Fogg Dam in the afternoon.

I then took a trip out to Fogg Dam on Saturday afternoon, its been quite a while. It was very warm, and not too many others out there, I saw just three other vehicles all tourists.


A lot less water and not as many birds.
Crimson Finches,Double-barred Finches, Egrets, Kites, ducks.
However there was this interesting Darter that remained submerged for most of the time,



There were lots of dragonflies being grabbed on the wing by Rainbow BeeEaters

Saturday morning trip to Parap Market

A trip to Parap Market this morning, to go to the bakery for a croissant and then some well priced fruit and vegetables.





This group of soldiers from 1st Brigade 8th/12 Medium Regiment, Robertson Barracks were part of a relay that was about to pull a two tonne gun carriage 22km around Darwin and suburbs to raise money for sick and injured children at Royal Darwin Hospital!

This busker is quite a character

Morning tea for new parents

Brian and Julie, two members of the Access Services team are new parents. Brian has a baby daughter this week and Julie is flying to China to pick up her adopted son.
There was mountain of food to eat!

TopEnd ALIA meeting

We had a monthly meeting of the ALIA TopEnd group last night at the Northern Territory Library. There was a tour of the refurbished public area and then a report back session on the ALIA Perth Conference and the TopEnd Symposium.




Some of us then adjourned to the Darwin Sailing Club for dinner.

A meal at Halo on the water

We visited the Barrack Street area on Saturday night in Perth and enjoyed a meal at Halo Cafe.
Terry and I enjoyed our Marron with Duck salad

Pam enjoyed her snapper

This is a another building that looked good just near our restaurant.

Kanyana

Some time ago I read about the work that June and Lloyd Butcher were doing with breeding Bilbys and rescuing fauna. I contacted June and we were able to visit her wildlife rehabiltation centre at Gooseberry Hill called Kanyana. Along with a group of about 140 volunteers Kanyana is doing a fantastic job.

June with a Brushtailed bandicoot, a near relative of the Bilby


This was a box of Bilbies

The superb camouflage of the Tawny Frogmouth always impresses me

Pam went to the kangaroo nursery and was quickly asked to help feed some.
The downstairs area was setup with baskets of joeys waiting to be fed.

Trip to the Valley of the Giants

It was a long trip back down to the forests today, but it was worth it. We visited the "Valley of the Giants" and the Ancient Forest.
Massive old trees and a fairly scarey tree top walk, or in the case of Terry, push in his wheel chair.

This Red Tingle tree is said to be over 300 years old.
.
Here I am doing the tourist thing in another.


The Ancient Forest area has limited access to wheelchairs which meant that Terry occassionaly had to get out whist I lifted it up and down the steps, but it was worth the effort.

A pleasant late lunch was had in another lovely old tea rooms, with a cottage garden.

A trip to Pemberton

A leisurely drive, with a lunch in an old cottage with a nice garden, hence this rose.

Then a drive to Pemberton to the Gloucester Tree,

Lots of bird life, being fed by tourists

I think this bird is a Shrike Thrush, a beautiful call from it was ringing around the forest.


This a 28 (or Twenty Eight Parrot/)

We did the touristy thing:


One of a pair of wrens.

Watershed Winery

We had a late lunch at the Watershed Winery, south of Margaret River. Its a very pretty winery complex