These girls were riding winged scooters at the foreshore of Geraldton, WA.
Geraldton also has a moving memorial to the ship HMAS Sydney, which was wrecked offshore during World War II, with a loss of over 600 lives.
Lake Ballard, north of the Western Australian gold mining town of Kalgoorlie has some (51) most unusual sculptures of people, spread across the vast landscape of a dried lake bed. They were done by English sculptor Antony Gormley using scans of local residents and alloys from the rich mineral deposits in the region. As you walk from one figure to the next, the parking area at the edge of the lake fades into the distance. You certainly have a sense of space and the reassurance that you are not alone.
We are camped in the bush with meagre reception, so I’m only including one picture tonight.
Another school holiday activity is the McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery in Langwarrin, Australia. Three generations found enjoyment putting their own interpretations on the sculptures as they observed from every angle. Our favourite was one that sinuously moved on bearings, with the breeze.
Another little white house with crystals in the windows cast a clear light speckled with rainbow prisms.
So impressed were Grandad and the children that they decided to make their own installation – we women rounded the corner to find them “exhibited” as they froze like stone on a park bench.
We spent four enjoyable hours at the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, Port Augusta, South Australia, looking from the Matthew Flinders Lookout, sipping coffee, walking the Regional and Cliff trails, watching the tide swirl under the railway bridge, lunching on locally-inspired food and finally buying quandong jam at the gift shop. As well as unspoiled chenopod plains, it has sample garden layouts and plants that are helpfully labelled. The iron sculptures were eye-catching.
This afternoon we visited the Wadlata Outback Centre and finally had a chilly walk along the old wharf, a possible location for Monochrome Madness, which Leanne Cole is running on her blog.
Standley Chasm near Alice Springs, in Central Australia is known for a light trick which happens shortly after noon, when the light shines straight down the chasm and both walls glow with the reflected red light from the opposite wall. Here is David glowing in the sunlight.
Earlier we visited the Araluen Art Centre, which has a fine exhibition of watercolours by Albert Namatjira and related artists from Hermansburg.
After lunching at the kiosk, which is run by the local Indigenous group, we walked to a lookout, returning via a dried creek bed that was rich with wildflowers.
Last visit was to the Desert Park, where an obliging perentie posed for a photo.
Today we drove to a spot near the boundary of the World Heritage listed Kakadu which is run as a joint venture between the local Indigenous peoples (who have land rights) and the government’s National Parks.
It is called Cahills Crossing and is a favourite fishing spot, despite the fact that crocodiles are often sighted there. First we saw a two metre crocodile, then about fifty yards downstream, we watched fisherman standing in the running water with their backs to the area where the croc was! Watching the local vehicles making the water crossing from Arnhem Land is a favourite pastime for tourists.
We also climbed the Ubirr site, saw ancient rock art and had a magnificent view from the top of the escarpment. Then drove back, calling in to the Nooralangie rock art site and Anbangbang billabong for a spot of birdwatching.
Last Monday we drove up the Oodnadatta Track to Coward Springs for lunch and a spa bath in a bore in the desert. On the way we passed an open air sculpture park – “plane henge”.
Our return was via mound springs and Curdimurka siding on the disused Ghan railway line. We returned with the setting sun behind us.
Today we visited three different rock art shelters near and in the Grampians: Bunjil (East of the Grampians), Billimina and Manja on the western slopes. Each had its unique attributes, Bunjil, situated in a rocky outcrop, featured the legendary creator of the world with two dogs, while Billimina included dozens of “tally marks”, possibly recording visits or other events. Nearby were the Jardwadjali Falls. The dominant images at the Manja site were handprints. By then the sun was setting, bringing out the red colours of the rocks.
The western sites had been impacted by bush fires several years ago, but I did love the red sundews with their low white flowers.
After activating our Eurail pass in readiness for tomorrow’s train journey, we wasted the morning trying to cash in travellers’ cheques from five years ago. We gave up after trying four banks and getting advice from the tourist information office. Lunch was another ham bocadillo, this time with a Mediterranean salad. The afternoon, we explored the trendy sports wear at the department store, El Corte Ingles, checked out the cathedral, the Palace of Catalan Music with its wonderful mosaic details, the Gothic city walls and the elegant Plaza Real (where a pickpocket watched us carefully). We found refuge in the Maritime Museum, photographing the peaceful courtyard statue and the imposing galleon ship with its colourful details. Then back to Christopher Columbus statue and up Las Ramblas to out hotel, stopping to commission a caligropher to make a clever painting of our eldest grandaughter’s name. Then out to an Italian restaurant for buffalo mozzarella and porcini pasta – benissimo!
To ensure we got tickets, our guide first took us by taxi to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Sagrada Famiglia basilica, designed by Anton Gaudi. She explained the significance of the external sculptures before taking us through the unfinished interior. Then into another taxi and up to the Guill Park to see the failed housing estate that is now also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Back down to Gracia avenue for coffee and to see some Modernist houses, followed by a stroll down to the narrow lanes of the Gothic precinct, where the guide left us.
After bocadillos, we joined a long queue for the Picasso Museum. Chatting in a queue is a great way to make new friends! Then down to the port and a walk up Las Ramblas back to our hotel.
Bron and David's trips 