Australia
From September 2001 to August 2002 Gretchen and I spent a sabbatical year
at Mount Stromlo Observatory in Canberra, Australia. Here are just a few
photos from that thoroughly wonderful year. We travelled a lot and enjoyed
everything about the landscape, scenery, animals, trees, flowers, and people.
Of all the scenery, the "best of the best" for us were the Great Ocean Road
west of Melbourne, Uluru and the "red center", the Southwest corner near Perth
with its incredible forests and beaches, and the Great Barrier Reef.
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The recreational area at Cotter Dam, west of Canberra.
This was our first visit to the Australian bush, just
a few days after arriving in September 2001
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View from Gibraltar Rock at Tidbinbilla, west of Canberra
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Bill at Belougery Spire, in the hills near the
Anglo-Australian Telescope. Nice hiking!
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Ditto for Gretchen!
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View of the Anglo-Australian Telescope dome
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On our way home to Canberra from the AAO,
we stopped for a brief visit to the Parkes radio telescope
(as tourists, not astronomers)
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At the Twelve Apostles site on the Great Ocean Road
west of Melbourne.
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A classic view of Uluru (formerly known to whiteys as Ayers' Rock)
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Taken from Ayers Rock Resort, looking west towards the Olgas
rock formation. This is a rare view of the setting Full Moon,
just before sunrise.
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View of Blowering Reservoir, a day's drive southwest of
Canberra. The colors are accurate!
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At the town of Talbingo, near Blowering Reservoir.
A distinctive advertisement for a tourist site.
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Hiking in the forests above Blowering Reservoir, southwest of
Canberra.
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Looking towards the sea east of Perth. Just one of
the many spectacular coastal views there. Yet another
perfect beach can be seen in the distance.
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A juvenile kangaroo in the backyard of our house. We lived
in one of the cottages on the Mount Stromlo site, and a tribe
of kangaroos could be seen around the area every day. They were
used to humans and we could approach them closely. They wandered freely --
fences less than two meters or so high were no obstacle
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Two koalas can be seen in this big eucalyptus tree. They sleep
through the day and chew on the leaves at night.
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Two fine-looking dingos at the Tarongo Zoo in Sydney. The dingos
in the bush look a lot leaner and meaner than these well-fed guys.
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Here is a sampling of the charming roadsigns on the highways.
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Koalas
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Wombats. We never saw one in the wild, though.
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The warning signs weren't just for animals!
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