|
Cudal, NSW, Australia - 7th April 2009
By: sararingham
...an hour outside of Molong... was an even smaller town, Sara hadn't ever driven through this area of the Central West... but it was a very small town called Cudal... it only has a population of just under 400 people... crazy crazy small...
...just outside of Cudal was this horrendous smell and a lot of smoke... we were all wondering what was up. We knew it had been very hot lately with very little rain (even for Autumn)... and then we saw it...
...at some point in the day there must have been a large grass fire on this persons property. It was still smoking, and it was all gone... everything... the smell was pretty intense... makes you wonder what it was like during the Black Saturday Victorian bush fires this year... that smell would have been horrible to deal with!
|
Posted Apr 8, 2009, 10:24 am
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
|
Abercrombie Caves, NSW, Australia - 11th April 2009
By: sararingham
Today we went on another road trip to Abercrombie Caves... Sara enjoys going to caves, but this time she was able to take the toyvoyagers along... sadly she wasn't allowed to really take photos of the toyvoyagers within the caves. So Sara took a photo of us on the road to Abercrombie Caves... here I am, it's very full of eucalyptus trees isn't it? Very pretty...
...and we're finally here... feels like we've been on the road forever!
Very quickly once we got through the entrance we saw a whole bunch of animal crossing signs, these are the main ones though, so kangaroo and wombat crossing... I wonder if we'll see anything... it's a very twisty road, we've got to be very careful, it's a very dangerous road...
Thankfully we got down safely and got our tickets to do a tour in one of the caves called the 'bush rangers cave'... you can read about that cave and the history of the ribbon gang right here. The ribbon gang hid out in the caves for about 10 days before being captured and eventually hanged (because of horse theft and murder)... it's a very interesting read about the cave... but we came out of the office and saw this strange sign... there must be a lot of kangaroos in this area...
Sadly we didn't see any kangaroos at all - there was a lot of people camping, Sara thinks they might have scared the kangaroos into the bush having so many people around... oh well, we did see lots of ducks and cockatoos though...
Now we're just waiting in line to get into the caves... we're just waiting for the tour guide... quick! It's starting to rain really hard on us... thankfully for us only the people got wet, we were all in Sara's bag so we didn't get lost...
Finally we're in the caves... here are some pictures Sara took within the main self-guided tour archway cave... we had to walk through this cave to get to the bush rangers cave...
This is the exit of the archway self-guided tour cave... and just around the corner is the main cave we're getting the tour through... but something interesting is this is what is called the "grand arch" it's the largest grand arch in the Southern Hemisphere... even more interesting is we are 500m under the ground right now... how often are you that far under the ground, and can still see sunlight? Pretty crazy right? Well onto the bush rangers cave...
Now we're finally in the bush rangers cave... there are a lot of very small passage ways and there was an area in the caves where there was quite a number of bats... here's the "bat chamber"...
See how on the left side of the photo the rock is very dark? Well, that's where the bats are most often... so there's a lot of... bat poo there... we actually had one fly quite low near Sara's head... but weird enough out of the 50 people around Sara she was the only one that seemed to notice it... crazy huh?
Moving on there's a few more things to see in here...
Then we had to make our way back through the main cave we went through initially and then went back to the car... quickly after the tour we didn't take too many photos. Sara was just trying to stay as dry as possible (or keep her camera as dry as possible) as it was pouring down rain at that point... time to head home...
Something interesting on the way home... we saw an echidna... it was on the side of the road in the long grass... sadly Sara couldn't stop and get photos since it was a very narrow road and it was wet out... so sadly no photos of him... Sara wanted photos quite badly since she'd never seen a wild echidna before. :-) Well, write again soon... tomorrow is Easter down here! :-)
|
Posted Apr 12, 2009, 8:37 am
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Orange, NSW, Australia - 12th April 2009
By: sararingham
I just wanted to wish you a very happy Easter Sunday from all of us down here in Australia! :-) Miss you mom! Write again soon! :-)
|
Posted Apr 12, 2009, 8:44 am
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Orange, NSW, Australia - 13th April 2009
By: sararingham
Today is our last day in Orange... sadly it wasn't a very nice day outside although I quite enjoyed it while I was here... we drew our names on a really foggy window...
...and then we sat and watched it rain... it doesn't look very nice but it's nice and warm inside... not too hot - not too cold... I quite enjoy this weather... :-) It seems that Winter has come to Orange finally!
Write again when I arrive in Sydney! Miss you mom! :-)
|
Posted Apr 13, 2009, 8:42 am
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Sydney, Australia - 16th April 2009
By: becka_kate
Just a short note to let you know that I've arrived safely at my new destination and I'm looking forward to my stay here. It looks like I might be able to achieve some of my missions - my host is enjoying some well earned holidays at the moment and a trip to Taronga Zoo has been mentioned.... (and on the way we'll pass by the Opera House!)
Yay! Will keep you posted!
|
Posted Apr 16, 2009, 8:19 am
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Sydney, Australia - 23rd April 2009
By: becka_kate
Well, nothing much has been happening around here this week because it has been raining and raining and raining. We all know that we should be grateful for the rain because Australia has been experiencing a very severe drought for the last few years, but ENOUGH already!!!
Looking at the weather forecast we're hopeful it will be a nice day to go to the zoo. I'm so excited - to think that Iago and I might get to cross off not one, but two missions tomorrow! I hope I can sleep tonight!!
In preparation for our excursion, we made some cookies called Rock Cakes to take with us (food being expensive at the zoo!)
Hopefully there'll be some left to take to zoo with us as Greedywas also hovering during the cooking process.....
|
Posted Apr 23, 2009, 1:04 pm Last edited Apr 23, 2009, 1:05 pm by becka_kate
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
|
Taronga Zoo, Australia - 24th April 2009
By: becka_kate
Soon we arrived at the zoo, but were disappointed to find that the Zoo Safari wasn't running
This is a sky gondola that carries you from the ferry to the entrance - the zoo being built into the side of a hill.
So, we had to catch the shuttle bus to the top instead.
Our first priority was to see the Australian animals so that Iagoand I could complete another of our missions: Meet a kangaroo or koala face to face. It was very exciting (and you'll soon see why!)
The kangaroos wallabies and emus are kept in an enclosure called the walkabout where you can really get close to them (there are no fences between you and them!)
First we saw the emu. Do you know why out of all the Australian animals there are they chose an emu and a kangaroo to put on the Australian coat of arms? Because they're the only animals that can't move backwards!
We thought we were doing pretty well with getting this close to the kangaroos for our photos,
and then this happened -
One hopped across the path right next to me! WOW! Now, that's face to face!
And then he even turned around to 'pose' for my photo. How lucky was I!
I even got to meet a Tasmanian Devil (and you don't want to get this close without a plate of glass in the way!). They're the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world!
Our next stop was to see the Koalas.
Most of them were asleep, slowly processing the energy they get from eating eucalyptus leaves, which are really hard to digest.
(there are more koala and other upclose zoo photos here on bec's flickrpage if interested)
Having seen all the Australian animals (well, we did see the wombat and platypus as well, but they were in the nocturnal house and too hard to photograph, the dingo was hiding and the echidnas had disappeared!) we moved on to the reptile house.
By the way... check out the view from the zoo! Isn't it great?
Just in case you ever wondered...
I met some of my distant relatives, the Green and Golden Bell Frog, found in Homebush Bay, right near the 2000 Olympic site and a threatened species due to pollution thanks to nearby factories.
We left the reptiles and my fellow amphibians behind and moved back outside and onto the giraffes. One of the best things about Taronga Zoo (other than the view) is just how close you are to the animals!
Oh, some other Australian natives... the Pelican. I decided to stay far, far away from those huge snapping bills, I don't think they'd say 'no thanks' to a meal of frog!
This is interesting. Its the Roar and Snore Campsite - you can stay overnight at the zoo.
Feeling a little bit tired (and worried about the darkening clouds) we decided it was time to head on home. What a great day!
|
Posted Apr 25, 2009, 4:51 am
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
Remscheid, Germany - 3rd June 2009
By: olgamaus
Hello,
I arrived in Remscheid today.
I am not the only new ToyVoyager here, Manner and Sportie also came here from Australia today.
Bye for now
Hugo
|
Posted Jun 4, 2009, 9:39 am
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
travelling to, the Netherlands - 4th June 2009
By: olgamaus
Hi Mummy,
no sooner had I arrived here, I'm off again.
Katja took me, Manner and Sportie with her to show zu her workplace. Katja's sister Ina is also working in this law firm. She told me that she'd travel to the Netherlands for a few days, just after work. She told me about beaches and having a beer in the beachside cafe ...
I decided immediately to go with her. We'll be back on Sunday evening because Ina's son has to go back to school on Monday.
You'll hear from me soon.
Bye
Hugo
|
Posted Jun 4, 2009, 1:22 pm
[Quote] [View just this post]
|
|
|
|
|
|