Gordon's Bay (26th July '07)

Giant Cuttlefish

Another early morning trip to Gordon's Bay today before work. The swell was non-existant and visibility very good and although the water temperature is now just below 17C, its not yet enough to drive me away.

Swimming with a Crested Horn Shark

Lots of good stuff about today including 4 sharks, a big Eagle Ray, a couple of Stingrays and another Giant Cuttlefish. Thankfully Allan remembered his camera this time!

Eagle Ray covered in sand

Port Jackson Shark out in deeper water

Back to Sydney

Alice Springs isn't exactly a busy airport.

There isn't really a terminal building.

There isn't really much of anything out there.

Culture shock on final approach over Botany Bay into Sydney.

Birds of the Outback

I stumbled across this Rock Wallaby hiding from me as I was climbing a ravine in search of the elusive Dusky Grasswrens.

Although the wildlife isn't particularly prolific at this time of year, we managed to see a load of nice stuff. No reptiles unfortunately except for a single skink which was about an inch long! Too cold I guess. On the marsupial front we saw Red Kangaroos, Euros and Rock Wallabies and the birds were lovely as always.....

This Yellow-throated Miner had learned to visit this Alice Springs cafe, pull out packets of sugar and open them up for an easy meal.

A pair of beautiful Zebra Finches.....

.....and sticking with the pet shop theme, Cockatiels.

Galah

Port Lincoln Ringneck

Red-backed Kingfisher

Mistletoebird

Around The Alice

Heavitree Gap resort

Our hotel in Alice Springs was right on the edge of town tucked up against a rocky ridge which was home to several Black-footed Rock Wallabies. Although wild, they would nervously come down each evening from the hill to be fed (with pellets available from reception!).

Dave entices the Rock Wallabies out of the bush

I managed to do a bit of walking in the McDonnell Ranges west of town and when I couldn't be bothered walking myself, I'd just jump on my camel!

Me and my camel

I went out with Kath one morning on a hunt for big Red Kangaroos at the Alice Springs telegraph station and luckily we managed to turn up a couple of them with a joey.

Red Kangaroo and joey blending into the hillside rather well

I also managed to tick off the Little Crow #355 and the pretty rare Black Falcon #356! After searching for quite a while in various canyons and squeaking at the rocks, I found the Dusky Grasswren #357 and the Alice Springs sewage works turned up the Black-tailed Native-hen #358. This completed the week's scoring. Ten new ones including my target Dusky Grasswren and the bonus of a Black Falcon which isn't too bad by any means but what happened to the Spinifex Pigeons at Ormiston Gorge? "Common like urban pigeons" said my book. I think not.

Ormiston Gorge waterhole

Telegraph Station, Alice Springs

Above Standley Chasm

Ayers Rock and The Olgas

Ayers Rock at sunset

After flying into Alice Springs and staying the night, we drove down to the Ayers Rock Resort at Yulara which is about 5 hours away. We got there in plenty of time to head down to the rock for sunset which is quite a pleasant thing to see.

Ayers Rock and our hotel in the trees

The next day I went hiking in The Olgas. Being the middle of winter down here, it was pretty cold at night getting down below zero but in the daytime it was in the mid to high teens. And no flies at this time of year! Perfect for a bit of walking.

Hiking in The Olgas

Of course I was always on the look-out for new birds and it only took me 5 minutes at our hotel in Alice Springs to bag the Weebill #349 and the Grey-headed Honeyeater #350. There were a couple of Black-breasted Buzzards #351 at The Olgas and an early morning walk at the Ayers Rock sunset viewing area turned up a flock of Crimson Chats #352.

How do you avoid the crowds? Visit the sunset viewing area at sunrise.

Early morning in the desert

Heading back up the Lasseter and Stuart Highways to Alice Springs I managed to get the first of a few fleeting glimpses of flocks of Budgerigars #353 and we also found a Red-backed Kingfisher #354 on some power-lines.

I'm Back

Hello everyone. I'm back in the office today after Kath and Dave flew out of Sydney this morning bound for Edinburgh via Tokyo and London. They have been visiting for just under three weeks and we've all had a great time including a week's trip to Alice Springs.

The stranded Pasha Bulker hours before being freed

As Kath is now an authority on all things shipping we went up to Newcastle first of all to visit the stranded Pasha Bulker. Just as well we did as they managed to finally pull it free that very night. We also had great views of a pod of Humpback Whales which were very active with much splashing and fin-waving and tail-slapping and lifting their heads out of the water. Quite unlike the docile individuals from the whale-watching the other week!

Platypus hunting at Berrima

We also took a trip south to Berrima to find the platypus. Again they were easy to find although they seemed to know just when I was about to raise my camera and I can tell you they're a very shy bunch.

Snorkeling at Gordon's Bay

We also got a snorkeling trip in to Gordon's Bay and although it was a bit cold, the visibility wasn't too bad and we saw three octopus and a Moray Eel. Just our luck, the Dane forgot his camera. Naughty boy.

It was then time to head west into the Red Centre........