Birds of Prey Show

Falconry is totally badass. While watching the (awesome) birds of prey show at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane this April, I seriously considered a change in career path.

The three people handling birds were all women, and with their hardcore leather gloves, flipping these huge predatory birds around (the one in this picture EATS KANGAROOS, MAN!) they were sooooo cool! I was in awe.

Kangaroos at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

The free-ranging kangaroos at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary were the highlight of my trip to Brisbane in April. I bought a $1 bag of kangaroo food and used it to bribe kangaroos into being photo subjects! The food was barely necessary, though--llike these ones, most of them were so relaxed around people that they didn't mind being approached by any fool with a camera, food or no food.

See flickr for many more photos. And if you're ever in Brisbane, I highly recommend Lone Pine!

Taking the "Travel" out of "Travel Blog"

I've been remiss again! You haven't heard from me in nearly a month--in fact, so much time has elapsed that you probably don't exist anymore. (Well, you do, but not as a reader of this ill-kept blog.)

But, as is often I think the case, it's the pleasant kind of busy life that really keeps one away from journaling efforts. I've had a good month, travelling to Tasmania and doing quite a few last minute tourist expeditions around Sydney. Expect photos of that, and also my not-yet-posted Brisbane pictures from April, in the next little while.

So there will still be some virtual travel going on, but officially I am now back in North America (specifically the hell known as LAX), soon to be back in Canada. I left Sydney at 13:10 on 14 June and arrived here at 13:20 the same day. Definitely the longest ten minutes of my life so far!

I'll arrive in Vancouver at 10pm this evening, and Victoria some time tomorrow; I'll be there for a week, travel back to Saskatchewan for a month, and then set up shop for the forseeable future in Victoria as of the end of July.

Now that I'm no longer travelling (or "on the prowl" as Revenue Canada would put it) I do intend to keep posting photos and the occasional rambling about reading here, so should you still be out there, dear reader, do come back some time.

On Sydney Harbour

Alas, I have not fulfilled my goal to date a cello-playing yacht owner while in Sydney.

However, I have taken some photos of boats.

More sunset goodness

On the road trip in February we stopped in a just-a-loo-and-a-flat-space style campground right next to the airport at Moruya Heads. The airport is, I think, about a third of the size of my house! (My house is not big.)

Air traffic did not bother us as we slept.

ethics!

Melbourne, February 2009.

Today I am enamored of

WOODEN ESCALATORS.

How cool are wooden escalators. I saw one for the first time yesterday in Wynyard train station, central Sydney. I stepped onto the escalator and immediately noticed that it was not only very noisy but also appeared to be made of wood. I bent down to touch it and confirm this suspicion and it was indeed correct. The rest of the way up, I continued to thoroughly investigate this wonder, reconfirming at least once that the steps were actually made out of wood, and peering over to see if the down escalator was the same! (It was!)

As you may or may not know, escalators make me uncomfortable. Somehow when I was quite young I heard stories about people (children specifically) being horribly maimed by escalators, and my vivid imagination led me to believe that they were unpredictable and dangerous, likely to lead to bloody dismemberment! It was a fullblown fear when I was a child, and for years after I was old enough to understand that no, escalators would not eat me if my foot touched the point of steps-going-under, I continued to go out of my way to avoid them.

But this wooden escalator. It looks much friendlier. Its teeth are bigger, which somehow makes it seem a bit less sinister. Its wooden rumble is really quite cheerful. Its age and lack of blood stains (bound to be obvious and enduring on wood!) made me feel safe.

How awesome are wooden escalators?