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Day Trip To Byron Bay

November 10, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

I have mixed feelings about this tour. Nothing against the company, though. To explain, I’ll borrow a comment I left at Style and Shennanigans,

We were on a holiday in Queensland and were on a tourist trip to Byron Bay. I had just started on new antidepressants and they made me a bit nauseous. No big deal.

We were about 5km from Byron bay when my tummy started going funny. I looked at Glenn. I tried to hold on. Eventually… BLERGH. I couldn’t warn the driver so just vomited into my backpack…. which also held my boyfriends wallet and the camera bag. It happened about 5 times and I felt water seep through the bag onto my lap.

We couldn’t get to the lighthouse fast enough. We threw out the bag and Glenns wallet. I washed up. Spent the next two hours sitting under a tree waiting to return.

Glenn said he immediately knew when I felt better. He could hear me quietly munching on Pizza shapes.

My experiences with the tour are marred by the nausea and delightful side effects of new medication. Nonetheless, I’ll provide a recap for those who are curious.

Hastings Point

I’m not exactly sure that this is hastings point. It was the first place we stopped on the tour and it was really beautiful. We could have stayed for ages.

Crystal Castle

The ground here were very beautiful. My mum would have loved it here. It was very serene, very calm and made for some great photographic opportunities.

It took about 20 minutes to get served (for an ice-cream!) in the cafe area, because a group of seniors were there for lunch. This was frustrating as we only had a limited amount of time and I was starting to feel dizzy.

I ended up sitting down feeling yuck while Glenn took photos. It didn’t really interest him. I got an aura photograph out of curiosity and showed it to mum who disagreed with it’s accuracy. They did sell a lot of new age stuff here, too.

Byron Bay Lighthouse

This was the main reason I came on this tour and I believe it was well worth it. I was too distracted cleaning up to do anything. The views were beautiful though, we had a lot of fun taking photos. Heck, I would have liked to skip going to the town of Byron Bay and just stay here the whole time.

Glenn got this photo which I thought was pretty nice. I wish I could redo this day and return here.

Byron Bay

Neither of us really liked the township. It was marred by my being ill. Glenn thought everything was overpriced and the guide commented that it had become commercialized and lost it’s vibe. I sat in the same place for two hours, too sick to even eat chips, until the guide came to pick us up.

The trip was one of those unfortunate ones that happens to every traveller. I prefer to fuck up and get sick when I’m alone though and not drag others with me. I ended up taking my anxiety medication at night time instead and the symptoms lessened. I tried going back to the mornings but ended up vomiting again, this time after a 10km walk.

I wish we’d chosen the glow-worm tour instead of this one as our bonus but hey, everyone needs a silly travel story!

Second Visit to Currumbin: A Great Day Out!

November 3, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

This time, I loved Currumbin. Really loved it. Last visit, we had our airport departure and check in times hanging over us. We had to rush through all exhibits and skip the shows.

This time, we got to experience the free flight bird show. We got to feed the lorikeets. We got to spend as long as we wanted photographing the various animals and observing them in a relaxed environment.

It turned out to be one of the best days we spent on our trip.

One of the highlights for Glenn was these little lizards floating around everywhere. It didn’t matter how many we saw, he had to photograph every single one. He was pretty impressed with his camera – especially once I told him that those red shots show you where it is focusing.

Glenn had the exact same idea that I had the previous time – head straight to the koala enclosure and get some close up pictures. They are incredibly photogenic. They were just getting fed and Glenn got a fantastic series of shots of this koala yawning. Heck, even the guys at Australia.com on Facebook thought so! They posted the picture and it received over 10k shares and 80k likes. It’s Glenns first real taste of viral success.

A lot of people commented that it looks like Yoda and they are right.

The birds:

Glenn didn’t get as much out of the free flight aviary as I did. I saw this bird lying on the ground, which I didn’t photograph last time.

He did have a bird poop on his shirt, though. The mess was spread on both the front and back of his shirt. We took a photo of the offending bird for good measure. Unfortunately for Glenn, this wasn’t the last he’d, er, feel from his birdy friends.

Free flight bird show

I really wanted to see this the last time I was here. This time, I made sure we were there nice and early so we could snag ourselves a good seat for photography.

This show is worth the price of admission alone. They power through the many bird species (birds of prey, cockatoos, pelican and macaw) and show off the various tricks. I’m a bird nerd and though I knew a lot but I was captivated by a lot of what I saw.

It’s one thing knowing that a buzzard can crack an egg with a rock. It’s a completely different experience watching it happen.

We loved getting a look at the barking owl. It’s eyes were so piercing. Above is an example of the many, many photos that Glenn got.

Of course, the red tailed black cockatoo was a highlight.

It was also awesome watching the other birds of prey. They flew above us and caught food that the handlers were throwing up for them to catch. We also got the chance to pose with a wedge tail eagle. If you ever get the chance to do this, just do it. Don’t think. It’s so humbling to be close to such an intelligent bird and the photographs work out to around $10 each if you get multiple ones. This is so affordable and it all goes back to support the animals.

Kangaroos and Emus

There is an area where you can walk amongst, and feed, the kangaroos and emus. This area is awesome. It may be a bit boring if you’ve done this type of experience before but it offers a lot of great photo opportunities. There were ducks and pigeons amongst the larger animals.

Glenn had a ball while I just sat and watched the animals. I noticed that the dusky moorhens had babies! This didn’t bode well for the kangaroos. Some had wanted to hop past a family but the mother hen got incredibly defensive and jumped up, attacking the kangaroo.

I noticed that particular bird walking with a limp later on, and hoped that she didn’t have any long term injuries – and that the baby would be okay. This is why I have to be careful around animals, I get way too involved.

Lorikeets

The lorikeet experience was awesome, although it felt extremely disorganized.

You don’t have to pay to enter the park to take part in it. You just have to make a small donating to the park in return for a small metal bowl of nectar. The birds will fly to you instantly if you have this but be warned: they drink it very quickly.

If you aren’t front and center in this area, the staff will miss you when it comes to refilling your bowl. I got incredibly frustrated at waiting for about 10 minutes while the main presenter was talking about other paid opportunities we could take part in. I understand the need to make money but I know that there would be other people, like myself, who were missing out because the staff were focusing on a small area when it came to refilling

The good thing is that the area settles down after about 15 minutes. Most of the people move away and the lorikeets, and staff, are still there. You will have plenty of time to have those close encounters with the birds, despite the initial frustrations.

The lorikeets also fly off every time a plane flew over.

Overall

I had a much better impression of the park this time, primarily because we dedicated an entire day to it and didn’t have to rush around. This shouldn’t be rushed. I recommend checking out the website first to make sure that you have enough time to fit everything in. It’s one of the better wildlife parks that I’ve visited and I’ve gone to a lot.

Springbrook, natural arch & tropical fruit tasting

November 2, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

This was probably our favourite tour for the trip. It came second to our day at Currumbin. Glenn got so many photos and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Springbrook is a must-see if you are in the gold coast region. We could have easily spent several days exploring the many walks. This tour was great as a taster. It showed us the best stuff and made us want to see much, much more.

Springbrook forest

The forest is fantastic. Fantastic. We got to go to several waterfalls and lookouts. The photographic opportunities were endless and the flora is very different to what we get down here. On the way up I lost count of the amount of kookaburras I saw. It was surprising to see such a different kind of rainforest so close to the artificial Gold Coast.

This photo captures a small fraction of the view from the aptly named ‘best of all’ lookout.

The short stroll to the highest lookout on Springbrook Plateau passes through some ancient Antarctic Beech forest. The lookout lives up to its name by providing a panoramic view across Mount Warning to Byron Bay and Coolangatta, though the view can also quickly disappear in the fog and mist that can suddenly roll in from the coast.

via Visit Gold Coast

The waterfalls were amazing but didn’t have that much water due to the lack of rains. In a number of cases you are a fair distance from them so don’t expect spectacular views and photo opportunities at every one. We still managed to get some really beautiful shots at the two waterfalls we got close too.

The flora in this area is completely different to what I’m used to. Barry, our guide for the day, taught us a lot and was incredibly friendly and funny.

I highly recommend this part of the tour

Natural Arch

Oh. My. Gosh. This area was one of the best things I’ve seen in my life. It was a slight walk to get there – some parts of this tour may be a struggle for those who struggle with steps and hills. Again, I loved the forest. !IMG_8417
And then we were there.

Words can’t describe how beautiful this was. I could have sat here for hours just watching the light change. This photo was part of Glenns experiments with long exposure waterfall photography. I’m hoping to return here at some point after decent rains, and I’d love to see the glowworms here. Barry gave Glenn enough time to be a photography nerd, which was appreciated. We then headed to Springbrook Manor which was an incredibly photogenic place. The chips were meh (something that was consistent at *every* place I ate at) but it was the type of place that is fun to instagram. If you’re into that kind of thing 😉

Tropical Fruit Tasting

We crossed the border into NSW and my jaw dropped. I was too busy looking at the view to get a camera out as nothing could do the view justice while we were driving. It was one of the best landscapes I have seen and I’ve visited many parts of Australia. Wow. Shortly after, we arrived here.

It’s important to note that the tropical fruit tasting does not take place at Tropical Fruit World. It takes place at a large farm. This is fine, but it may lead to disappointment if you don’t read the brochures properly. I was excited to taste different varieties of fruit but we only got to taste 5 different types, mostly generic ones. Then, the owner explained the various products made from the fruit. It felt more like a pitch then an experience. It was still interesting, but you have to go in with low expectations.

Overall

This tour is a must-do. It doesn’t matter which company you go with – choose something that is aligned with your interests. The tours have slight differences but these can affect how much you get out of the tour, especially if you are only there for a week or so

Birdwatching at Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve

October 16, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Yesterday was the first time Glenn and I had gone on a Melbourne adventure in yonks. I hadn’t been there independently since June, other then trips to and from the airport last month. I’d been wanting to go birdwatching there but was utterly confused as to where I should start.

I saw Jawbone Flora and Fauna Reserve appear a number of times on Eremaea. In fact, someone else was there yesterday too! I looked it up and it was pretty easy to access, plus was a different environment to the generic wetlands I go to. It had several species I wanted to see, such as the blue billed duck, and was close to an area that Glenn would like to photograph.

Life would be so much easier if driving didn’t scare me so much!

We started at Williamstown and immediately walked to the information centre and around Gem Pier. I really recommend this – the info centre had brochures on all the parks and birdwatching destinations. The lady there recommended that I just walk around the beach to Jawbone.

We spent about 40 minutes around Williamstown photographing things. I’ll be writing about that later – we could easy have spent an afternoon there.

Jawbone was about a 30-40 minute walk away. There were several times I wondered ‘is this it?’ If it’s just a beach – you aren’t there yet. You may see some cool birds offshore but Jawbone is an actual wetland-ish environment.

Getting there

About 10 minutes out of Williamstown I saw some birds on rocks sticking out of the ocean. A lot of cormorants and – tada! Crested Terns!

There was also a couple of pacific gulls, which I got really excited about. I initially thought they were shearwaters. I never thought I could get interested in offshore birds and didn’t know if I’d want to do pelagics but now, I know otherwise. Which is dangerous *evil grin*

There was also lava blister, which had an informative sign near it. This entire walk was actually part of the Hobson Bay trail (something I want to finish walking) and it was quite educational. Lots of signs and information about the history of the area.

I saw these white fronted chats on some grass. Don’t know anything about them but they are another lifer!

There were a number of pelicans and swans along the beach and at Jawbone itself. I got some awesome photos of this guy eating a fish!

Jawbone

Then, finally, I was there! Initially I was disappointed. I found a small wetland area with bridges that seemed very suburban and reminded me of Balyang. There were no birds there other then swamp hens.

Was this it? I walked all this way to see birds I see at home all the time? I consulted the map, and walked further on.

A bird hide!

There is a lake that hugs the coastline. There is a lot of birdlife here. Spoonbills, cormorants, swans, pelicans. It would be very easy to spend a long time here. The western suburbs have a lot of great bird-watching areas.

The hide wasn’t very good for photography. It was hard to get a good look at anything. The birds were fine when I walked around the area itself, though.

There was several stilts around, which I was very excited to see. Later, I looked at the photos again and noticed a dotterel! Finally, some birds I had been wanting to see!

I got this awesome photo of a black swan landing on the water. It looks like it is skiing. It’s a really great area for photography.

I was at the end, on the side near Altona. I saw a bill that looked, well, blue.

I had never seen one in the wild before so I couldn’t be sure. I was on a bridge at the time and there was a dad and his kids riding past me. I know I said ‘oh my god!’ and couldn’t wait to get home to double check.

As you’ve no doubt noticed, we’ve mucked up the camera settings AGAIN and all the photos had a blueish tinge. How could I tell if the bill was actually blue and not something the camera had created?

Look at the tail. I didn’t notice until I checked te book afterwards but that is the real giveaway. The musk duck has a similar tail.

It’s hard to explain how relieved I am to finally see the bird. It eluded me at Lake Lorne, although the freckled duck is apparantly rarer. I certainly didn’t expect to see it. I was content to see a couple of new sea species. It was such a relief though.

I don’t feel so frustrated now. I’ve knocked two ducks off the list. I’m obsessed with ducks and waterbirds at the moment. I want to see as many as possible!

I’m also fond of my current method of learning. I don’t read extensively on the birds I want to see. I choose an area and research the best places to view the birds and just learn on the go. It’s a lot more satisfying to figure this stuff out organically. I know I want to join the birdwatching community and start learning the technical stuff but I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet. I’ve always known my best methods of learning and I think doing it myself makes me happier.

I ended up catching a bus from Kororoit Creek to Williamstown station. The bus is actually really close to the end but is infrequent. I recommend researching public transport as this walk was really difficult for me. I didn’t pack water and needed to be back in Geelong at a certain time.

I definitely plan to return to the area and explore more of the reserves in the region. Specifically Cherry Lake, Altona Coastal Park, Newport Lakes Park and Cheetham Wetlands. This would all be so much easier with a car.

I think I will explore the rest of the sections via the Hobson Bay Trail. Split it into 2-3 more trips and devote time to properly exploring the area. This will allow me to go on detours and properly birdwatch.

Hot Balyang

October 11, 2013 by Jade Craven Leave a Comment

Today I’m picking up my other boyfriend from kinder! 🙂 We are going to look at photos of adventures and have pizza, which is a sometimes food.

We also went on an adventure on Wednesday. They came over and we’d agreed to briefly go to Balyang. It was a stinking hot day and the birds had different behaviour.

Obligatory Swamp Hen shot. Glenns camera is so much better then mine when it comes to showing movement. They make these shots look almost artistic, sort of like a painting. It’s awesome because everything is just set on auto.

These two ducks were in a cranky mood, chasing every other duck away. I’m hoping it means there will be baby duckies soon!

In contrast, these ducks were like ‘chill out, dude.

There was a willy wagtail – ‘nans favourite bird!’ picking up bits of twigs to, hopefully, make a nest.

I loved getting photos of this cockatoo. The way the sun was shining through his feathers. I actually took Glenn through ALL of the Drysdale photos to show him examples of the suns going through feathers, as he often skimmed over the shots which didn’t fit his vision.

That is the first Heron I have ever seen in my LIFE! Seth said, upon seeing the bird below.

It was a fun trip. The seagulls where diving under the water and fluffing out their wings. All the birds were behaving a little bit different. Nothing knocked off the list, but that wasn’t the purpose. It was showing an interest in something the little dude loves.