Aunty Vicki. These Oldies of mine (and I include M&V as honourary Oldies) really know how to let their hair down and enjoy things. Large mugs of Jingle Juice were consumed, along with lots of superb people-type food. Speaking of hair, what do you think of Unka Mark's blue fuzzy top? Guess what, it is not really his hair. You can look like that too if you have a blue cobweb broom handy. Not that many of us would want to look like that... I helped with the Christmas lights again (check Unka Mark's and my effort from earlier Christmases in older posts). We had cousin Billy T with us, he doesn't get out much, and I introduced him to the art of wiring and lights. It might be a bit hard to see us in the photos, but we are there checking out the lights. Love Christmas time with real friends.What a Test !!
If you have been wondering why there have not been any posts for the last 4 days, the reason is very simple. I have been glued to the TV, watching one of the best cricket tests that I have ever seen. The game between Australia and India was a beaut. Not just because Australia won by a huge margin (an innings and 68 runs), but because it contained some brilliant batting and bowling by both teams. The superb effort of Australia's captain, Michael Clarke, will go into history as one of the best ever, 329 not out!!! He is now officially one of my heroes. I really enjoy watching good batsmen and Clarkie, Hussey, Ponting, Tendulkar and Laxman were really great to watch. So were the bowlers; I like Hilfenhouse, Pattinson and Sharma best. I watched every minute of the match and Mum kept dragging me further away from the TV every time I got close. She says that I will get glassy-eyed if I sit too close but I don't think that will be a problem as my eyes are made of glass anyhow. Now, if either team needs a mascot for the rest of the series, I am open to offers.Monday, January 02, 2012
The Lake Is Low !!!
Our lake, Lake Burley Griffin, is very low and has been for a while now. I wondered why, because it has been raining fairly often and all the dams are full. I thought it might have been so that the rubbish from the floods last year could be cleared a bit more easily but that has all been done now and the lake is still low. You can see from the top photo just how low. The rocks are normally covered by half a metre of water. They have been uncovered now for long enough that weeds are starting to grow in the sandier patches. Obviously something has happened that keeps the lake low. The answer is at Scrivener Dam, the dam that makes the lake. At least one outlet is open for hours every day. The reason is that the hinges on the big flood gates have started corroding and have to be replaced. That means that the lake has to be kept low so that workmen can get to the hinges. Some waterbirds are a bit upset about that because they have been nesting in the swampy bits around some of the lake edges and their nests are now on dry land and foxes and cats could get at them. I hope the lake is back to full before the next nesting season because I think small swans and dabchicks are cute.Labels: Canberra
New Year Again
Don't the years fly past quickly? Here it is 2012 already and I was just catching up with 2011. Something has been puzzling me for ages - Why do Oldies go a little bit crazy on the last evening of the year? Just look at these Oldies of mine. I don't mind them wearing silly masks, but I object strongly to the pressure on me to do the same. Fortunately the only mask that fits me belongs to my alter ego, the Crystal Avenger, so nobody dares laugh at that. So what did we do on New Year's eve? We went for a walk in town and saw some of the concert and the preparations for the fireworks, walked around a bit of the lake and then went home to watch the really big fireworks at Sydney on the TV. The great thing about watching fireworks on TV is that the mozzies can't get at you. The little pests were biting outside as soon as it got dark. Blu hadn't seen fireworks before so I had to teach him all about the different sorts. Dad was a chemist before he was an astronomer, so I know a bit about how fireworks get the different colours and patterns. There is no doubt about it, Sydney has the best fireworks. No where else in the world has such a spectacular harbour as the setting, and most places don't spread their displays over such a large slice of the city. I love it all, New Year, fireworks, Sydney, harbours, even silly Oldies. Did we share a few samples of things alcoholic? What do you think?Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Bear Bobsled
Santa played a mean trick on me this year. He left my present under Unka Mark and Aunty Vicki's tree, so I had to wait until lunchtime to get to it. All morning I was taken around to other places for breakfast and morning tea and had to watch Oldies and kids unwrapping presents. That's really tough on an impatient small bear. Eventually we made it to MY present. Just what I had asked for, my very own bobsled. That covers a vital gap in my transport fleet. I can now zip around in snow. All I need is snow, which doesn't fall in Canberra very often, but when it does I am ready. In the meantime the bobsled has tiny wheels that let me zip across the tiled floors. Note the Royal Australian Bear Force markings. This goes with the RABF aeroplane Santa bought me last year. I suspect that Santa contracted the construction of both vehicles out to one of his larger elves. I can't say which one, just in case I spoil future jobs, but the photo of the Oldie with the weird hat and the mug of Jingle Juice is a strong hint for you.Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Have a Great Christmas
Just 4 more sleeps before Santa comes. It is a very busy time of year for us. Everything seems to come in the same few weeks: the Oldies wedding anniversary, bro Trent's birthday, grandkids (the Oldies' grandkids, not mine) to drop presents off to, and most importantly of all MUM'S BIRTHDAY. I am not allowed to tell you how old she is, but it's a lot older than me, that's for sure. Mum's birthday is tomorrow. Then it's out with the Santa lures and settling into the impatient wait. Of course there is a lot more to Christmas than Santa, but small bears tend to leave the heavy philosophy to Oldies and concentrate on the fun. No matter how you celebrate Christmas, I wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. And I will report in again soon after and report on how Santa did this year.Friday, December 16, 2011
I Found Him
Last week we went down to the special Christmas Barn at Bredbo. This place has just about every Christmas ornament, tree, Santa statue, reindeer or snowman that you could ever think of. Mum and I love the place, Dad just grumbles along to carry things. When I climbed up the lamp post to see what was up there, I looked across the hedge and there he was - Santa, sound asleep on what I thought was a giant, very bent, banana. Well, Mum tells me that that was the crescent Moon, but I know enough about the Moon to know that it doesn't work like that. Anyhow, Santa was there asleep. I tried waking him up. I climbed up and tried tickling his nose, I tried bouncing on his tummy. I even yelled "Wake Up Jeff" just in case that was his secret identity. Nothing worked, so I whispered my request list into his ear and hope that his brain recorder was working. I will find out in just 9 more sleeps. Here's hoping.Thursday, December 08, 2011
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Again
Last night we went for a drive to check out one of the sure signs that Christmas is getting near again. There are many streets where the people dress up their houses with gazillions of Christmas lights. I always like being driven around to see them. The photos are from two of the best displays I have seen so far. The top row is a house in Bissenberger Crescent in Kambah. This house was on TV the other night in a program on Australia's best Christmas light displays. The whole house and garden is covered in lights. The garden is like Santa's cave, full of toys and elves. If you look hard you can see me sitting by the entrance, hoping that Santa will come by. The bottom row shows the biggest and best-lit Christmas tree that this small bear has ever seen. It is in Tennyson Crescent in Forrest. The garden here is also covered in lights that make it a cave. All the lights on the tree and in the garden are controlled by a computer and they change colour and turn on and off in time with music. It is wonderful to see and hear. To top it off, every so often Santa lands on the roof of the house, walks along the roof, and dives down the chimney. I love Christmas light displays, and really think that these ones will take some beating.Labels: Canberra, Christmas, Santa
Friday, December 02, 2011
Bear Crusoes
In just about every story about castaways there is a time when the hero is forced to live in a cave near the beach. On our Narooma trip, Scruffy and I found an ideal cave for castaway bears. It is near the entrance to the little harbour. There are lots of rocks there that have been eroded into strange and beautiful shapes. Most of them have holes and caves in them. This one was just above the high tide line and had everything that castaways would need. A little beach near the front, lots of small rock pools where small fish get trapped as the tide drops and shellfish on the rocks. If the Oldies had left us there, Scruff and I would have been able to survive happily for a long time. We might even have learned to swim.Labels: beach, New South Wales, south coast
As Close As We Got
You probably guessed that I have been away again. This time we spent several days down at Narooma waiting for the sea to calm down and the rain to go away. We were hoping to get out to one of the few lighthouses in New South Wales that Mum hasn't got photos of yet. It is on Montague Island and is one of only two island lighthouses in NSW. The lighthouse went into operation in 1881 and was upgraded to automatic operation in 1986. It is 9km offshore and you should be able to get to the island on one of the tours from Narooma. We didn't get there. The weather was too bad some days and there weren't enough customers on others. The only photos we managed to get were from our apartment balcony. Considering that Dad took this one between rain showers near twilight, it's not bad. Maybe next time we are going through Narooma we will get out to the island and get better photos.Labels: lighthouse, New South Wales, south coast
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Temple of the Queen of the Nile
This is one of the most spectacular ancient buildings in Egypt. It is the mortuary temple of the female pharoah Hatshepsut. There were only a few female rulers of ancient Egypt. Hatshepsut was the most successful of them and ruled for 22 years. Her army secured Egypt's borders and most of her rein was peaceful and prosperous. She sent trading expeditions all over the known world and the results made Egypt very rich. The sign in the left corner of the big photo says that the dead tree stump near it is from a tree brought back by an expedition to the land of Punt, probably Somalia, Eritrea or Arabia. What the Oldies liked best is that there are some really well-preserved hieroglyphs in parts of the temple. Because they have been under cover for thousands of years, rather than buried in sand (the carvings, not the Oldies), the colours have survived. The wall in the photo is covered with hieroglyphs describing an offering to Anubis, the God of mummification. The temple has survived the centuries very well. Restoration is going on, but compared to other buildings in the area, Deir el Bahri, this one is a masterpiece. Let's hope it survives the present troubles in Egypt.Labels: Egypt
Nightmare Stuff
I hate crabs. The nasty things live in the sea, rock pools and beaches. I love going to the beach and looking at the cute greeblies in the rock pools, so you can see that crabs are a problem for me. I can deal with little ones, provided I have a big stick to belt them with or a pile of rocks to toss at them, but big ones give me the creeps. Well, here's a big one. Fortunately, he is safely behind thick glass at the Merimbula aquarium. I was showing Blu what the enemy looked like when the photo was taken. There are big crabs like this all around the coast of Australia, but mostly in deeper water. Although I would really like to go snorkelling with the Oldies, if I bumped into something like this I would be out of the water quicker than Mum was when she met the sharks at Lord Howe Island (that's another story).Labels: crabs, New South Wales, south coast
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The Crystal Avenger Rides Again
Is it any wonder that our house is free of rodents, spiders and creepy-crawlies? Any such critter trying to take up residence is met by the protector of the residence, the Crystal Avenger. Armed with the invincible Hammer of Thorbear and protected by the Shield of Captain Ambearica, riding the Skateboard of Justice, the CA is the scourge of household pest. Dad tells me that the first Avengers movie is due out next year. It will star my heroes Thor, Captain America, Iron Man and Hulk. Well, if the producers are looking for extra characters for the next movies in the series, I can suggest one to Mr Lee. Crystal Avenger, the heroic small bear.Labels: family
Two Ways to See the Nile
There are two main ways to see the temples and towns along the Nile, by boat and by train. Of course you could walk if you wanted to, but it would take a very long time. The Oldies went by boat. There are hundreds of boats, most of them cruising between Luxor and Aswan. Here are a lot of them docked at the cruise wharf at Luxor. The Luxor temple is visible just behind the boats. It is close enough that the Oldies were able to just walk off the boat and into the temple. Notice how the boats are docked three abreast at the wharves. Passengers on the outside boats have to walk across through the lobbies of the inside boats to get to their one. Leaving Luxor is an experience as most of the boats leave at almost the same time and then race upriver to the locks at Edfu; the faster boats get through the locks first. It's fun to see. Boats have the big advantage that they are really comfortable and the food is good. The other way is to go by train between towns. This is faster but nowhere near as comfortable and the food is a bit chancey. This train was on a section of track north of Aswan where the sand dunes were almost on the river bank. One of the big jobs of Egyptian railwaymen is keeping the dunes from covering the tracks. No matter how you travel, the trip along the Nile is fascinating and well worth doing. I wouldn't like to walk it though.Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Is This Cheating?
If you didn't know the full story you could be forgiven for thinking that somebody is cheating. I mean, a whale-watching boat aiming straight at a pod of three dolphins, how likely is that? Well, the dolphins aren't real. They are pump-up rubber ones there for kids to play on. The boat is really a whale-watching one though. It is the one that we went out on when we stayed at Nelson Bay. Just shows that you can't assume the photo always tells the story.Labels: boats, New South Wales, north coast
Cruising Down the River
Actually, these pictures were taken when the Oldies were cruising UP the river. Not just any old river either, but the longest river in the world, the Nile. It's just four years ago that they were in Egypt, and they never stop talking about it. One of the highlights was three days cruising the river between Luxor and Aswan. It really fascinated them because the Nile is unlike any river they had seen. It runs through the desert and the amount of cultivation, trees and pasture depends only on the depth of the water table. In some places the land on either bank is low and farms stretch for kilometres out to the first hills. In other places the hills are right on the river bank and the desert comes right to the river. There are hundreds of boats using the Nile, from big tourist liners like the one that the Oldies were on, to small sailing boats called feluccas. There is always something to see; people fishing, farmers plowing (using cows as tractors), cattle grazing in swampy patches, and hordes of kids who come down to the banks to wave. A Nile cruise is something that everybody should do and, when things in Egypt settle down, think about a visit. Egypt really is a very special place, one that you will never forget.Labels: boats, cruising, Egypt
Thursday, November 03, 2011
The New Big Dam
Yesterday we went for a trip out to see the work on Canberra's new dam. It is being built on the Cotter river. There is already a dam there, but the new one will be three times as high and hold a huge amount of water. The new one will actually cover the old one when it is finished. There is a great walking trail from the carpark at Cotter picnic ground to a viewing platform where you can see the new dam being built. The trail follows the river most of the way. The water is really clear and you can see fish and tortoises and even platypus if you are there at the right time. I like to sit on the little bridge over the river and count critters in the water. Actually, I would love to go canoeing or rafting down the river, but the Oldies won't let me. When you get to the viewing platform you can see the work going on; huge cranes, cement and rock trucks and men working on the next section of dam wall. You can see the old dam behind the work. Water is flowing over the spillway of the old dam and is piped into the river below the new one. There are a lot of posters at the platform explaining all about the new dam. I will visit the dam every month and keep you posted on progress. There is one thing that you have to watch out for when you do this walk in summer. The path is concrete for a lot of the way and snakes like to lay on it to soak up the warmth. We found a fairly big Copperhead near the path on our way back. He had moved off the track when he heard us coming and was just off the edge waiting to see what we would do. Copperheads are very venomous, so you should treat them with respect. We waited a while and then Dad got the snake to slowly slither away by stamping his foot; snakes feel vibration and Dad sounded like something the snake didn't want to meet. Next time we do this walk I hope to meet some more interesting critters.Friday, October 28, 2011
Cooling Off at the Trough
It was hot the day we were at Berry and I needed to cool off somehow. I thought that I had it made when I spotted this thing like a bear-sized concrete swimming pool. It is a drinking trough for horses, donated by Annis and George Bills. There are around 700 Bills troughs around Australia. They were bought with money from the estate of George in the first half of the 20th century and spread across the country to provide water for working horses. Unfortunately, there are no longer any working horses in Berry so there was no water in the trough. There went my chance for a nice cool swim (provided I could have got in there before Mum spotted me). Fortunately, the Oldies were feeling the heat too so we went and found a cafe and bought some cool drinks. Here I am, a bearie with a berry smoothie in Berry. Berry nice.Labels: New South Wales, south coast
Berry Monumental
Like most small NSW towns, Berry has some interesting monuments tucked away on its streets. The one on the left is a bust of Alexander Berry, the guy that the town was named after. Berry was a Scottish surgeon, merchant and explorer. In 1822 he was given a land grant of 10,000 acres and 100 convicts to establish the first European settlement on the south coast of NSW. He called his place Coolongatta, and there is still a farm there called that, but the town that grew up was named after Alexander Berry and his brother David. The one on the right is in honour of the first mayor of Berry, James Wilson. It was originally a drinking fountain, but vandals have removed the fountain bits (I really do hate vandals). A pity because the day we were at Berry it was very hot and I could have used that drink. Actually, the central bit is a bowl so it would have made a good swimming pool for small bears.Labels: New South Wales, south coast
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Feathered Freeloaders
I got a real chuckle from something that happened most afternoons during our visit to Kiama. It happened just across the road from our cabin, so I could watch without being in the way. The local fish market opened about an hour before dark, after the fishing boats came in for the day. Lots of fish were delivered to the shop and lots of locals came to buy really fresh fish. Among the locals were a flock of six pelicans. They landed near the shop and hopefully waddled up to the door. They watched everybody who came to the shop, hoping for a handout. Nobody gave them a fish for ages. At closing time they finally got a feed. The shop-keeper came out with the fish heads and offal and the pelicans left happy. There are six pelicans in the photo, can you see them all?
Labels: birds, New South Wales, south coast
Rough Seas
Remember that I said it was rough the day we sailed outside Sydney Heads on the "James Craig"? Most of the passengers were sea-sick and the top picture may give you an idea why. The camera was actually held horizontal, not aimed at the top of the waves. Those waves are the result of a 5 metre swell and they are higher than Dad, let alone me. The ship handled it fine, only a couple of really big swells actually came over the deck. There was a lot of spray of course and it was raining a bit as well, so everybody got wet. The really sick passengers were taken down below deck and put into hammocks. The thing about hammocks is that they swing and can take some of the motion of the ship away. The problem is that if you keep your eyes open you can see everything moving in different directions to you and that can make you feel even sicker. Scruffy and I weren't sick. Small bears are immune to sea-sickness. We did want to see how it felt to be swinging in the hammocks though, so we grabbed an empty one and tried it out. We liked it, but were quickly removed to make way for the next sick person. Old sailing barques are great ships, but they are rough on passengers when the seas get rough.Labels: boats, New South Wales, Sydney
I'm 9 !!
Guess what? Yesterday was my 9th birthday. That's pretty old for a small bear. Maybe it is one of the reasons that I look a bit faded in recent photos, compared to ones from back when my blog was new. Anyhow, I love birthdays because there is always a special dinner and presents. Last night we went to dinner at Teatro Vivaldi, a resserterornt owned by Mum's friend, Mark (I still can't spell restaurant). And how about these presents? My very own skateboard. It even has straps so that small bears can stand up on it. It didn't take me long to get the hang of it; I can even do some tricks. And a special wombat friend, called Banjo, to join my critter friends. And the ultimate weapons for a guard-bear; the Hammer of Thor-bear and the shield of Captain Ambearica (Mum says that I have been watching too many Marvel superhero movies, Dad says that you can't possibly watch too many. I agree with Dad). Those creepy-crawlies that invade the house through the drain-holes in the fly screens are in for trouble now!Labels: family
Friday, October 21, 2011
A Berry Nice Town
On Wednesday we drove down to Berry for the day. We had driven past Berry a couple of times on our way along the south coast but had never had the time to stop. So this time we made a special trip to check the place out. It is actually a very nice little town. There are roses planted along the main street, lots of cafes and shops and arcades full of interesting stuff. It is small enough to see most of the shopping area in a few hours. I think that the most interesting place is the Great Southern Hotel. It has two surf boats parked on its roof! Now I know that there is a flood there occasionally, but the water never gets that high. Maybe they are just prepared for the next biblical deluge, or maybe these are boats that they have sponsored in the past. I tried to climb up to them, but the verandah posts had too many splinters in them. You can just see me sitting on the rail if you look closely. There are lots of other interesting things at Berry, so do drop in if you are down that way.Labels: New South Wales
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Contrasting Company on the Queen
No doubt about it, the company on "Queen Mary 2" ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous, and these two pictures tell the story. The top one shows the Queen's Ballroom, a place where there is always music and dancing every night. The things that interested me most were two busts of royalty, King George V and Queen Mary. Here I am with the lady that the ship was named after, Mary of Teck, Queen Consort to King-Emperor George V. The bottom photo shows me with one of the lower orders. You guessed it, Dad after perhaps a few too many ciders in the Chart Room bar. The effects of several happy days cruising are obvious. Just as well there is a small bear on hand to mind Mum's purse and video camera while she is busy taking incriminating photos. I really loved our time on QM2 and hope the Oldies do it again sometime.
Chatting With a Cuttlefish
There is a big cuttlefish in the aquarium at Coffs Harbour. Blu had never seen a cuttle before and was really happy to find out that you can actually talk to them. Cuttlefish can change the colours of their skin. That helps them camouflage themselves when they are hiding or hunting, but it is also one of the ways that they communicate with other cuttlefish. They are also willing to communicate with small bears. Evidently this guy had never seen small bears before and was just as fascinated by us as we were with him. To talk with cuttles you use your hands and arms (and fingers if you have them). Waving them at the cuttlefish looks like you are waving your tentacles at him. He will wave back to you, but also flash different colours on his skin. I guess most of the time he is saying "What are you trying to say? Use colours idiots". One colour signal was very clear. He responded to noisy kids tapping his tank by flashing black and spreading his tentacles wide. That obviously means "Shut up and go away or I'll bite". Blu and I had a nice chat with him and will visit him again when we are next at Coffs.Labels: fish, New South Wales, north coast
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Mogo "Totem Pole"
There are always weird and wonderful things to see in an artistic village like Mogo. This piece of woodcarving is out the front of one of the shops. It is a fantastic bit of work. It is probably supposed to be a witch, but the "totem Pole" is covered with all sorts of plants, people, animals and strange critters carved into it. To a small bear, there is only one reason for a pole with all sorts of shapes cut into it. It was obviously put there for small critters to climb. I actually made it to the top, but the Oldies got me to come back down to sit on the arm for a photo. They say that I look like I am part of the carving. What do you think? Anyhow, I think that I add a touch of class and distinction to the carving, and I am grateful to the artist who created this superb climbing post.Labels: Bateman's Bay, climbing, New South Wales, south coast
That's Really Big
It seems only a few weeks ago that we were on the "Queen Mary 2", but in fact it was 8 months ago! Time sure gets away, specially when you do a few trips in the meantime. Anyhow, did I mention that the QM is big? Really Big? Well, here's a couple of photos that show just how big it is. The one on the left was taken while we were docked in Adelaide. Just compare the size of the ship with the cars, and remember that most of the cars are much closer. The other photo was taken looking along one of the corridors on a cabin deck. That tiny little speck of light in the middle of the photo is the window in the door at the far end of the corridor. It's a sizable walk along the corridor, and the cabin decks don't go all the way from bow to stern. Big? It's absolutely huge. Time for the Oldies to think about our next cruise, I reckon.Labels: Adelaide, boats, cruising
Friday, October 07, 2011
Crafty Bear
On Wednesday we went for a drive down to Bateman's Bay and Mogo. Mogo is an old gold mining town, but the gold was all found by the late 1800s and it is now a heritage market village. It also has a great zoo. Mum and I have a favourite shop at Mogo. It is called Amanda's and it is the best craft shop we have ever found. It is hard to move in the shop because it is absolutely crammed full of everything that you could ever need if you are into beading, card making, scrap booking, stamping or art. Do call in there if you are driving through the village on your way south of Bateman's Bay on the Princes Highway. It is actually handy to have a small bear with you when you are there. We can climb up to the top shelves and get things that would need a ladder otherwise. I love shops like this one, particularly when the shop lady is as nice and helpful as the one we met on Wednesday.Labels: Bateman's Bay, beads, climbing, craft, New South Wales, south coast
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sabre Bears
Even though Fighter World has steps near lots of the exhibits so that you can see into the cockpit, these steps are built for people. That is a bit of a problem for small bears. As you can see in the top photo, I just couldn't get high enough to show Blu and Milkshake what the inside of the Sabre looked like. Fortunately, Dad and I have several Sabres in our model collection and I could teach the others about the aircraft using one of these when we got home. The Sabre at Fighter World is a CAC Sabre, built right here in Australia in the 1950s. Although Australian Sabres look like the North American F-86 Sabre, they are much more powerful. They use a Rolls-Royce Avon engine and, to fit this engine in, the fuselage had to be redesigned. It is wider and the air intake is 25% bigger than on the F-86. The Avon Sabre also has two 30mm cannon instead of the machine guns of the American version. Sabres are superb in the air. I see the one at Temora Aviation Museum sometimes and it is almost as beautiful as the Spitfire. Our model is pretty good too, don't you think?Labels: aircraft, models, New South Wales, Newcastle, Temora
Sunday, September 25, 2011
South Solitary
Here's another lighthouse that we have been trying to get photos of for ages. It is on South Solitary island and it is almost impossible to get to except by helicopter. It was classed as the most isolated one on the New South Wales coast. The lighthouse started operation in 1880 and has been in continuous operation ever since, except for a few days in 1942 when some ships were torpedoed nearby. We have tried to get close by boat in the past, with no success. So it was a great surprise to find that we could see the lighthouse easily from Emerald Beach, and an even bigger surprise to find that Dad could hold the camera steady enough to get decent photos at full zoom. You can see the lighthouse and the keepers' cottages and the path from the jetty. The island coast is so rugged that boats couldn't tie up there and supplies for the keepers had to be loaded into a basket that was winched up to the end of the jetty and then winched or rolled up the steep path. The light is automated now and the only visitors are maintenance crews that come by helicopter every 3 months. Maybe we will get better photos one day, but for now this will have to do.Labels: lighthouse, New South Wales, north coast
Hornets Away !!
At Williamtown, between Port Stevens and Newcastle, is a fantastic museum called Fighter World. It is just outside the boundary fence at the end of the main runway of RAAF base Williamtown, where the Australian Strike Fighter force is based. On the other side of the airfield is Newcastle airport. So when you visit Fighter World you not only have a museum with examples of most of the RAAF fighters to look at, but also lots of military and commercial aircraft taking off or landing right in front of you. We spent hours there on our way home from our Gold Coast trip. I really liked the exhibits, because you can get right up to the aeroplanes. There are even ladders for you to climb up for a look inside the cockpit. There is also a viewing deck where you can see what's happening all over the airfield. The thing that I loved most of all was sitting in the outdoor cafe watching the activity on the base. Milkshake, Blu and I were able to sit in the shade and see Hawks, Hornets, PC-9s and airliners taking off only a couple of hundred metres away. The FA-18 Hornets in this picture went straight overhead. Us small critters loved the noise, even if some kids at another table didn't. Where was Scruffy? Well, Scruff doesn't like aircraft much so he was catching up on sleep back in the car.Labels: aircraft, New South Wales, Newcastle
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Taking Blu Fishing
There is a great aquarium at Coffs Harbour. It is fairly small, but it has exhibits of the fish and critters that live in the ocean there. Blu had never been to an aquarium. In fact he had never seen fish, so I had to take him in to see. He was a lot happier when he realized that he wouldn't have to get wet. Turns out that he loves fish and, like me, would love to go snorkelling with the Oldies. In the top left photo you can see me telling him all about the clown fish in the right-hand tank and the octopus in the left one. The octopus is hard to see because he folds himself into the shape of whatever he is on and also changes his colour to match. This one is called a "Gloomy Octopus", but actually he seemed pretty happy. Mum has some great video of him prancing around his tank. Occies are superb escape artists and this one has a very heavy lid on his tank to keep him in. Blu loved the Lion fish even though it is dangerous, but my favourites are the Clowns. Actually, at present I am looking after a small aquarium. Brothers Trent and Nathan are overseas and I am feeding Nathan's fish while he is gone. So far they are all alive and well, but I will be glad to see him back. Looking after other people's pets is a big responsibility.Labels: fish, New South Wales, north coast
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Port Stephens Light
There is a lighthouse at Nelson Bay that is very hard to get to. Since Mum has this urge to photograph every lighthouse that she can, this one has been a target for ages. The problem is that it is on an island which is connected to the mainland by a sand spit. You can walk across to the island at low tide. However, it is a long walk from the road to the sand spit and across to the far side of the island. The Oldies couldn't make it between tides, so walking to the lighthouse is not an option for them. But guess what? Our whale-watching boat went past the island and when the captain found out about Mum's interest he took the boat in close so that she could get photos. So here is the Port Stevens lighthouse. It was built in 1862 and is now, like most Australian lighthouses, solar powered and automatic. In the top image you can also see the ruins of the keepers' cottages. These were burnt by vandals in the mid-1980s. Small bears hate vandals. Anyhow, that's one more for our growing collection of lighthouse photos, courtesy of a very helpful boat captain.Labels: boats, lighthouse, New South Wales, north coast
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Big Sandy Mountain
At Coffs Harbour I found this big mountain of sand. It was near the edge of a car park, so while the Oldies were taking photos of the harbour and the approaching storm Blu and I set out to climb to the top of the pile. Climbing sand is difficult. It slips away from under your feet and you slide back down until you find some firmer stuff. Blu has the advantage here because he is so small and light. We found that the best place to tackle this climb was along a ridge. It was just like Hillary and Tenzing going up the South Col on Mt Everest. It was a long, hard struggle to the top but we had a great sense of achievement. Then it started to sprinkle and Dad just walked up and took us back to the car. He didn't even have to stretch very far up to reach us. Sometimes Oldies can really spoil the moment.Labels: climbing, New South Wales, north coast
Whales in the Rough
We stopped for a few days at Nelson Bay on our way back from the Gold Coast. It is a bit quiet there in the winter months, but one thing that is happening is the migration of Humpback whales along the coast. They come close inshore at Nelson Bay and there are lots of boats that take you out to see them. The day we went it was fairly rough. Just take a look at these photos of one of the bigger boats being bounced around in the 2 m swells. You can see some brave and determined whale-watchers out on deck, but most of the passengers were inside trying not to be sea-sick. Our boat was only half the size of that one, so we got bounced around a lot more, but small bears don't get sea-sick and the Oldies usually don't either (it takes 5 m or more to get Dad crook). Yes, we saw some whales but they were all travelling fairly fast. Mostly we only saw the puff as they came up to breathe, and the tail and fin as they dived. Most of the passengers on our boat were thrilled by that. I wonder how they would react to the magical close encounters we had a few years back on out trip to Hervey Bay (check my Dec 2006 archive for image).
Labels: boats, New South Wales, north coast, whales
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Going Bananas
Just north of Coffs Harbour is a tourist trap called the "Big Banana". Coffs is about the southern limit of commercial banana growing in Australia and the Big Banana has displays and tours that show you how it's done. You can take a ride around the banana plantation, and try selected banana goodies in the cafe. Now, Australia is very short of bananas at present. Most are grown in Queensland and a series of cyclones wiped last year's crop out, so Coffs bananas have skyrocketed in price. In fact, we couldn't find bananas to buy in Coffs, all of the crop is shipped to the cities as fast as it can be harvested. One of the displays is a huge banana with a strange critter hugging it. Blu and I had to climb up and see what was happening. Turns out that the Monkey and the banana are both plastic fakes. A pity, because I like small monkeys and would really love to have a banana this size to munch on.Labels: climbing, New South Wales, north coast
Bears at the Beach #2
This is the closest that I managed to get Blu to the surf at Emerald Beach. He eventually got game enough to come down out of the tree and go onto the sand. Even then he wanted to sit on a log so that the small crabs couldn't get him. I am not scared of small crabs. Scruffy and I worked out a way to clobber them on our last Fiji trip; you can find photos of that in earlier posts. Big ones still scare me though. The tide was way out when this photo was taken. You can see by the ripple marks in the sand that the water comes almost to the log at high tide. I figured that if we stayed there long enough we would get to swim, but no luck with Mum on watch. I reckon that by the time we go the beach again, Blu will be ready to build sandcastles with Scruff, Milky and I. If you look carefully, you can see an island on the horizon. That is South Solitary Island and it has a lighthouse on it, more about that later.Labels: beach, crabs, New South Wales, north coast
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Bears at the Beach
Blu hadn't been close to a beach before our last trip. He had seen beaches at a distance, but had no idea how much fun they could be. Well, one of the places we stayed at was Emerald Beach, just north of Coffs Harbour. This is a small town with a great beach for surfers and families. There are usually big waves for surfers at the end near the headland, and calmer water for kids further down the beach. I figured it was time for Blu to get down onto the beach. The problem was that he was scared of waves and crabs and wouldn't go there. So, I sat with him in a tree near the beach and we watched the surfers and kids having fun, and after a while I managed to get him onto the sand. I was about to get him into the water when Nemesis (AKA Mum) arrived and read the riot act about small bears and water. Maybe some day I will manage to get into the ocean.Labels: beach, crabs, New South Wales, north coast
