Aussie Vacation Part 2

Above we have some photos of the second half of my vacation at Jervis Bay. Just south of where I was staying is a park called Booderee Park. I was told I would be able to find wild kangaroo there, right on the beach. I decided to head there around 6 pm as that is perfect lighting and roos are nocturnal. Before arriving I noticed a bird with a snake on the side of the road. Pulling over, I pulled out my camera and was barely able to capture the hawk high up the eucalyptus (or "gum tree").

There are several bush trails (we'd say hiking trails) in the park. You will laugh, but as I got closer to sunset (which was around 7:30 pm that day) I got anxious, worried that I might be alone in the dark trying to find my way back to the parking lot! So I sort of sprinted down the path toward the beach. The light was golden and perfect. Along the beach are massive rock formations. I tried to take photos with people in them so you can get an idea of the scale.

Later, as I still had some time before sunset, I drove to another trail and took it to the end. Along the way I noticed the beauty of the light highlighting the very tops of the enormous trees. Eucalyptus drops its bark so the bare trunk becomes dazzling white in the sunlight. Just breathtaking! Also lovely were the golden light on the distant island and cliffs.

Oh, I forgot to mention, at the first stop were all these roos that didn't really seem to mind people. They weren't quite on the beach, but they sure were cute. Especially the "joeys."

The next day was my last day in Jervis Bay. I had to be out fo the house at 10 am and I had scheduled a 1.5 hour dolphin watching cruise that departed at 1 pm. The day was going to be brutally hot reaching up to 96 degrees Fahrenheit! I went to the gym and then had time to walk around the beach town of Huskisson, just 15 minutes North of where I stayed in Vicentia. It's a nice little vacation town with gift shops, ice cream parlors and coffee houses. Finally our small boat arrived and off we went! There are about 100 dolphins in Jervis Bay area (along with sharks and whales). At first we saw nothing. But the sea helped cool us off. It felt almost chilly out there. And then we finally caught up to a pod.

Dolphins are hard to photograph. In addition, there are rules about what a boat can and can not do around these magnificent, intelligent creatures. We could not approach within 50 meters of them. However, we could allow them to come close to us if they chose to do so. Below are the best of the photos I was able to take! I ahd my professional camera on "continuous" which meant as long as I pushed the button, it would keep shooting. By luck I got these. Notice in the last few the two dorsal fins together. It is a mother and baby dolphin. According to the crew, the mother must have recently given birth as the baby still had "rings" around its body that indicate a newborn. (I didn't see the rings, but you can see the cute face in one of the shots if you look carefully.) Finally, we were escorted back to the dock by this fine looking feathered friend.

Next I drove to Canberra. It is in the middle of nowhere. The site was picked becuase it is "halfway between Sydney and Melbourne" the two largest cities in Australia. It's really closer to Sydney (3 hours drive verses 6 to Melbourne). The drive was pretty and sad. Mostly farm lands with grazing herds around. Some of the stuff in the mountains was scarred by the aftermath of the brutal fires last year through January. Just black trunks one after the other. It reminded me of Mordor from Lord of the Rings!

I spent the night in the hotel and the next day was an easy day. I set out on foot to the new "Palace Electric Theatre." I had seen pictures of it online and was interested to see it up close. It was also showing this foreign film "Corpus Christi" about a 20 year old convict who found God and upon release from his youth detention center, he plays the role of a priest. Really very interesting as the man goes around being more Catholic, converting people with his compassion, than the supposedly "religious people" of the town.

Canberra weather was nicer than Jervis Bay. Warm (in the 70's) and sunny with no wind. The first 4 shots below are of some of the scenes I walked past. (Image 3 is of the Parliament Building, like our Congress).

The following images are of the theatre. All very modern, of glass and recycled wood and rubber and steel. Plants are growing off the building. Really cool. See below the cluster of photos for the panorama of the interior atrium. the Theatre shares the space with cafes and restaurants. There was a sign out front saying something like they were looking for unique businesses for their vacant spaces. I do not doubt they will get them filled quickly!

Panoramas are of the Theatre atrium and some of the walkways around the main lake of Canberra, Lake Burley Griffin.

The following day I did a massive 4 hour walk through the Botanic Gardens! I ahd tried to rent a bike and couldn't as the credit card reader wasn't working. So off I hiked!

I came across the Australia Botanic Gardens while trying to locate the National Arboretum! It's alright. Lots of spaces but not much was in bloom. I did manage to capture the following.

Later that day I did find the National Arboretum, a little farther from the Botanic garden. It's a new place, I think, as I had not seen it on any other trip to Canberra. The groudns themselves are almost like a giant landscape sculpture. I think this sail like building is a hall that can be hired for functions. (I did not go into it.) The other squatter building on the right in the first photo is the welcome center. Along one side it had a lovely field of lavender in bloom. And it also had a great children's playlet made of metal shaped to look like acorns! The center itself had a nice stone wall. As I was nearly out of steam, the staff directed me up a hill where there was a famous sculpture entitled "wide brown land." It's a lot bigger than it appears. I took selfies near it so you can see it is taller than me. At the bottom are two panoramas of the Arboretm and my final stop of the day: Weston Park with its wild kangaroos!

Next was a trip to Weston Park that has a beautiful group of wild kangaroos. I never get tired of being with them. These are used to people coming up for pictures. As it was close to sunset and I was alone, they were more than agreeable to mug for photos.

Along with the roos, they also have a wide variety of parrots/parikeets. So many colors and all so vibrant! Again on "continuous" mode, I was able to capture a bird flying from its perch.