The Wandering Tattler

Here are just a few of the interesting birds we saw on Kangaroo Island: galahs (gray and crimson parrots), Little Penguins, a Flame Robin, a Crimson Rosella, and Cape Barren Geese.

We also saw short-beaked echidnas, which are monotremes (egg-laying mammals). At one point this echidna came so close to me that I couldn't photograph it, given the long focal length of my telephoto lens. We may have observed the activity of another monotreme, the platypus, at Platypus Springs near the Cape de Coudic Visitor Center of Chase-Flinders National Park, but the animals never rose above the surface of the murky water.

We saw lots of marsupials on Kangaroo Island - wallabies, kangaroos, and koalas.

Figure 1: Adelaide has a quieter, more rustic feel than Melbourne and doesn't have as many high-rise structures. Here's part of the old down-town area of the city.



Figure 2: Here's the modern Adelaide Arts Centre on the Torrens River.


Figures 3 and 4: The Australian Black Swan was swimming in the river near the Arts Centre and the Australian Wood Ducks were grazing on the grassy banks of the river.





Figure 5: These Crested Pigeons were resting on a lawn at the Adelaide Botanical Garden (every city in the British Commonwealth seems to have a sizeable downtown botanical garden).



Figure 6: The Noisy Miner, a relative of the diverse honeyeater family of birds, was robbing nectar from flowers in the botanical garden.


Figure 7: We arrived in Adelaide on the last day of the major arts festival and the smaller fringe festival; this is an image of the entrance to the fringe festival, which was near our hotel.

The cultural festival attracted many people to the Melboure parks and riverside. The city sponsored a very diverse array of events, ranging from circus performances to symphony concerts. Outside the main venues, acrobats, fictional characters, and acrobatic musicians performed for those who were waiting in line.

During the Commonwealth Games the Yarra River was the site of a major public art display. Each nation in the Commonwealth was represented by a large fish sculpture (these were about 15 feet long). The series of fish formed a long line down the middle of the river. At night, coloured lights and strobe lights played on the fish and fountains mounted on each fish projected streams of dancing waters while music was played from a series of large speakers on the river banks.

More scenes from Melbourne. One of the city trolleys was decorated in the Bengali style by the Austro-Bengali driver. A large cultural festival was taking place in the city's parks and botanical garden during the period of the Commonwealth Games. An aboriginal protest was also taking place. An aboriginal fellow is demonstrating didgeridoos in an outdoor market.

Here are some scenes of Federation Square, the Flinders St. train station, and the Southgate riverside mall. Note that the Commonwealth Games were in full swing during our visit; hence the large crowds. People in the Square were watching a football or cricket match on a set of extremely large television screens.

Here are some pictures taken from the top of the Rialto Tower in Melbourne, looking down over the Yarra River and over to the ocean.