VISITORS to the May meeting of Crediton Probus Club were given an illustrated talk by member Keith Barker about his trip to Australia in 2007.
This was a talk which had originally been arranged for a previous meeting. On that occasion, the projector let him down! This time, however, all was checked, not once but twice. But all was not well, just as he was due to start, the equipment let him down yet again!
The story started off in Kings Park, Perth Western Australia, where we saw the "Eternal Flame", which is part of the War Memorial there. Views which followed, showed of the Swan River and of some of the bird life on the river.
Then we were off into the Outback, heading for Monkey Mia. Some shots of shanty like buildings were seen together with shots of wildlife including Gallah birds, Australian Pelicans, Loggerhead turtles, a Dugong mother and calf, bottle nosed dolphins, a Red Kangaroo and Joey and less appealing, a Funnel Spider's web.
The next stop was Uluru, better known as Ayre's Rock. Although looking smooth from a distance, close up shots revealed how rough the surface actually is. Some examples of Aboriginal art were able to be seen, as were examples of the prolific weed spinifex.
On then to Alice Springs, passing numerous termite mounds, some up top four feet high. After Alice Springs, we were taken on to Darwin , known for it's heat and humidity, where we encountered a tropical storm, together with lizards, Ibis and dogfish.
Having been tropicalised, we then went east into the wetlands of Kakadu, where we saw an great array of wildlife including : Darters, Magpie Geese, White necked herons, Sea Eagles, an Enormous estuarine crocodile, and numerous other exotic species. This collection of wildlife photographs continued when we arrived in the Daintree Rainforest.
On leaving the rainforest, we returned to "civilisation" visiting the Brisbane area, meeting a Mynah bird, a Grey Kangaroo, a Koala and a Kookaburra on the way.
Our final call was at Sydney, where we visited, Bondi Beach, The Opera House, and saw some spectacular shots of "The Heads". So, despite the problems, we all enjoyed trip of some thousands of miles around some of the wilder parts of Australia.
John Clifton thanked Keith on behalf of all the members for a most interesting presentation.
DD