Great job Denver Broncos. Last night, August 14, 2015, the Denver Broncos defeated the Seattle Seahawks 22-20 in their first Preseason Football Game! Congratulations Broncos!
Month: August 2015
It is Football Season
Tonight the Denver Broncos go to Seattle to play the Seattle Seahawks at Century Link Field at 8:00 p.m Denver time. This is the first preseason game for the Denver Broncos this season, with one of the most expensive preseason ticket price. It seems that resale of tickets for Friday’s game will cost about $119. We, the Colorado Traveling Ducks, wish the Broncos a win, but we will not be going to Seattle for the game. GO BRONCOS!!!
Raptor Domain Birds of Prey on Kangaroo Island with Zeb and Eider Duck
We liked Raptor Domain Birds of Prey.
Raptor Domain
We saw the raptor demonstration but we also enjoyed the figures on the trees and on the ground. This Echidna is not real,
Echidna
but we did see a real one on an evening nocturnal wildlife hike. This is a really big bee.
A really big bee
Hey mom! Why are we sitting on a branch with this snake?
We are with a snake??
Let’s go down the path to the raptor demonstration.
Down the Path
The birds are trained to return to the arm of the trainer. We like black and white birds.
These birds are so pretty
Here is tawny frogmouth.
Tawny Frogmouth
We liked to watch this one walk with the long legs.
Such long legs
This snowy barn owl sat on people’s lap.
Snowy Barn Owl
Snowy Barn Owl has no fear of humans.
Friendly Snowy Barn Owl
He has long claws or talons, but he did not hurt people or ducks. We like these kookaburras.
Kookaburras
They are not birds of prey. They are from the King Fisher Family, but we were happy to see them. We also saw the Black Breasted Buzzard.
Black Breasted Buzzard
He loves to eat green emu eggs, but the shells are very hard. The Black Breasted Buzzard knows to pick up a rock and break the egg. He did enjoy his egg. The humans missed that photo. This is an Australian eagle.
Australian Eagle
We like seeing all these birds. They are different than the birds we see in our yard in Colorado. On the way out of the Raptor Domain we admired these lady bugs on the tree.
Lady Bugs on the tree
We liked our visit to the Raptor Domain Birds of Prey and we think you would like it too.
Seal Bay on Kangaroo Bay with Zeb and Eider Duck
We are going to Seal Bay, in a National Park.
Seal Bay is part of a National Park
Humans and duck will see the Australian Sea Lions. We are visiting the third largest breeding colony in Australia. Before we even get to the beach, we see this mom and baby sea lion in the bush.
Mom and Baby resting under a bush
We are quiet and keep our distance. We do not want to disturb them. We follow our guide down to the beach.
We follow our guide
This sea lion is watching us watch him.
He knows we are here
Thinking about a swim?
Ready for swim
They are swimming and playing in the water.
Fun at the beach
We like being on the beach with the sea lions.
Love the beach with sea lions
However, if you do not want to walk on the beach, you can walk on this path and see the sea lions.
Humans can walk on this boardwalk for a different view
Looking down on beach and frolicking sea lions.
View from boardwalk
This young one is ready for a nap.
Tired
Aren’t they adorable?
Picture perfect
We really like the sea lions.
Our new friends
Group nap time.
Group nap
Sea lions must share the each with birds also.
Birds on the beach also
We are off the beach now; heading to our bus, but we must have one last look back at the ocean.
So nice here. Hard to leave
Clifford’s Honey Farm on Kangaroo Island with Zeb and Eider Duck
It is 6:15 a.m.; ducks and humans are waiting for a bus to the harbor near Adelaide, South Australia. We will have a 45 minute ferry ride to Kangaroo Island
We will get on the ferry to Kangaroo Island
and then a couple days of tours. Some people are taking cars on our ferry.
Cars are going on our ferry
We are not taking a vehicle. The ferry has left the harbor and we are sailing.
We love riding on boats
The back of the boat is a little chilly. Not much sun yet.
Very windy back here. We have to stay on the floor so we don’t blow overboard
We are docking at Kangaroo Island.
We are approaching Kangaroo Island
We board our tour bus and begin exploring the island. Driving we admire the green fields. As we continued, we saw some kangaroos grazing in the fields and some fields of cattle. We saw many sheep
We love the sheep
and some new snow white baby lambs. Our dirt roads are red.
Red dirt on Kangaroo Island
The color will vary across the island. This is a grass tree.
A grass tree
Our first stop is Clifford’s Honey Farm.
Clifford’s Honey Farm
This machine separates honey from the hive.
Getting honey from hive
There are three levels of honey in each hive. Humans only take 2 levels. The bees need the 3rd level for their food. Bees are working here.
Bees at work
The farm has Ligurian bees from Italy. Bees cannot fly far, so the bee line remains pure on the island. These bees are very quiet, docile and much sought after by bee-keepers. They are easy to work and very productive. The queen bees are exported around the world. We visited the store. Humans tasted honey. They liked it. They bought chocolate coated honeycomb and honey bears. Both were enjoyed! However, the honey bears were the favorite. Yum! For more information on Clifford’s Honey Farm, visit http://www.cliffordshoney.com.au On our way to lunch, we passed the Weatherspoon farm with this sign.
Creative sign
Can you read it? It says: Did you bring a beer long. A very clever and original sign! Next we enjoyed a buffet lunch
Good lunch
at Vivonne Bay Eco Adventures Bistro and Function Centre on Vivonne Bay.
Let’s eat at Vivonne Bay Eco Adventures Bistro and Function Center on Vivonne Bay
Let’s continue down the road toward our next spot.
Let’s continue down the road
We like our tour so far. I think you will like what we show you next time.
Zeb and Eider Duck Explore Western Tasmania
Zeb and Eider Duck, with humans, leave Burnie, Tasmania for a long drive. We want to see the western part of Tasmania, but we have to return our car tonight, in Hobart. It is pretty cold today. The valleys have fog.
Cold, foggy morning leaving Burnie Tasmania
We stopped to admire this waterfall,
Such a pretty waterfall
near Roseberry. We like the rainforest.
It is wet in this rainforest and seems mysterious
We are now in a mining area of Tasmania.
Gold, silver and copper were mined near here
This is Queenstown.
Love this sign, especially the O in Queenstown
In the late 1800s gold, silver and copper were mined here.
Queenstown is a nice little town
We stopped at this lookout.
Lookout place for humans and ducks
We looked down into the mining area.
Mining pits are now lakes
Looking ahead we see fresh snow on the mountain. Mom is going to put us in the snow.
Fresh snow at the East West Divide. It is cold, mom
We stopped at the East West Divide. The snow has just about stopped. Coming out of the mountains, we really like this green, hilly landscape.
So pretty
So much change in the land in so few miles. We still see flocks of sheep, but we also see many herds of cattle. We really like Tasmania. The scenery is breathtaking and the people are very friendly and helpful. This is an island for hiking, camping and enjoying the outdoor lifestyle. However, we want to caution you that the roads are rather narrow with so many curves.
Most of the roads we found were rather narrow and had many curves. Beautiful but be careful!
If you have a camper you may find driving difficult, so please be careful. This is our last day in Tasmania.
Typical road
We will miss it, but we are eager to explore other parts of Australia.
Zeb and Eider Explore Northern Tasmania
Yesterday we admired the white sand and clear blue water of the Bay of Fires and marveled at Tasmania’s tallest waterfall, St. Columba Falls. This is such a beautiful island. Continuing along the north coast of Tasmania, we saw more flocks of sheep, but we also saw herds of cattle.
Many cattle
We think the rolling green pasture land and fields are beautiful, especially with the mountains in the background.
Beautiful green fields with mountains in background
Our next stop was Little Plains Lookout on our way to Scottsdale.
Little Plains Lookout
Tasmania is repurposing this land, planting hardwood trees which will be harvested in 2025. These will be used primarily for hardwood timber and veneer products.
New hardwood trees
The residue, not suitable for sawlogs, is used for pulp. In Colorado we do not see many stores called bottle shops, but we did in Tasmania. This was our favorite brand of bottle shop.
Thirsty Camel Bottleshop
This Thirsty Camel Bottleshop is in Lilydale, Tasmania.
We are in Lilydale, Tasmania
We like the camel. Continuing our exploration, a few kilometers north of George Town, we enjoy Low Head Historic Precinct. This is the ship’s bell, standing by the octagonal chart room.
Ship’s Bell in front of octagonal chart room
This is a recovered wooden marker buoy.
Recovered wooden maker buoy
These buoys are used to mark channels and other hazards. Here is the Low Head Lighthouse.
Low Head Lighthouse near George Town
This view from the keeper’s cottage shows why the lighthouse is needed here.
Vast water view from lighthouse keeper’s cottage
Continuing our journey, we are on the Batman Highway, where we encountered Australia’s first cable-stayed bridge. This is Batman Bridge in Sidmouth, Tasmania. Batman Bridge spans the Tamar River.
Batman Bridge
Construction began in 1966 and the bridge opened in 1968. Batman Bridge is named for John Batman, one of the founders of Melbourne,who earlier lived in Northern Tasmania. We drove under the bridge
Batman Bridge from below
where we were greeted by this colorful bird.
The official greeter?
Driving over the bridge, we admired its architecture.
What a great bridge
It is getting late and we do not want to drive in the dark. We see too many kangaroos every morning that have been hit by vehicles during the night. We spent the night in Burnie, Tasmania. We, the Colorado Traveling Ducks and our humans, like driving round Tasmania. We think you would enjoy it also.
Zeb and Eider Duck Visit Bay of Fires and St. Columba Falls in Tasmania
Zeb and Eider, with the humans, visited the Bay of Fire. This is near St.Helens in northeast Tasmania. And there are so many rocks!
So many bright rocks
The Bay of Fires extends along the coast from Binalong Bay in the south to Eddystone Point in the north. The sand is so soft and white.
Soft white sand and clear blue water. Perfect!
If it were not winter and cool, we would be lounging on that perfect sand and testing the clear (probably cold) water. The white sand is derived from the granite bedrock that is predominant in North East Tasmania. The soft white sand is because of the high quartz content of the granite boulder. First we visited a lookout platform and then walked to the rocks.
We were walking on these rocks
Then we drove to the The Gardens in the Bay of Fires Conservation Area. Isn’t this beautiful? Notice the lichen growing on the granite boulders lining the bay.
Bright blue water and orange rocks lining the bay
The bright orange is beautiful. Hundreds of years ago the native aboriginal people burned this area of the island. These Aboriginal fires were spotted by Captain Tobias Furneaux when he sailed past in 1773, so this area became known as the Bay of Fires. The repeated burning kept the vegetation low, giving the animals fresh young plants to eat. The low vegetation also made hunting easier for the aboriginal. The fires could be seen from far away, giving this area the name, Bay of Fire. While the Bay of Fires is beautiful and serene, it does have a darker side.
Sitting in soft white sand, near orange boulders and blue water.
The coast is littered with shipwrecks. A few being the schooner Mary Ann in 1850, the brig Dart in 1865, the barque Queen of the Sea in 1877 and the fishing boat Vagabond in 1950. These unusual trees caught our attention.
Unusual trees
There were many Australian Black Swans in this area.
Several beautiful black swans
These gorgeous black swans have bright red beaks.
Love the bright red beaks
So beautiful. We were told that black swans are native only south of the equator. Driving about 30 kilometers west, we visited St. Columba Falls, at Pyengana, Tasmania.
St Columba Falls
The falls are located in a rain forest.
We are in a rain forest
This is the path to the bottom of the falls.
Path to bottom of falls
St. Columba Falls are said to be the tallest falls in Tasmania,with a drop of over 90 meters.
We can hear the waterfalls
East Coast Road Tasmania with Zeb and Eider
Zeb and Eider Duck and the humans are driving in Tasmania. Leaving the Hobart area, we head north to the East Coast Road We stop at the Prosser River at a boat launching place.
We could launch a boat here
We see no other humans. It is so peaceful and beautiful. Look at this clear water.
Look at these shells
We can see these shells so clearly. And, none of these shells seem to be broken. Aren’t they beautiful? We stopped in Orford for breakfast.
Ready for breakfast
Orford is a nice town on the Prosser Bay and River.
Town of Orford
Look at this picnic area on the Prosser Bay. We love the water.
We like the beach at Orford
We ducks are sitting on a gas grill.
This is for all to us
This is available for picnics. Zeb and Eider are not the only birds that like this grill.
Company of our kind on the gas grill.
Further up the coast, we see Mayfield Bay.
We like Mayfield Bay
As we travel near the east coast of Tasmania, we saw several vineyards. This is winter in Tasmania, so the vines are cut back.
Vines cut back for winter
There were several wineries we passed that were open for tours and tasting. We did not stop. The humans were more interested in the water views. Just north of Swansea, we drove to the end of the Nine Mile Beach Road to another boat launch at Bagot Point Coastal Reserve.
Driving on that road brought us here
This was looking back at the road that guided us here. We saw stormy skies here.
Stormy skies but no rain today
These rocks are our color.
Yellow ducks on yellow rocks
Just a couple yellow rocks among the regular rock colored ones. Driving in Tasmania, we saw so many sheep. Many more than sheep than people.
We love the sheep
We are fascinated with these sheep. Different sizes, some recently sheared, some with heavier coats. We love them all. This is 4 Mile Creek, north of St. Marys.
We liked 4 Mile Creek
This white sand is beautiful. Today we wanted you to see a little of the landscape in eastern Tasmania. We think Tasmania is beautiful.
Colorado Traveling Ducks 