I photographed these yellow tailed black cockatoos from our deck. I got really excited as there were a flock of about 20 circling the tree. I rushed inside to get my camera and of course as I came back they were all flying off. Around 15 minutes later I heard their characteristic cry and three or four had returned to the tree. They were about three houses away and my 200mm lens just managed to get these photos. I saw them in our front yard a few weeks ago. Hopefully they will be regular visitors.
Since first spotting the yellow tailed black cockatoos in the garden I have seen them again it’s hard to gauge but there may be as many as 10. They have a much nicer call than the screeching of the sulfur crested cockatoo but seem about the same size. It’s pleasure to see them in and close to our garden. However I never seem to have my camera at the ready when they are nearby.
We are a little elevated and sea gulls circle straight out in front of our house. The Australian gulls are known as silver gulls . The Australian gulls unfortunately dont have the gentle call of the gulls we have seen in Europe.
Any way I am still looking to get better photos of the yellow tailed black cockatoo. We are blessed with lots of birds in our garden. No doubt I will post more photos.
Yellow Tailed Black CockatooYellow Tailed Black CockatooYellow Tailed Black CockatooYellow Tailed Black CockatooSilver GullSilver GullBirds in our garden
We seem to have lots of birds visiting our garden. Its a pity I dont have a SLR camera strapped to my wrist. I was really surprised when I looked out the front windows to see not one but three Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos resting in our banksia. I took the photos with my phone a Google 6 Pro not too bad but would have been better with my Nikon SLR.
We are settling into the new house and we have spotted a few visitors in the garden. We have lots of birds circling in and out of the many trees. It’s not unusual to see some seagulls floating past out deck. Everytime I do a bit of gardening I seem to chop a tail off a skink.
We have lots of New Holland Honeyeaters and Little Wattlebirds . The latter has a distinctive call and seems to warn me off every time I step out into garden. The plantings in our garden lend themselves to birds feeding on the blooms. We are heading into winter and the banksia is still in bloom providing feed for some of the birds.
Other visitors include a couple of cats who live in adjoin houses they are elusive and difficult to photograph. Even the chickens from next door have stuck their necks though the fence looking for something to peck at.
The move has happened or more precisely is ongoing. Moving is a monumental task especially after living in the one place for 27 years. There are so many little things that you forget, overlook or underestimate. The stuff that accumulates over a quarter of a century is amazing and has to be dealt with.
We hired two guys with a truck hoping this would be a one shot move. We were wrong they underestimated how much stuff we had to move. The truck was filled up with absolutely no room to spare. The biggest thing to be omitted was our rather large collection of pot plants . Lots of the pots that are very large and heavy. I had already moved most of my workshop stuff before the moving day hoping that this would increase the space available in the truck. We did 700 kilometres in the following three days moving stuff in trailers. It was all exhausting work.
I am writing this almost four weeks after the move. We are slowly unpacking the boxes and and putting some order in new the house. Inevitably there was lots of small jobs to attended to in the new house as it had been rented for two years.
The big lesson is not to try and replicate your old house. This causes a lot of stress as invariably the new house will be different. The thing is to start a new. We are slowly getting there and enjoying watching the waves and the sunrise on deck.
My Workshop Moving Off The moving tuck The final loadEndless Jenga Emptied Boxes
This isn’t exactly a travel update although we are on the move. We have sold our house of 27 years and will be relocating about 102 kilometres away. We are Victor bound , Victor Harbor to be precise. This is our post working house. I’m not allowed to say retirement as swmbo feels that this is too negative.
We have been tidying our house since August 2021 in readiness for sale. The photos tool 3 hours, the 3D walk through took a couple of hours. Not to mention a couple of hours with the real estate agent. We called on family and friends to help with the tidying up. It was a lot of work.
The actual open inspection took 35 minutes and we had a sale. The legalities and such another couple of weeks. We move toward the end of March – Victor Bound
On our final day we had one more stop before heading home. We pulled up in Crystal Brook after overnighting in Fitzgerald Bay. The stop was for lunch and then afternoon tea. We found a nice bakery which is usually the case in country towns
Crystal Brook is a regional service town with a population of about 1500. The main street is wide and there are lots of old shops. Some are curio shops and we found and OP shops. We bought some plants and then headed off to afternoon tea.
My wife found an amazing place called Vault 35 in Crystal Brook. It a dessert only cafe and has amazing products. It is located in an old bank building hence the name. The old bank vault inside the building is a gift shop. The couple who run it are absolutely charming . We over ordered and I’m sure my blood sugars went through the roof. Then on to home.
Following on from my last post we camped overnight in Fitzgerald Bay campsite number 2. This is a free campsite near Point Lowly just North of Whyalla on the East coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. We set up camp relying on the little onboard power that we had because our deep cycle battery was dying.
There is very little at Fitzgerald bay other than a few comping spots. There was a flushing toilet which of course is a luxury when you dont have an ensuite bathroom in your caravan. We never saw anyone else despite the presence of two other caravans an a campervan.
The following morning after breakfast we and a quick look around we headed off . We stopped briefly at Point Lowly to look at the lighthouse. Point Lowly has a few holiday shacks/houses and a lighthouse. Port Lowly is well know as a breeding ground for giant cuttlefish .There is also a large natural gas port there which we won’t mention.
The last leg of our trip took is from Venus Bay across to the east coast of Eyre Peninsula via Cleve. We eventually ended up at Fitzgerald Bay just north of Whyalla at a free camping site.
Cleve has lovely wide streets and and a local radio station was blaring out from speakers on the streetlights. It was a very blustery day and we were nearly blown down the street. We managed to find an OP shop which is what you do in small towns
There is a fabulous sculpture of a draughthorse in the main street. It made entirely of engine parts, chains and assorted metal. It’s very imposing and some nice detail like a metal lizard.
Continuing our journey east we stopped in Arno Bay. A quick visit largely dictated by the stormy and blustery weather. We couldn’t even find a cafรฉ open! We headed north along the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula from Arno bay towards Fitzgerald bay. A quick stop in Cowell to buy some oysters. Cash only but no complaints $30 for three dozen. Another town with not much open.
Scooting past Whyalla we headed to our campsite at Fitzgerald Bay. It’s a free campsite and it was dark when we got there. So dinner and to bed and ready for the trip home.
Heading away from Venus Bay we travelled to Streaky Bay . This is another nice little town on the Eyre Peninsula. We arrived latish for lunch finding some shops already closed. We had fish and chips in a a cafรฉ attached to a caravan park. Not the best fish and chips but certainly not the worst we have had on our travels. The worst fish and chips we have had were in Tasmania in a small town with the lovely name of Primrose Sands.
There is a fabulous clifftop drive in just out of Streaky Bay with lots of great lookouts. The coastline is quite spectacular. All the good spots are well signposted and have information boards.
Whistling rock was particularly interesting. There is a large cavern under the cliffs where the waves crash in. The top of the cavern is a quite porous limestone. The crashing waves push air up through the holes creating a distinctive whistling sound.
There are a succession of lookouts where you get a great view of the limestone coast. Every bit as impressive the great ocean road. The coast line is slowly being eroded by the crashing waves. There is an array of great walkways and raised platforms. Theses afford plenty of opportunities for great photos.
