2019 June Journeys

June - starting to get cold.  Night-time star shots of the Milky Way, flight to Adelaide, Ghan to Darwin, back home end of June.

1st June I joined with 3 others for a Milky Way photography workshop at Orroral Homestead.  Despite the forecast for a clear night, clouds rolled in for the first two hours of darkness.

Milky Way through the cloud

Orroral Homestead with a shooting star

Orroral Homestead

Core of the Milky Way

On one of my morning walks, a flock of Crimson Rosellas came down to drink and bathe

16/17/18 June were aboard the Ghan travelling from Adelaide to Darwin.

Ghan carriages at Adelaide

Southern Flinders Ranges near Port Pirie (moving Ghan)

Dawn coffee/tea and egg and bacon rolls at Marla

At Marla

Gathered around the fires

We had a four hour stop-over in Alice Springs where a number of activities were on offer.  We opted to visit the Alice Springs Desert Park. A worthwhile visit.

Australian Bustard

Thorny Devils

Hidden goanna

Barn Owl

Boobook Owl

Wild Black Kite seeing if any food on offer

Alice Springs Railway Station

Ghan carriages

Two locomotives were used to pull the Ghan

Finke River Crossing

 Another stopover at Katherine where we opted to take a short helicopter flight over the 13 Katherine gorges (Nitmiluk).

 Spent 10 days in Darwin but not able to get around a lot because of a pinched nerve in one leg.  A massive bushfire burns east of Darwin, bringing smokey skies each day.

Mindil Beach Markets - Darwin

Pandanus - Holmes Jungle Park

Infra-red up through the trees

Bush Stone Curlews - Dripstone Park

Rainbow Bee-eater at Dripstone Park

Infra-red of Lee Point Beach

Bushfire Sunset - a big fire burning in Kakadu and the smoke blanketed Darwin the whole time we were there

From East Point

Waterfall in George Brown Botanic Gardens

Rufous Owl sleeping in the George Brown Botanic Gardens

May Movements 2019

Autumn closing and WINTER arrived a few days early.

Along G Creek - Infra-red.  Fun playing with colours.

Early May we drove up to Long Plain (near Kiandra) to Long Plain Hut.  This hut was built in 1916  as accommodation for cattlemen moving their stock onto the high plains for summer.  It is now part of the Kosciusko National Park and maintained by the Land Rover Club of the ACT (of which I was once President), in conjunction with the National Parks NSW.

Long Plain Hut

Two of the many brumbies on Long Plain

Long Plain Hut

From the air

More brumbies - I think it was in the region of 100+ we saw, and speaking
 to a Ranger, he counted about 500 when he drove a full circuit of Long Plain

Aerial pano of Eucumbene plain

One morning walk I encountered a group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos.  These generally turn up late autumn to feed on casuarina seeds along the creek.  They will also tear into large branches to get grubs they can hear chewing.

These two are also infra-red photos taken further downstream on G Creek where it leave the suburbs and empties into the Murrumbidgee River

I have also acquired a better welder, and as practice and for fun, have been welding up these things.

Creating

Oaks at McKeller woods,  turning

Path through the oaks

IR at Lake Burley Griffin

Wallaby and young along G Creek

Crazy Cocky - spent a few minutes just hanging out before screeching off

Kingsford Smith & Southern Cross Drive intersection

Waiting for the oaks to turn colour - then a wintry blast shredded them.