Some recent pictures.

Some unusual aspects for this group of photos.

I liked the unusual framing of this picture of Rex wandering along the beachfront

Looking Moody and Stormy although the day was quite plesant.

That's about as casual as a frog can get I think.

Playing leap frog in Montville.

Tricks with lighting almost creates a black and white minstral show

My favourite little "Guitar Man" providing the contrasts.

Houses on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria.

More pictures that blogger has managed to get out of order but
I have finally figured out how to get them back how I want
them, I think!


These two houses have been built to take in the spectacular
views over the Southern Ocean, one of them, (I don't know which)
was built for the Australian opera singer Joan Hammond.
Both are located on "problem" blocks of land which demanded
radical building designs.

This beautiful old hotel is located at Yarra Glen which sits in the
Yarra Valley, a rich wine growing area near Melbourne Vic.
The Yarra river is the much maligned river that flows through
Melbourne and is scornfully referred to as the only river in the
world that flows upside down, (mud on the top!!!) not true it is
a beautiful river and offers some outstanding scenery.

My "Speak no evil, See no evil, and Hear no evil" Frogs

This is the dam on the property I co-owned just out of Gympie
for several years, it was home to hundreds of frogs but we had
trouble getting rid of the Cane Toads that also wanted to call it
home, (and eat the frogs!!) but we finally managed to evict them.

Queensland Pics.

Some photos from North Queensland taken on a 2003 trip.

This is Carmila Esturary, it depicts the mud flats that are
home to mangroves, quite a contrast to the beautiful
sandy beaches of the travel brochure.

The Hay Point Coal Terminal is one of the worlds largest
coal terminals, it was built to ship coal from the central
Queensland coal fields.

These are known as "Blackboys" and while this name is
no longer politically correct it is harmless and still in use
today.
Blackboys are an extremely slow growing plant, only
growing 1 foot in 10 years, so these specimens are quite
old.

The view from the overhead footbridge at the Kuranda
Station, based near Cairns, the Kuranda Rail trip is one
of Queenslands premier tourist destinations.

The lovely Clifton Beach near Cairns has a net enclosure
erected each summer to protect bathers from the stings
of marine stingers, these are not fatal but can be
extremely painful.

Australia All Over.

A pictorial visit to four of our States and one Territory.

This is the Nerada tea plantation in far north Queensland,
the tea bushes, which are a member of the Camelia family,
are grown in rows like hedges, a mechanical harvester
travels up each row clipping the choice outer leaves which
are dried, processed and packaged on the plantation.

Part of the famous coastal scenery on Victoria's Great
Ocean Road, one of the prettiest drives in Australia.

A beautiful convict built bridge in Ross Tasmania

Wave rock is in the middle of nowhere West Australia,
the wave formation carved by wind and water over
millions of years is spectacular.

Clearly visible on the top of the formation is a stone wall
which the early settlers built to divert water into a
storage dam for the nearby town of Hyden, you could
look on this as desecration but it must be remembered
Australia is one of the driest continents on earth!

A sad tale of Australia's Northern Territory, these
cartons of four half gallon glass flagons of wine
became road markers to the local Aboriginal
settlements, spaced about five miles apart there
would be a flagon and with each fourth flagon a
carton to clearly mark the track taken.

Eventually the sale of glass flagons was banned
in the NT, not because of the litter problem but
because when drunk the Aboriginals started to use
them as clubs, (weapons) so the sale of bulk wine
was restricted to cardboard casks.

Still More Bits and Pieces.

No theme again, just pics for fun.

In a shop at Montville Qld. there was this cap, complete
with false hair, that I just had to try on..... Hmmm... not
the right tartan... sorry.

Remember the Pet Rock craze of a few years back I found
this horrendous place where they were being farmed
under terrible conditions, the RSPCA are investigating as
we speak, (so to speak.)

There seems to be a trend to me having things on my head
in this series, these are wild Parrots at the campground at
Wilsons Promitory Vic.

The Prom as it is affectionally known is one of the
favourite spots for Victorians to holiday during Summer,
it's the most Southerly point of the mainland, and a
beautiful place.

The Gulflander, this is one of our most historic trains it
runs in the area below The Gulf Of Carpentaria in far
North Qld.

The "engine" for this train is based on a modified Albion
truck chassis, the driver sits in the cabin with the
passengers and actually has to change gears in the old
girl, just as the factory intended, a true "outback"
experience.


A view of Brisbane city, across the Brisbane River from
the site of the 1988 World Expo.

Brisbane is the capital city of Qld. and , as cities go, is a
very nice place, I love to visit Brisbane, (and most other
Australian cities too) but I choose not to live there,
I guess I'm just a country boy at heart.

The Mary Valley Rattler.

A day out, riding the Rattler from Gympie to Imbil April 30th 2006.

Rounding a bend, looking to the rear of the train, the surrounding country
is showing the effects of a dry spell, but is still pretty.

Our first stop at the craft market at Kandanga, there were 320 passengers on
the train this trip, maximum load is 450, (they just add more carriages.)

Engine on the turntable, ready to be turned around, the turntable is
powered by compressed air, supplied by the engine, this compressed air is
also used to operate the trains brakes.

Facing the other way, and ready to be reconnected to the carriages for the
return trip.

Don't ask how this photo got out of sequence, I don't have a clue.

Here the engine is about half way through its turning process.

Bits and Pieces from Here and There.

Just some bits that caught my eye, no theme this time.

This is the cliff face that retards the erosion of the Southern Ocean along
"The Great Australian Bight" in SA.

These sheer cliffs run for about 100 miles along the coast in a giant arc which
is almost like something has taken a huge bite from the land

"Boys and there toys" could be a good title for this shot, I was photographing
the train, and suddenly the driver got out and offered to take my photo with
the train, how could I resist that.

I travelled from Gympie to Cairns by the new "Tilt Train" just for the
experience, a distance of about 1,100 miles, this train rides on a new design
under-carriage that allows the body to lean over on corners, thus Tilt Train,
a very comfortable ride indeed, also very quiet.

This is the "bird" I have breakfast with, a really friendly little "Mudlark"
It does have two legs, just seems to like standing like this.

This is the famed Cable Beach at Broome WA. hard packed white sand and
the bluest water you could imagine, framed by a lighter blue sky, makes a
very pretty picture.

It's also a popular nudist beach, which makes for another pretty picture...
Usually!!!

This one is included for my "Bikie" buddies June and Charles.

They were very realistic looking Hogs made from scrap metal, nuts, bolts, wire
and washers mainly, That must be you June on the second bike as I can't see
any other pillion riders.

I didn't buy one and have been kicking myself ever since as I've not seen them
again anywhere.

Mother and Babies

How do you like my, "Mother and Babies" photo? I guess they must be
Canaries? just going by the colour folks.

A camera, a bowl of fruit, an imagination, and the ability to pinch a good
idea that I saw somewhere!!!