Australia Day 2010
Manly Beach, Sydney
Today is Australia Day, celebrating the day on which the first European settlers arrived in Sydney Cove in 1788.
Australians love a public holiday, and especially this one being in the middle of summer. Many people gather with family and friends and have barbecues, picnics, visits to the beach or attend major sporting events.
Near Mrs Macquaries Chair, Sydney Harbour
With the vast majority of Australians living near the coast, water activities are on the agenda for people. Swimming, sailing, surfing, fishing, canoeing and other water sports are all very popular.
Picnic at Swanport Reserve, Murray Bridge
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, New South Wales
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, south coast of NSW
I love visiting places like Duesbury Beach at Dalmeny on the south coast of New South Wales. As you can see in the photos I managed some great shots of the coastline, the waves, the beach and the rocks.
We only stayed a few minutes as we had a long distance to travel that day. Despite this restriction I was pleased to get this group of great photos.
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, south coast of NSW
Duesbury Beach, Dalmeny, south coast of NSW
A Milestone for Trevor’s Travels
Scene from our lodge in Monjo, Nepal
Trevor’s Travels reaches a significant milestone in its journey.
This is post number 500.
I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing my travel experiences and photos with all of my readers. There are plenty more to come and I would encourage your to leave comments where appropriate.
For those who have come recently to this blog for the first time, let me share some of the highlights. Here is a list of some of the most popular articles that have appeared over the last three years:
- Travels in Nepal
- Travels in Thailand
- Parks and Gardens of Australia
- National Parks – in Australia and overseas
And don’t forget my photo gallery here – with over 2200 photos taken by my wife, my son and me.
A photo of me with Everest in the background
A good place to be married
Sydney CBD
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
On our visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney on our recent holiday we saw this wedding party. Parks and gardens are popular places to hold weddings in Australia and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney are no exception to this. The wonderful weather for much of the year in places like Sydney make outdoor events like weddings a good choice.
The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney are somewhat disappointing in regards the range of plants being grown, especially when compared with other similar gardens elsewhere in the country. The range of Australian plants is particularly poor. Despite that these particular gardens are well utilized by both locals and visitors. It is a popular spot to relax, read a book in a quiet corner, go for a walk or jog, have a picnic or hold a formal event like a wedding. Many thousands of visitors use the gardens on a daily basis.
The plight of the River Murray
River Murray at Swanport Reserve, Murray Bridge
Over much of last year and all of this year the media in Australia have highlighted the terrible plight of the River Murray. The concern is for the whole of the Murray-Darling basin which makes up one-seventh of the continent. A large percentage of Australia’s population relies directly on this vast basin for its water supply or the food produced directly from the water taken for irrigation.
The plight of this river system really came home to me a few days ago when we had a picnic lunch at Swanport Reserve just a few kilometres south of Murray Bridge. The reserve is a ten minute drive from home. The above photo clearly shows that the water level has dropped about a metre below its normal level.
Now a drop of a metre may not seem very much compared with most other river systems, but in this case it is indicative of a very serious problem. Last month, the inflow into the river system was the lowest ever recorded for over 80 years. That lowest ever figure comes after more than 12 months of record low inflows.
The river system is fast running out of water. Some major reservoirs are at all time record low capacities; two of the largest are below 10% capacity.
Severe water restrictions in many parts of Australia are having some effect. Some decent falls of rain in recent weeks have not really eased the situation. What is needed is three to five years of above average rainfall coupled with significant snow falls in the catchment areas.
Related Articles:
- Whistling Kite at Swanport Reserve – from my Birding Blog.
- Favourite Birding Spots – also from my Birding Blog.