Travelling to the United States

We are off to the USA from 11 August to 2 October 2011.   We have created a new blog titled Andrew and Nikki in USA 2011.  The blog address is andrewnikkiusa.blogspot.com for those who want to follow our trip.

Sydney the magnificent

The view of the city from the incoming Manly ferry.

Our wonderful Sydney Opera House.

The Opera House close up from the ferry.

The Opera House being lit up as part of the Vivid Sydney celebrations.

Another colour.

and yet another.

Paella at the Rocks markets on Friday night.

another colour for the Opera House for the Vivid Sydney extravaganza

and the city view lit up below.

Wingham Brush and the bats

Wingham Brush near Taree, NSW is an amazing place where bat colonies live.  The trees above one are thick with bats.

The bats closer up.

Andrew walking among the trees.

and look at those roots.

Could not resist another shot of branches full of bats.

You too can have a blook

What is a blook you ask?  A blook, according to Wikipedia is a book of a blog.  The book shown above is our treasured book of our year of travel around Australia.

The book is completely computer produced from our blog, with contents page and the photos we took and the text we wrote.

We treasure it and we plan to order one shortly of our current trip which will be titled Andrew and Nikki go inland.

And for your overseas travel here is another wonderful photo album you can make.  This method allows you a little more artistic freedom than the blog.

The photos are all your own and you use the software provided by one of the suppliers.  We use albumworks but there is also Blurb and Harvey Norman also does them.  The self created photo albums are also wonderful momentoes of travel.  Just do a Google search on albumworks, blurb, harveynorman.

Our inland trip

We have now reached the coast and are resting at Coffs Harbour.  We consider our inland trip completed except for the Birdsville Innamincka leg of the journey not realised.  We will make up for that sometime soon.

Here is a rough outline of where we have been on this trip.

Our around OZ trip on the outside of Australia was completed in 2011.

Queensland waterfalls

The Queen Mary Falls plunge 40 metres to continue the Spring Creek’s journey in the valley floor and joining the Condamine River’s upper reaches.  

On a hot summer’s day, the feel of the waterfall’s cool spray is said to be delightful.  On the day of our visit it was merely slightly damp.

How about this for a lookout over the Queen Mary falls?  One would not like to fall!!!!!!!!!

Tooloom Falls are only 8 metres high but they are wide and drop into a broad deep pool.  The falls provide a splendid start for the Clarence River near Urbenville.  We camped right next to them and the sound of the water was much much louder than the sea.  It was a pounding noise all through the night.

Below is Dagg Falls.  Small but picturesque.

Spicers Gap and Governor's Chair lookout

 Spicers Gap Governor's Chair lookout over the Fassifern Valley in Qld near Boonah.   

This is in the Main Range NP on the Qld/NSW border and part of what is called the Scenic Rim.  The term Scenic Rim was first used by Arthur Groom, naturalist and author, to describe the chain of mountains, peaks and plateaus in south-east Qld  comprising Tambourine Mountain – Lamington Plateau – McPherson Range – Main Range.

This is my artistic shot, through the shrubbery.

The view below is further on looking back towards Queensland.  We are almost at the Qld/NSW border.  Everything is green and lush.  And last night is rained buckets.

The Glasshouse Mountains

These are shots of the lovely Glasshouse Mountains on the Sunshine Coast.  The mountains are the remnant cores of volcanoes active about 25 million years ago.  They were formed as molten rock was forced out of vents from within the earth.  As these flows of magma cooled over a period they solidified into conal shapes of hard rocks (rhyolite and trachyte).

Mt Coonowrin or Crookneck.

This is my favourite shot, of Mt Tibrogargan.  Andrew climbed it last time we visited.

Max and Priscilla at the lookout.

Mt Beerwah.

Visit to Katie and Ian

We visited Katie and Ian at Tinbeerwah.  This is the view from their lounge room.

and the view inside the lounge room.

Andrew, Katie, Ian and George the poodle.  Unfortunately the pre-set photo which Katie set up for us which included Nikki as well came out too dark.  It was lovely to catch up with them and to see Katie in her new life - it suits her well.

Lake Cania and some Sunshine Coast scenes



Lake Cania below.

Kondalilla National Park

 Kondalilla falls

Rockpool in Kondalilla NP

View from Poet's Corner Restaurant in Montville