My Australian holiday - you asked for it !

[Hellbelly]

Mate, what a trip. It just keeps getting better and better. Thats some awesome fishing dude. Love your work.

[Colin Brett]

Needle to pierce the swim bladder?? What's that all about?? Do the fish survive or just sink and die?

 

Not a criticism just a question as I have had problems with blown up Zander.

 

Apart from that, great photos and great sport. I bet Lisa's a great sport as well :D

[Snatcher]

Needle to pierce the swim bladder?? What's that all about?? Do the fish survive or just sink and die?

 

Not a criticism just a question as I have had problems with blown up Zander.

 

Apart from that, great photos and great sport. I bet Lisa's a great sport as well :D

 

Its a technique used by quite a few anglers these days when bringing fish up from deep water.In this picture you can see the needle in the deckies right hand

 

 

Happy to report that all the returned fish were fine,none went belly up

Edited January 13, 2009 by Snatcher

[Snatcher]

"Bandwidt exceeded" I think 62,670 hits in a month may have tipped me over the top Well my anniversary date is the 15th of the month so in theory it should reset to zero then! Lets see what happens

 

Got the option to upgrade tp pro?? any other ideas team

Edited January 13, 2009 by Snatcher

[Snatcher]

Our last night in Port Douglas seen us decide to do a "pub crawl".The last bar we finished up in was The Iron Bar. The Iron Bar is on the main strip in Port Douglas and it is famous for the cane toad race which takes place twice a week.

 

If you wish to participate in the race, you get a ticket from the waitress and hope your number is drawn from a hat.

 

 

This dubious looking guy was the race official

 

 

The hopppers

 

 

There were 3 or 4 rounds of racing. If you do get called up and get allocated a toad you have to wish it luck by kissing the back of the toad!

 

 

There was even a red eyed zombie lurking in the background!!

 

 

Finger counting??? no idea,we did have to few memory blanks due to a few too many beers - well we were on holiday

 

 

 

This little chap looks a bit apprehensive

 

 

Think the winning toad was the first to hop off the table - not really too sure

 

 

Now is this a national sport down under? Did see the same thing advertised in a Sydney Bar along with crab racing! I am sure Bobj can reply to this one.Next morning we flew back to Sydney to spend our remainder of our holiday with Amanda.

 

Next up,meet my possum mates in Amandas garden in Sydney

[Snatcher]

When we initially arrived in Sydney at the start of our holiday Amanda was living in an apartment at Darling Harbour.She and her flatmate Helen had subsequently moved to an apartment in Bondi,close to Bondi Junction. They had a spare bedroom and Amanda and Helen had kindly said we could stay with them for our remaining time in Sydney. Deal done.

 

They had a decent size garden and barbie area out the back,scene of much drunkedness and tomfoolery!!!! Here are a couple of instances.L to R Lillian,Paul,Dorothy,Amanda and Amandas friend Linda.

 

 

In this one another of Amandas mates,Donna,turns up

 

 

More drunken mayhem,well it was our holidays after all. Dorothy and I carrying on with Amanda in the background.

 

 

Now Amanda had a couple of resident possums that particularly used to like one of the trees in the garden.Being noturnal animals you never seen them during the day but as soon as twilight had arrived you seen them climbing along the fences and climbing the trees.We left fruit out for them but as long as the patio light was on they would not come down for it.Turn it off and within a minute you could here them coming down the tree for the food. The following shots were taken blindly,just aiming the camera at where I thought they were.This is the best of the bunch!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bobj,Clifftop and Hellbelly most likely think of these as pests.Me being a visitor to Australia found them facinating as it is the first time I had seen them before. Oh this one was partial to a slice of pizza LOL

 

 

Next time we return to the cultural side of Sydney again when we visit the Chinese Garden.

Edited January 15, 2009 by Snatcher

[Bobj]

Now is this a national sport down under? Did see the same thing advertised in a Sydney Bar along with crab racing! I am sure Bobj can reply to this one.

Lots of the "country pubs", especially Qld and the NT, hold these races, be it cane toads, frogs, cockroaches, or 'penny lizards', little skinks and geckos.

[Colin Brett]

Reminded me of the Pig races in the west of Ireland :D

 

Great stuff!!

[Snatcher]

The Chinese Garden is a hidden gem on Darling Harbour,Sydney. Amanda put me onto it and I am pleased she did,it was the most delightful place to stroll around.

 

 

 

Initiated by the local Chinese community to share their rich cultural heritage and celebrate Australia's 1988 Bicentenary, the Chinese Garden is the result of a close bond of friendship and cooperation between the sister cities of Sydney and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, China.

 

 

 

A bunch of screaming girls ran out of one of the pagodas,this guy was the reason.Well he did pose for me!. Come on Bobj name the species

 

 

 

The garden was designed and built by Chinese landscape architects and gardeners. Similar to every classical Chinese garden, traditional principles govern the use of four key elements of water, plants, stone and architecture. Together, these four elements combine to create perfect balance.

 

 

 

The art of Chinese garden design began in imperial parks during the Zhang dynasty 3000 years ago. Later they flourished on a smaller scale in the private gardens of China's rich and powerful. The Chinese Garden of Friendship at Darling Harbour is a scaled-down version of a typical private garden from this era.

 

 

Edited January 16, 2009 by Snatcher

[Snatcher]

 

 

Chinese gardens differ from western-style gardens in that there are no planted flowerbeds or manicured lawns. Instead, wild aspects of nature are recreated in artfully designed landscapes that feature waterfalls, mountains, lakes and forests.

 

 

 

Exploring a Chinese garden is a journey of discovery: there are many details to be observed and only a part of the garden is visible at a time. Follow the serpentine walkways as they lead you through private courtyards and traditional pagoda-style pavilions.

 

 

 

Now when Dorothy gets into a garden like this she becomes a photographic demon.She has a better eye for composition on this subject so many of these shots are hers.Take a bow Dorothy and the Canon Powershot A700!

 

 

 

From the Chinese Gardens we decided to try out the monorail on a circular tour of the city.The monorail opened on 21 July 1988.

 

There are six monorail trains, which each consist of seven carriages. Trains seat 48 passengers over 6 cars, with the driver in the leading car, but were designed to seat 56 over all 7 cars. Delivered in 1987, the trains were built by Von Roll Habegger and are built to the "Type III" standard.

 

The monorail trains run on rubber wheels, and each 7 car train has six 37 kW traction motors, permitting a normal operating speed of 33 km/h. The doors of each car are automatic, and the floor level is self adjusting via an automatic suspension system. Each train is 32.12 metres long, 2.06 metres wide, and 2.6 metres high.

 

 

The track is a steel box girder of 940mm width, raised at a minimum height of 5.5 metres from ground level on steel columns 20 to 40 metres apart. The minimum curve radius is 20 metres and the maximum gradient is 4.4% uphill and 6.5% downhill.

 

Power is supplied at 500 V AC to power the train, via a sheathed conductor below the running plate of the track. A control rail is also provided for train control, and a generator is provided to clear trains from the track in emergencies. The train control and maintenance facility is located between Convention and Paddy's Market stations, where a traverser moves trains in and out of service.

 

 

Each station stop takes 40 seconds, including the time to decelerate, board passengers, and accelerate again. A complete circuit of the route takes 12 minutes, and the total capacity of the system is 5000 passengers per hour. It was originally intended for the system to operate automatically, but after a number of breakdowns soon after opening, it was decided to retain drivers, who occupy the first car of each train.

 

Next up is Observatory Hill and the Queen Victoria Building,Sydney

Edited January 16, 2009 by Snatcher