Visit from a Dear Friend

A very dear friend of mine and old roommate from my first college days, John Fritz, came to visit with his daughter, Marin, and a couple of his sisters and a couple of neices. It was so nice to have them here for a little over a week to celebrate Australia! This first image is of my friends and me after he just arrived. Not too bad for immediately following a 17 hour flight! They stayed overnight in Sydney and the next day they traveled to Canberra. I was able to meet up with them there on Sunday (that would’ve been 18 November). Photos two and three are of about an hour away from the capital city. There’s a big expense that seems to stretch forever to horizon. I tried to stop there every time and take some pictures because I find the sky looks huge! Photos for 5 through 8 are taken from Mount Ainsley in Canberra, a beautiful overlook that gives great views of the parliament building. These photos start far away and focus in on the building in the very center of the shot. It gives you a nice idea of the expanse. Photo 9 is a rosella that we met on top of the mountain. Photos 10 through 16 are of kangaroos in Weston Park, Canberra. They’re a wild herd there that you see at sunset and sunrise. I don’t know to where they disappeared during the day, but you can never find them around. They must sleep in the bush. Photo number 17 is of a passion fruit bloom; isn’t it exotic? My phone could not focus on it very well. It doesn’t look real though, does it? Photo 18 is of some delicate flowers growing around the school. John and his family traveled back through Sidney this past weekend 23-25 November. I was able to join them on Friday and we walked around downtown and then again on Saturday. Here are some pictures (19-21) of the great tree in downtown Sidney that they put up for Christmas. (Of course it’s artificial!) We also went walking around the park near the opera house and came across this statue (22) of a horse and its foal which I thought was a good spot for a photo of dad and daughter (John and Marin). The rest of these images are from Featherdale Park, which is a small zoo near my home of local animals mostly. Photo 23 is of an echidna; 24 is a wombat; 25 and 26 are of “little penguins”; 27 is a cassowary, which always reminds me of dinosaurs (thankfully the bird doesn’t fly); another strange bird that I have no idea the name of is photo 28; 29 is a saltwater crocodile that is probably 25 feet long; 30 and 31 are three kangaroos, lazying in the sun; 32 and 33 are a trio of tawny frogmouths,who just sat there and disappeared by not moving at all; the kookaburra in photo 34 followed suit and just sat there almost at my feet while I took my photo. Photos 35 and 36 are male and female eclectic parrots, respectively. They are some of the most diverse species in terms of different coloring between the male and the female. 37 and 38 are photos of a macaw from South America, one of the few animals not from Australia in the zoo; 39 is a hooded parrot, 40 is a rainbow bee-eater; The bird and 41 is called a elegant parrot. Photos 42 and 43 are wild rainbow lorikeets that I discovered hiding in a tree. As you can see in 43 it appears they are kissing; perhaps they wanted some privacy! These last three “bird shots” are big heron-like creatures that I have no idea how they’re called. Photos 45 and 46 are of the same ave and it’s eyes seem to watch me hungrily! This is a dingle (47); in this is a frilled-neck lizard (49, 50; I live the colors and the rough scales!); photo 51 is of a kangaroo species found only on “Kangaroo Island”; according to the sign they have no natural predators and so they are the “slowest kangaroos in the world!” Photo 52 and 53 are of a kangaroo that became friendly with Marin. 54 is of the famous koala; and 55 is a photo of myself with John and his daughter and a koala! All in all a wonderful last day (with a glorious high of 80°F) and a great couple of weekends with a dear friend. On this week of Thanksgiving, I am thankful most of all for family and friends and my Faith. I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving Day and the weekend was not too hectic.Praying that John and others can come down again and see the wonders of this beautiful content and country!