28th December 2010 Kelvedon beach

We stopped here for lunch on the way back from Swansea. I gave up trying to get close to this butterfly and just used my telephoto zoom lens instead

Congratulations to Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for causing the early end of the Japanese whale slaughter for this year.

Sea Shepherd has often been criticised for its direct action as opposed to the whinging and whining of Greenpeace and various governments, especially the Australian Government. Australia has wasted millions of our dollars sending ships to observe the illegal whaling of the Japanese and take video footage for who knows what. The Japanese have only called an end to whaling this year because Sea Shepherd has mostly blocked their efforts to slaughter whales – this has caused the whalers to lose money!

The Japanese whaling business has been operating under the childlike and idiotic ruse of scientific research. They have bribed and threatened smaller island nation members of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in an effort to sway voting in their favour. They have lied, lobied their own government, and bullied in an effort to slaughter whales that they have no right to slaughter.

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28^th December 2010 Sullivan’s Cove

We got to Hobart at about 6pm after slowly making our way back from Swansea. Via a message on Gail’s answering machine we were reminded that the yachts from the Sydney to Hobart yacht race were due in sometime that day. We wandered down to Sullivan’s cove half heartedly, thinking wistfully of bed.

There wasn’t much activity and no outrageously tall masts in the harbour – the yachts hadn’t arrived. The word was that they were expected around midnight. We started to make our way down to Salamanca for dinner when there was an announcement over loud speakers telling us that the lead yacht – Wild Oats – was now expected to arrive by 9pm. Then shortly another announcement with a revised time of 8:30pm. This was too good; it was now 7:30pm and not many people around. We bought fish and chips and sat on the end of the jetty that Wild Oats would have to pass by within metres.

The arrival of Wild Oats was announced by an accompanying helicopter then a fleet of cruisers surrounding the monstrous yacht like little ants attacking an injured grasshopper.

One of the facts that an official was spouting over the public address system is the height of the mast on Wild Oats – 45m – over 10 stories high.

On our way home I was musing on what it would have been like at the other end of the race in Sydney; we would have been lucky to get a glimpse of anything other than the tall mast in the distance over the heads of the enormous crowds.

Popularity: 3% [?]

12th December 2010 Wellington Park

We were sitting for lunch on some ledge overlooking Hobart and the Huon Valley when this Currawong turned up hopeful for a feed.

Currawongs always make me laugh; they make comical sounds and leap about like Zulus and seem to crash through trees when they are flying. When they do stand still they have an unfathomable look like an emu.

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28th November 2010, Nth Hobart

Roey the cat, is Gail’s cat. He sleeps and meows and dribbles and demands attention and Gail makes fun of his middle age paunch.

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2nd October 2010 Maria Island

There were young geese and wallabies all over the place. The young geese seemed to do everything in unison, with the mother watching over them and the father standing guard. They’d even eat together while sitting down.

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12th November 2010 Swansea, and (below) 6th November 2010 Parliament Square Salamanca

You probably can’t see in the photo above because the sparrow is in silhouette; he has launched with his wings still closed.

Happy birthday Joh. I think these are appropriate themes for your new directions in life and they are also qualities you already have. Goodluck.

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Goose family

2nd October 2010 Maria Island

I have some photos of Maria Island left that I like. While we were on Maria, geese and wallabies all had young.

Goose youth

These are Cape Barren Geese. In the 1950′s there was a fear that these geese would become exinct. Some geese were introduced to Maria Island in 1968. Now you can see them wherever there is green grass to be eaten on the island. There is so much competition for grazing on Maria by various forms of wildlife that the grassy areas look like bowling greens.

Goose legs

Forrester kangaroos were also introduced to Maria Island because of their dwindling numbers on mainland Tasmania. These are often culled so that the island can support the remaining wildlife.

Popularity: 2% [?]