R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 88

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating Australia; Darwin Area Favorites

Palmerston Town Hall

As you can see from the photo above, there were some changes at the ruins of the Palmerston Town Hall between 2019 (Monday’s article) and 2020 (above). The townspeople added an artistic, spiked globe between the front and back walls.

But let’s move on to today’s Fun Photo Friday favorites of Darwin and Litchfield National Park:

Explorer of the Seas in Darwin

“Foot” Patrol Ain’t What it Used to Be

Wangi

Ursula Hanging Out in Darwin

Feelin’ Froggy

Wrong Cathedral, Guys!

Circumnavigating Australia — Darwin; Magnetic Termite Mounds and Wangi Falls

Magnetic Termite Mounds

During our 2019 trip to Darwin we took a tour. The two sights we were destined to see that day were the famous Wangi Falls (more on that later), and the fascinating and massive Magnetic Termite Mounds located in Litchfield National Park.

Anatomy of a magnetic termite mound

These mounds are not “magnetic”. Nor are the termites that make them. Rather, the term refers to how these termites (amitermes meridionalis) construct the main axis of these slab-sided mounds along a no...

Circumnavigating Australia — Walking around Darwin

Welcome to Darwin — South entrance to “The Mall” on Smith Street

As with other articles in this series on Australia and New Zealand, the photos you’ll see this week were taken during two visits — March 2019 and February of this year. Today we’re going to walk around the streets of Darwin situated on the Timor Sea in the Northern Territory of Australia. It’s a small hike into Darwin from the cruise ship terminal at Fort Hill Wharf. Along the pedestrian walkway you’ll head northeast as you pass so...

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating Australia; Kuranda Favorites

A “Splash” of Color

Today’s Fun Photo Friday favorites feature fantastic photographs of fleeting feats of fearlessness.

Hanging by a Thread

High Above the Barron River

A “Splash” of Color

Kuranda Scenic Railway Station

Circumnavigating Australia — Kuranda Railway

Kuranda Scenic Railway

After a rather long Skyrail Rainforest Cableway trip, with two station stops along the way, we arrived into the village of Kuranda. This was our transfer point between the Skyrail and the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

Kuranda Railway Station — transfer point from Skyway to Railway

The station included a couple of plaques of interest. One gave a history of the railway. Construction began in 1886, and passenger service started five years later:

History of Kuranda Scenic Railway

Th...

Circumnavigating Australia — Kuranda Skyrail Rainforest Cableway

Ursula enjoying Barron Falls

On February 14 Radiance of the Seas anchored off Yorkey’s Knob. From offshore we would tender into the port that serves Cairns, but Cairns was not on today’s agenda. We were instead slated to visit the oldest rainforest in the world, older even than the Amazon.

Kuranda Skyrail map

Getting there would entail taking an aerial tramway, not my favorite form of transport to be sure. You would think someone who spent over 34 years working in tall, skinny control towers, on...

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating Australia; Brisbane

Brisbane Panorama

Today I present my favorite shots of Brisbane and the nearby Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Here is Brisbane’s Central Business District:

Brisbane CBD

Remember from Monday the South Bank Parklands? One sight here that I did not show you was the Wheel of Brisbane:

Wheel of Brisbane

Of course, I had to include a shot of Ursula posing with her new friend:

Ursula Posing with her New Friend

And, finally, I’ll leave you with these two friendly chaps:

All Smiles

Feathered Friend

Circumnavigating Australia — Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

You’ll recall from Monday that Mount Coot-tha Lookout is about five miles/eight kilometers west southwest of Brisbane. Today we head south of Mount Coot-tha to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which is about 3.5 miles/5.6 kilometers away as the Australian raven flies. But were is that in relation to the rest of the world? Let’s take a look:

Only 11,565 kilometers to Los Angeles

And at least 5,000+ kilometers from anywhere outside Australia and New Zealand

Here at Lone Pin...

Circumnavigating Australia — Brisbane

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Brisbane

Next stop after Sydney on the 2020 cruise was Brisbane. But, again, weather was better on our 2019 trip, so most of todays photographs are from eleven months prior. The exception is the image above, which was taken in the South Bank Parklands. South Bank Parklands sits on the south shore of Brisbane River, and offers great views of Brisbanes city center.

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Brisbane Skyline along the Brisbane River

Spanning Brisbane River, but not at this location, is Story Bridge. This impressive span...

Fun Photo Friday — Circumnavigating Australia; Sydney

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Circular Quay and The Coathanger

A last look at Sydney before cruising north to Brisbane:

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Old Bricks in The Rocks

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Circular Quay Lampposts

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The Coathanger from inside The Rocks