Feeling the Blue Mountains - Sydney, Australia

Travel Quote:  "A ship in a harbour is safe, but it's not what ships are built for."  -- John A. Shedd

I bet you've never seen a picture of Sydney's Harbour Bridge from this vantage point!  That's my friend and fellow passenger Toya, having her "pre-breakfast" photo taken by a crew officer as we had just passed underneath the bridge.  She wanted a photo before the bridge got too far away.  Mission accomplished!

I managed to get my own "vantage point" photo.

What's a post about Sydney, or even Australia, for that matter, without a snap of the iconic Opera House.

There's a lot to see and do in Sydney.  The last time I was here, in 2018, I visited Tauranga Zoo, which is a fabulous place.  Many of my fellow passengers went out of town to see the famous Blue Mountains.  This year, I decided it was my time to go.  My friend Bonita had planned a small group tour out there so off we went.  

Many of the bigger tours always stop for awhile at Featherly Park, an outdoor zoo/sanctuary, near the Blue Mountains.  Our small group went, instead, to Calmsley Hill, another sanctuary, but a small one.  There was plenty to see.

Since we visited Calmsley early in the morning, the koalas (all 2 of them) were still up and at it.  Cute as can be!

Play time!

Snort was very excited to see some of his kindred folk......

Why is it that kids (of all species) like to get up on tables???

Yes, Virginia, there are camels in Australia.  In fact, there are more than a million feral camels here.  The British settlers brought them over in the 19th century to help with working the land.  Now, especially after the horrible wildfires late last year, the camels have become a big problem, and the country has plans in place to cull thousands of them.  Looks like this fellow will be spared...

A sulphur-crested cockatoo.  They are abundant in this part of the country, and are intelligent, curious and LOUD.  Very precocious as well.  This one, below, outside the enclosure, is wild and is missing it's buddy, who sits behind the enclosure.  I spent at least 10 minutes watching these two - the one outside was screeching and crying up a storm, and finally flew away to a nearby tree.  Made me a little sad.

Onward to the Blue Mountains.  Our first stop, where big buses cannot go, was Lincoln's Rock.  Nice views of the mountains and big rocky ledges!

Bernd (in his famous red jacket) and Mieke.  Notice how far back from the ledge they are standing.  Bernd is just a TAD uncomfortable with heights......

I'm also not a fan of dizzying heights, but I got as close as I felt comfortable....

We stopped down in a valley for lunch.  The different topographies in the mountains was quite interesting.

Even with incredible fires all over this area of Australia, just a few months after, new growth is popping up everywhere.  This is nature, at her best.

Check out these scones!!!  They were FABULOUS!!!

This is one of my most favorite photos of the Blue Mountains, below.

This one's not bad either...

These are the "Three Sisters", an unusual rock formation, near the town of Katoomba, overlooking the Jamison Valley.  One of the most well-known sites.

Stay tuned for more Pig Tales!!

Gannets Galore At Muriwai Beach - New Zealand

Travel Quote:  "People forget years and remember moments."  -- Ann Beattie


I first heard about gannets a few years ago when I was in New Zealand.  There was a shore excursion to see them but I had already made other plans and so missed the opportunity.  I heard that they were an interesting species of seabird and that to visit their colonies along the ocean was pretty spectacular.

Luckily for me, my friend Bonita set up a private excursion for our first day in Auckland to go out and see the gannet colony at Muriwai Beach.  

Gannets are large white seabirds with yellowish heads, black-tipped wings and long bills.  There are 3 different species of gannets - the northern gannet is the largest and can be found in Scotland.  Another species is found in southern Africa and the last species, the ones we saw, lives in New Zealand and Southern Australia.


Gannets hunt fish by diving into the sea.  They can chase their prey underwater.  They dive from some impressive heights and a fast speed - up to 98 feet high and over 60 miles per hour.  This feat allows them to catch fish that are much deeper in the water, unlike other seabirds who can't dive as deep or as quickly.  Fun fact:  because gannets have this ability to dive deep, they can eat quite a lot - so their name is often used to describe someone with a voracious appetite.

They breed on islands and on coasts and normally lay just one egg.  Their feet keep the egg warm. They reach maturity at 5 years.  When they are first born they are fluffy white and gray, but by the time they are one year of age, they are completely black.  Then they gradually turn white.

They start nesting in August and stay at their location until close to May.  At Muriwai, where we visited, the gannets were very accessible from the beach path.  There were several thousand there at the first of March.  When they do migrate around May, they head to the western coast of Australia, where they spend their winter in warmer weather.  In August, they return.  The juveniles start leaving their nests in March and April.  They need to learn to fly before they can go with their parents to Australia, so they practice - a lot.  When we were there it was fun to watch them try spreading their wings and walking around.  They also squawk quite a lot.

Muriwai Beach is a very pretty area!!

A youngster

A juvenile "spreading his wings" Fly on little dude!

A cave at Muriwai Beach.

Muriwai Beach, at low tide.  We loved being able to walk through the cave and watch the gannets from below.

After our visit to the gannet colony, we returned to the Auckland city area, where we stopped off at Cornwall Park for a short visit to nearby One Tree Hill, also known as Maungakiekie, a former Maori settlement.  At the top is the grave and a monument of Sir John Logan Campbell, a founding father of the city of Auckland.    

Stay tuned for more Pig Tales!!!