A rare sighting in the wild, a Platypus going home
after breakfast. I only got one shot at him with my
hand held 300mm lens with very dull light. A Platypus
has a duck bill, webbed feet, a Beaver tail and is a
monotreme raising its young in a burrow in the riverbank
and feeding on the floor of the river.
These photos are shot at the campground in more affordable
accomodation at Carnarvon gorge than our first night.
Unfortunately we could not stay longer, but will go
back again someday to explore further. Carnarvon Nat.
Pk. is located in Central Queensland and well worth
spending lots of time in.
An Apostle bird, again at dawn with insufficient light.
It glories in this apellation since they are usually seen
in groups of twelve.
A young Painted Kangaroo, so different from those
on our farm in South Australia.
A last look back at the Carnarvon Gorge Park.
Our largest raptor, the Wedgetail Eagle with road
kill. Sorry, I only got one shot at it.
Progressing south, some Grevillea eye candy
and two Butterflies doing what Butterflies do. Note
the male is so much smaller than the female.This
was at Hebel, a tiny town in the middle of nowhere
with a cafe serving delicious home made cake.
The pretty female with red spots on her tail.
Dawn in St.George with a profusion of Dusky
Woodswallows waiting for the sun to rise.
St.George was one of our three staging posts
between the gorge and home. The return trip to
Yeppoon topped 5,000km!
The first rays of the sun saw this young Galah
training for the Olympic pole vault.
We bought two steaks in St.George which we
consumed in the cabin below and kicked ourselves
all the way home for not getting a dozen of them
since they were the best we had ever eaten.
For our last night, we lashed out again and stayed
in the luxury of a waterfront cabin at Gol Gol with
autumn colour and a view across the Murray river.
I am not sure if I will have internet access next week
as we are off on our travels to enjoy this year's autumn
colours in the high country of Victoria and to celebrate
our 51st. wedding anniversary.
To see what others are doing on our planet, click on Logo.
To Klaus and the MY WORLD team, hats off guys for hosting
To Klaus and the MY WORLD team, hats off guys for hosting
this wonderful meme.
Wonderful collection of thing that you just won't see anywhere else. Thanks for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteoh...so many delights in your post...the shot of the woodswallows...loved it...the flowers, so beautiful...the roo was of course great...and everything else wonderful as well.
ReplyDeleteenjoyed your post and commentary so much ^..^
Beautiful photos
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for your Wedding Anniversary
51 years!!!
Hope you have a lovely holiday
Oh, Arija! What a wonderful post, wonderful photos of things I would never be able to see otherwise! Just totally delightful! Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us and a very Happy 51st Anniversary!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary.THese photos look great.
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful shots. You did great. Thanks for the view of your world.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wealth of photo opportunities! good to see you taking advantage of them to such good effect too!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful place and fablous photos, thanks for showing me part of your world.
ReplyDeleteNot only are your birds uniquely beautiful, but I am constantly amazed by their lyrical names. Apostle bird, Dusky Woodswallows.... pure poetry.
ReplyDeleteAll your photos are wonderful; I am curious about that red flower. It's the first time I've seen it. It's so beautiful
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos and content. Isn't it strange how so many male insects are smaller than their female counterparts?
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures and an interesting story! Sorry, I love the swallows best! Thank you for your nice comment, but I am far too lazy to run a marathon... :)
ReplyDeleteHiking is better for me!
Fantastici animali e foto di fiori.-
ReplyDelete:-)
Hi Arija!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like an amazing place to stay! Wow! And I love looking at the plant and wildlife diversity from other parts of the world as we don't have the same here. Gosh I would LOVE to some face to face with a kangaroo or a platypus :)
Congrats on the 51st wedding anniversary! I hope you have a lovely time! Wonderful photography today. How I would love to see a platypus! How funny to think that you are enjoying autumn while we are enjoying spring! What an amazing planet we live on!
ReplyDeleteI loved all the pictures! I hope you will get more shots of the Platypus. And all the woodswallows sitting in a row, so cute. Happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteA delightful virtual of so many iconic images from your world. You do wildlife extremely well.
ReplyDeleteCongrats for these most wonderful nature observations ! The apostle bird and dusky woodswallows (gorgeous photos) are such beautiful birds and completely new to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tour you have taken ... and we got to go along too. Thank you! Have a great anniversary!
ReplyDeleteWow!!! I mean I don't have anymore words.. just ohmygoodnesswow! Awesome world you have.
ReplyDeleteThese are all wonderful shots of a beautiful country. You make me wish I could visit there. I am impressed with how well you photograph the animals. All the shots are good but I think it's hard to photograph birds and other animals and you do it so well.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful series of photos. Each one is remarkable in it's own way.
ReplyDeleteNebraska Birding
You can't possibly be celebrating your 51st wedding anniversary!!! Wow - heartiest congrats! All these photos are beautiful but I especially love the first one of the water and the butterfly - just spectacular.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic set of great photos and what a place to stay. Stunning. Thanks for sharing your world with us.
ReplyDeleteSo many lovely photos of your adventure. I thought the Gallah was a flower until I enlarged it! Have fun on the next segment of your trip - Happy 51st Anniversary.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversay Arija. Have a great trip. Then we'll get to spend more time with your beautiful country and your journey. I'm so glad you posted the last anniversay. All the captures are wonderful. A platapus, wow! I love the shot of the woodswallows all in a row. Spring and Fall around the world, many people are getting out and about.
ReplyDeleteThe flora and fauna are so beautiful. Love those butterflies. What a great neighborhood you got!
ReplyDeletegosh, you're one lucky person to see a platypus for real. And that eagle on the road with a roadkill, that's really cool serendipity you got there. I love your pictures and i find the woodswallow so so cute!!
ReplyDeleteMy world entry is up too.
A lovely collection of photos... I especially like the woodswallows..
ReplyDeleteExcellent snaps. I liked the row of Dusky Woodswallows most.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking me around.
ReplyDeleteAustralia is a beautiful country and it is big as big as the hole of Europe I am told.
You wrote that you "at present lives in Australia" and I also read that your name has been difficult to say in school in Europe.
Will you soon move?
Where are you born?
Where do the grandchildren live?
And congratulation to your 51 yeas of married!
I have been to Australian 2 times but only Sidney and Melbourne.
Even if you only got one shot It is nice to see the diffrent animal you have.
Love,
Maria Berg
Lovely nature shots!
ReplyDeleteGreat set of wonderful photos, Arija! You are so lucky to see a platypus!! Last year we tried to see a platypus and followed a special route where it was said to have its habitat, but we were not so fortunate to see it. We read a lot of information about it, but the animal is very shy
ReplyDeleteThanks for the beautiful photos.Thanks for your visit. Have a great week!
Beautiful photos.. i like the flowers :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way thanks for dropping by my site :)
Great place and amazing photos. I would love to be there. It's precious when you can be close to nature. You see amazing things.
ReplyDeleteI wondered how many birds that twig could handle? There is still room for one or two if they really try.
ReplyDeleteI had a good time, reading your blog. Not only the story but the accompanying photos you posted.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the awesome collection of photos you have posted here! They are all fantastic, but the road kill is quite a capture. I think it's my favorite.
ReplyDeleteArija: The wonders of nature down under, thanks for showing this part of your special world.
ReplyDeleteHappy 51st anniversary to you! What an amazing accomplishment. It warms my heart. Truly.
ReplyDeleteAll of these are so spectacular that words fail me. Each is worth a second and third and fourth look enlarged. In fact, I can't seem to tear myself away from this post! I am in love with Australia and if I don't visit soon, I'm going to go mad!
A platypus! Wow! I have always wanted to see one. And for the longest time as a child, I thought a Tasmanian Devil was a made-up cartoon character! I think they are even more rare than platypus, yes?
Thank you for this wonderful post. Safe travels!
Fascinating tours you are conducting for us! Excellent photos of the amazing wildlife.
ReplyDeleteLoved the tour! Have a great trip enjoying the fall colours and bring back tons of photos.
ReplyDeleteSuch an incredible colourful world you live in
ReplyDeleteSuch wonderful creatures and flowers as well as landscapes that you passed through on your way back. The place you stayed overnight looked very quaint and comfortable. The butterflies mating was an amazing catch and how pretty they were but the platapus must be the very icing on the cake.
ReplyDeleteA very happy 51st anniversary. I take my hat of to you guys.
Just wonderful shots of the abundant nature on display there and your cabin looked great.
ReplyDeleteWhat a spectacular trip, thank you so much for sharing it with us. I am so envious that you saw a platypus in the wild - so special (also the only venomous 'mammal' on the planet!)
ReplyDeletewhoaaa platypus!! i havent seen one myself! thanx for sharing :D
ReplyDeleteWow lovely photos of the nature. I love them all. I love the kangaroo, reminded me of my stuff kangaroo that my late mom bought for me in Perth during our trip there.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful wildlife shots! i really love your corner of the world
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful trip and beautiful photos. 51 years of marriage, huh?
ReplyDeleteWell done on getting so many great shots first time! Has the Australian tourist board offered you a job yet?
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful trip!! The scenery is spectacular. Happy Anniversary!!
ReplyDeleteI like the way apostle birds hang around camp sites!
ReplyDeleteWhat great photos! Thanks for sharing. By the way, I will probably have some snow on my blog off and on all year since we go up to really high elevations in our Jeep and hiking in the summer. Last year I managed to get into snow at least once every month.
ReplyDeleteactually, Ma, methinks a platypus is a 'monotreme'...?
ReplyDelete[says she, attempting light relief in Singapore airport]
What a marvellous post. Your photos are wonderful especially the platypus - I thought it was a crocodile at first!! Such a pretty kangaroo too. The woodswallows are amazing, all huddled together, like a mothers' meeting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for a wonderful post.
Wow, what a great collection of different animals. They are all beautiful and so different. What a great journey! That looks like a lovely little cabin to spend the night at. Happy 51st! Have a wonderful time celebrating!
ReplyDeleteA great, entertaining story about your trip and fantastic wildlife photos. Enjoyed it all immensely.
ReplyDeleteThat water shot should be entered in the Watery Wednesday meme. Like a painting! So many lovely shots here. And thanks for visiting, come back soon!
ReplyDeleteMadam, first Congratulations on your Wedding Anniversary. Second, kudos to you too for this beautiful blog, one of the many that I admire. There should be no problem with internet access where ever you go. So, am looking forward to reading your most informative and colourful blog. Have fun in your trip!
ReplyDeleteYou show me a world that is completely unknown and new to me. Stunning! Happy, happy Anniversary!!
ReplyDelete