Monthly Archive: September 2010
Kings Park is a 4.06-square-kilometre (1,003-acre) park located on the western edge of Perth, Western Australia central business district. The park is a mixture of grassed parkland, botanical gardens and natural bushland on Mount Eliza with two thirds of the grounds conserved as native bushland. With panoramic views of the...
Naturally as you go somewhere different you feel familiar with the similar things you see, but often what is different can be curious and exciting. In our short visit there, we saw a few curious and different things… As you go down the road, beware of Bobtail Lizards, they were...
Last night in Perth It’s weird…you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to hold on, just for one more second…just so it can hurt a little more. After a day waking up early taking fog photos, then shopping at the mall, going to Hillary’s, we...
While in Perth, Australia, Rodney offered to give us a tour of the Radio Station 98.5 Sonshine FM. They have a standard for music that I can appreciate. We believe the media influences community values, and we have a responsibility to present positive values and offer hope. 98.5 Sonshine FM...
After the Pinnacles and the Beach, we hit the road again. We were headed east, looking for wildflowers, the brochures promising “carpets of everlastings” and “rare and endangered orchids”. Neither proved true, but what we did get to see was…
One of the places on my list that I wished to visit was The Pinnacles. The Pinnacles are located in the Nambung National Park about 20 kms south-east of Cervantes and about 270 kms north of Perth. With countless thousands of limestone pillars rising up out of the bright yellow...
After a very chill day at the chocolate factory, and later some shopping at Hillary’s, John and I went out to photograph Perth at night.
Margaret River Chocolate Factory Some things are just worth repeating, and when learning that there was a chocolate factory in Perth, we made plans to go again. Via facebook, Bob Litchfield invited us for coffee, and since we were going to the chocolate factory that day, it seemed the perfect...
After Wave Rock and Hippo’s Yawn, John decided to take us to remote areas of Australia, the Outback, if you will. The roads took us to a place called the Rabbit Proof Fence. The short story on the rabbit proof fence is that it isn’t, rabbit proof that is. The...
Hippo’s Yawn is a little known rock near Wave Rock in Hyden. The rocks resemblance to a yawning hippo has given it its name. Laura really liked the area, and decided to have a try at senior pics here, so we did a photo shoot of here there.
The next day, we woke up from our little place we were staying and climbed up Wave Rock, again, to see the sunrise. It was cold and I was half asleep, I couldn’t believe I was climbing that rock when I could hardly open my eyes.
“He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” Psalm 147:4 After our dinner and equipped with a new tripod and camera remotes, John and I had planned to try taking long exposure photos of stars at Wave Rock. John already had experience with long exposure...
After our walk up Wave Rock, Laura and I both were ravenous. We asked at the desk where we were staying and the lady suggested the Bush Bistro just a few minutes down the road in Hyden. So we were off. The smells outside the restaurant were amazing. It was...
For our next trip away, we decided to visit Wave Rock. Wave Rock is a natural rock formation, a monolith, located east of the small town of Hyden in Western Australia. It derives its name from the fact that it is shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave. Wave Rock...
Fog is supposedly a rarity in this part of Australia. So when the radio alarm came on and warned everyone about the fog, I quickly woke John up so that we could take fog photos!We ended up in Koondoola Bush.
By far, the best sunset of this trip was when we left Fremantle and made stops up the coast.
Fremantle is a port city in Western Australia, located 19 kilometers (12 mi) southwest of Perth, the state capital, at the mouth of the Swan River on Australia’s western coast. It was the first settlement of the Swan River colonists in 1828. It was declared a city in 1929 and...
One of the things that John likes to do is visit the Bird Show at Whiteman Park, so he took us and I was excited to go.
Not having enough time at the Perth Zoo the first time we went, Sunday afternoon seemed the perfect time to go back, and to my delight the Olsens met us there. We had already spent Sunday morning with them in worship at the Thornlie Church of Christ, to extend our...
On our way home from Siesta Park, John and I passed by Vasse Inlet, being told there were a lot of birds there. Both of us love to photograph and watch birds. We mostly get frustrated with them, but we have fun. As we rode along, we noticed an island...
It turned out difficult to leave the place we called home for a short while. So part of the good-bye was to see the sunrise one more time before we left.
Sping in Western Australia means a lot of wildflowers. So we went to the Wildflower show in Busselton. Here are a few of the photos that turned out from our visit:
The Margaret River Chocolate Company is one of Western Australia’s most popular tourist attractions, with manufacturing, sales and cafe facilities in both Margaret River and the Swan Valley. The (original) Margaret River factory is located on a peaceful and picturesque rural property just 20 minutes from both Margaret River and...
Our last full day at Siesta Park, we decided to explore the rest of the beaches of Australia’s Southwest. We stayed awhile at Canal Rocks
After the tree climb, John was determined to get me a sunset at the coast. We decided on the Beach in Margaret River, Prevelly. Prevelly is situated at the Rivermouth of the Margaret River and close to the beach side area of Gnarabup. Unfortunately the road he chose to get...
After our walk in the treetops, we went to Pemberton. Pemberton is a town located in the South West region of Western Australia, named after the early settler Pemberton Walcott. It is the home of the karri tree, the largest tree in Western Australia and the third largest hardwood tree...
Below the treetop walk is a boardwalk that winds through a grove of veteran tingle trees known as the Ancient Empire.
Many years ago, when John and I first met, he showed me photos of the Tree Top Walk and I decided then I would love to go there. The park is nearly 20,000 hectares of towering karri and tingle forests to coastal heath. The rugged coastline, peaceful inlets and rivers...
After our long day the day before, getting out of bed early before the sun should have been difficult, but I didn’t want to miss one minute of the beauty that makes up Siesta Park. Here are two of the images showing the greeting the sky gave us.
Since we spent a good while at the lighthouse, finishing looking at the beaches on the Cape to Cape track wasn’t going to be possible, so, we decided to pick one to see a sunset with. John has been true to his word to me that we would get to...
Since we went in the opposite direction than we wanted (beach hopping by car in the Cape to Cape track), we realized we were running out of time (likely from all that rock climbing at Castle Rock). We decided to go straight to the other cape near Augusta, Australia, and...
Even though we planned to go the Cape to Cape drive from the lighthouse to lighthouse, we deviated from that plan as Laura was hungry. So, we backtracked back in the direction we came from and went to the beach town of Dunsborough for lunch. We settled on a cafe,...
After Bunker Bay we went west to Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. Breathtaking panoramic views of the Indian Ocean, Cape Naturaliste, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and the beautiful Geographe Bay coastline reward visitors to the top balcony of the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse. Easier than most lighthouses to climb, the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse is...
After our rock climbing and wildflower finding adventure at Castle Rock, we went a few minutes down the road to Bunker Bay. Long before we arrived in Australia, I mentioned to John that I’d love to see beaches with rocks, which is kind of unfamiliar to me in Maryland. Castle...
Western Australia has 12,000 species of wildflowers, and even though they grow all year round (even in winter), spring is a good time to see many of them. What amazes me is how in one place you can find so many different varieties growing. After we finished our climb on...
For our first outing in Australia’s great Southwest, we decided on Castle Rock Beach. I had seen it in some of John’s photos, and wanted to see it for myself. As soon as we arrived, we could see it’s natural beauty. The Rock seemed so far away. I wanted to...
Siesta Park is so peaceful, on that you can tell as soon as you arrive. One of the nice things about it is that it faces north, so, you can get the sunrise and the sunset. I nearly slept through our first sunrise, and when I heard the birds singing...
I’ve seen a lot of sunsets before and I’ve seen a lot before, but for me, this was the best sunset ever. Driving from Fremantle to Perth up the Indian Ocean Coast.
Today John took us to Siesta Park. It is so peaceful. It was about a three hour drive from Perth. Here is our cozy chalet. Our entrance to the beach
After the zoo, we all went to Dad and Iris’s house for dinner. Iris served delicious turkey, potatoes, gravy, broccoli and cauliflower cooked in an amazing sauce.