April 21, 2020 by coloradotravelingducks

Colorado Traveling Ducks Visit Manly, near Sydney, Australia

Back on the boat in Sydney Harbor. They have hop on hop off boats, so we are heading to Manly today.

Manly Wharf

Manly is a popular beach town near Sydney. Some people even commute by boat between Manly and Sydney for jobs. Downtown, we liked the sign for the Municipality of Manly.

Manly

Perfect weather led us to wander around, do some shopping, and then think about lunch.

Sculpture

We decided to get sandwiches and eat at the beach.

Manly Beach

These steps were convenient and gave us a great view of the sand and water. Perhaps we were too interested in the beach and didn’t pay attention to sea gulls behind us.

Adorable seagull or clever thief?

Before our first bite of food, this fellow, or one like him, flew from behind us, dove at our food and got the top bread from one sandwich. He was quick. Probably experienced at the grab and fly routine. We were surprised. After eating the rest of our lunch, it was time to walk on the beach.

Lifeguards on Manly Beach

We are life guards for the day. We really think they were training new, young, life guards.

Practicing rescue skills

They ran across the sand and quickly, into the water and on the boards. We thought they looked very good. We like this.

Beautiful Manly beach

Families having fun with their children on the beach. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Time to walk back to catch a boat to Sydney’s Circular Quay.

Looking out to sea

Not expecting to need the life saving ring, we used it as a look out for small ducks to sit.

Back for a snack?

Another look back. Moms say no time for another snack on the deck.

Stand up paddle boarding

These people are practicing stand up paddle boarding. Time for us to board our boat. It is a little windy here.

Windy, but good sailors

These sailboats are leaning, but the crew handles everything. No over turned boats today. Tomorrow we leave for our last destination.

Sydney Harbor Bridge

So this is our farewell to Sydney Harbor and Australia. We love Australia and hope to return and stay for a longer time. You will love Australia also.

April 17, 2020 by coloradotravelingducks

Enjoying Sydney Harbor with Colorado Traveling Ducks

Today we did a little shopping. When in Australia, you must purchase Uggs. Of course, we can buy Uggs at home and many places in the world, but Uggs are from Australia, so this is where we must purchase more. Each mom purchased a pair of boots and Soapy’s mom also bought a really great jacket. The timing is perfect. Uggs on sale now, the beginning of summer in Australia, and November is the beginning of winter in Colorado. Only concern is getting all this stuff on the plane. The store we visited did not ship, so moms have a packing challenge. But, they will do it. Wandering around Sydney Harbor, we bought boat tickets.

Under Sydney Harbor Bridge

Here we go, under the Sydney Harbor bridge. And very close, we admire the Sydney Opera House.

Sydney Opera House

We are blessed with another day of sunny, beautiful weather.

Leaving Circular Quay

This is the dock area of Circular Quay. A center of activity with shopping, tourism, restaurants and the wonderful water front. Leaving Circular Quay, we pass this fort.

Old fort

We love the old bricks here.

Homes on hillside

And homes on the hill around the harbor. Our boat takes us to several ports.

Beach

And great beaches.

Explore the shore

Rocky area for climbing and exploring.

Boats near Manly

And boats anchored near Manly Wharf. Manly is a famous town near Sydney. Next time we will show you some of Manly.

April 14, 2020 by coloradotravelingducks

Featherdale Wildlife Park with Colorado Traveling Ducks in Sydney, Australia

We love animals. Today we will visit Featherdale Wildlife Park.

Featherdale Wildlife Park

Seeing the animals native to Australia will be fascinating. There are so many kinds of marsupials here, animals with pouches. This is a wildlife park, so the animals are in enclosures, but the enclosures are large and humans can touch and feed some animals. Upon entering we were entertained by these wombats.

Wombats

Aren’t they cute? These animals look like miniature kangaroos, but the sign said they are Red Necked Pademelon.

Feeding small kangaroo like animal. A red necked pademelon

Soapy’s mom is feeding them. There are several places in the park to purchase approved food for the animals. We purchased food several times. This Red Necked Pademelon came to see the Colorado Traveling Ducks.

Red Necked Pademelon

She has a baby in her pouch. A really colorful bird, the Southern Cassowary is the heaviest of all Australia’s birds.

Southern Cassowry

He has blade like claws and is capable of killing. He is also capable of swallowing a whole mango. The Southern Cassowary is an amazing bird. We like his helmet, too. In the United States our pelicans are white.

Australian pelicans

Here we have black and white pelicans. The moms just loved the koalas, so we paid to go in a special area so they could pet and touch this koala.

Petting koala

The koala has thick, soft fur. Good thing they cannot take animals into Colorado, or I think they might have brought him home. The Little Penguins are wonderful.

Little penguins

We like animals that are not so much bigger than we are. These are the smallest penguins in the world. The sign says some even live under Manly wharf. We visited Manly but did not see them that day. Mom and I saw them 14 years ago on Phillips Island, near Melbourne.

Little penguins

We love these little penguins. You may have heard of the Dingo Fence in Australia’s center, near the opal mines of Coober Pedy. Mom and I, Zeb the Duck, saw it years ago. We were told the Dingo fence is the longest structure in the world, longer than China’s Great Wall. The fence was necessary to keep the Dingos, Australia’s wild dogs away from the cattle and sheep. But the Dingo we saw today, was calm and seemed like a dog that could live in our house.

Dingo

The sign told some differences between domestic dogs and dingos. Dingos do not bark. That would be nice sometimes. And the Dingo only breeds once a year. The short beaked echidna eats termites and other ant species. A sign told us the female incubates one egg in her pouch.

Short Beaked Echidna

The baby echidna is called a puggle. A new name for a baby animal to us. The rest of our group left after a couple hours, but we loved the animals and had not seen all of them. So we stayed for the entire day, taking a taxi to our hotel. We stayed until the park closed. The snack area had outside seating, so we enjoyed a quick lunch.

Lunch

My mom wanted a hot dog and Soapy’s mom wanted chili cheese fries. Not really sure what all was on those fries, but the moms were happy.

Uninvited lunch guest

We had a visitor, or a beggar, join us for lunch. There were many signs asking visitors not to feed the birds. So, sorry, no food for you big bird. After lunch we continued exploring.

Ghost Bat

The ghost bat is Australia’s largest carnivorous bat. And he is only 200-240 mm in size. Next we saw a Bilby.

Bilby

These are rare and live in central deserts, including those near the Kimberly in Western Australia and those of Southwest Queensland. This Bilby was not interested in seeing us. Now one of my favorites.

Tasmanian Devil

The Tasmanian Devil. He came to meet us. Four years ago in Tasmania, we saw some Tasmanian Devils and were told they have a disease that could threaten their existence. These all looked healthy and we were happy to see that. The Tasmanian Devils were being fed and this guy showed his sharp teeth between taking bites.

Tasmanian devil

We think he is our friend. And a Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo.

Goodfellows Tree Kangaroo

We had never seen one of these nocturnal animals. He is interesting to see. Here is a Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat.

Southern Harry nosed Wombat

The young stay in the pouch for 6-9 months and are weaned at one year of age. The pouch of the wombat faces backward to avoid collecting dirt in it while digging burrows. We are sure the baby wombats appreciate that. Here is a tall bird.

Emu

The emu stands about 2 meters tall. The female lays the eggs and that is the end of her parental duties. The male takes over all parental duties, including the incubation of the eggs. This small guy is a wonder.

Splendid Tree Frog

The Splendid Tree Frog lives near the Kimberly Region of Western Australia. And we learned that frogs pull their eyes back into their head to help squish the food in their mouth. This last one we will show you is rather frightening.

Inland Taipan

The inland taipan grows up to two meters long. It is rare in Queensland, and presumed extinct in New South Wales and Victoria. The Inland Taipan is considered the world’s most venomous snake. That is one Australian creature we really don’t want to see in the wild. As you noticed, we really love the animals and learned so much at Featherdale Wildlife Park. We spent much of the day feeding kangaroos and admiring koalas. We hope you visit Featherdale Wildlife Park when you are in Sydney. Especially if you are not visiting other areas in Australia where you could see these animals in their natural habitat. Our moms can’t resist showing a couple more photos of some favorites.

Koala

Koalas sleep most of the day and night, but they are just adorable. And a favorite pastime at the park.

Feeding kangaroo like animal

Soapy’s mom is feeding another small, kangaroo like animal. There are a lot of photos in this post, but we have over 250 photos of the animals. I know…Humans But this is just to cute not to share with you.

Just too cute

The animals are waiting for you to visit. And buy them some treats.

April 7, 2020 by coloradotravelingducks

Colorado Traveling Ducks Arrive in Sydney, Australia

Another long overnight flight and we are now on our tour bus in Sydney, Australia. Here we are at the famous Bondi Beach.

Bondi Beach

We love beaches and this is a great one. Right in the city of Sydney.

Ducks on Bondi Beach

Isn’t this great sand. Behind us you can see some surfers and a view of Sydney. Of course we like this fellow.

Our new friend

Ducks and seagulls are friends here. We believe he is standing on one foot. We didn’t pose with our new friend, but he sees us. Soapy’s mom loves beaches.

Soapy’s mom on Bondi Beach

She is ready to stay here and enjoy the beach, but not today. We ducks found a great place to sit.

Ducks ready to ride

We are ready to ride. We love beaches, too. But, back to the bus and a short ride. We are going to Mrs. Macquarie’s chair.

Information about Mrs. Macquaries Chair

This sign explains the chair.

Ducks on Mrs. Macquarie’s chair

This chair is a little big for the Colorado Traveling Ducks, but we love looking out at the water. So, let’s leave the chair and walk to the water.

From chair walking to water

Isn’t this beautiful? We love it. Let’s go to the railing and the famous Sydney Harbor.

A great view of Sydney Harbor

On the left is a cruise ship. The ships dock right here in Circular Quay. Then the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. This is a perfect view of Sydney Harbor. But, back to the bus and we are going to Darling Harbor.

Getting on boat for lunch and harbor cruise

Let’s follow Stephanie and get on this boat. We will have lunch here and enjoy a short harbor cruise. Lunch was delicious, and now it is time for dessert.

Dessert time

Everything was fabulous, and we loved dessert. Sitting on deck, we enjoy our harbor cruise.

Ducks on deck

You can see it is not very crowded so we can walk around and see everything.

We love seeing our tracks on the water.

The back of the boat has the least wind, so it is safer for small rubber ducks. We love to look back and see our trail on the water. The weather is perfect and we really enjoyed everything we saw today in Sydney. We want to tell you we were here in early November. So much has changed since then. When we were in Australia, we saw no evidence of the horrible fires that would burn so much of the country. And, of course, none of us had even heard of Coronavirus. We are so grateful that we went on this trip before our world changed so much.

January 9, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Australian Reflections Before Zeb and Eider Return to Colorado

So many stalagmites and stalagtites inside the Naracoorte Caves.

Inside Naracoorte Caves

We are near the Great Ocean Road on Australia’s southern coastline. This arch commemorates the men that built The Great Ocean Road with only axes, shovels and picks.

Memorial Arch

No explosives were used building this road. London Bridge is one of the famous rock formations.

London Bridge

The bridge collapsed in January 1990. Fortunately no one was injured. Our last stop was Sydney. This photo, from a boat in Sydney Harbor, shows the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.

Leaving Sydney Harbor, we look back at the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge

These are possibly the most famous landmarks in Sydney. This boat carried us to see the migrating Humpback Whales.

Tail of humpback whale

We love whales! We believe we should show you a few of the Australian animals. We saw so many that we admired, but here are a few of our favorites. Emus were in several locations of Australia.

First emu sighting after crossing into the state of Victoria

The females lay the eggs and the males care for the young. Of course, koala visits are a necessity when visiting Australia.

Koala on the move

The kangaroos and the smaller wallabies are just so cute.

Mom with her baby “joey”

These pink and gray galah were one of our first birds of Australia, and mom’s favorite.

Pink and Gray Galah. Wild and beautiful

These white Sulphur Crested Cockatoos seem so exotic to us.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are plentiful. Considered exotic birds in US and farmers pest here.

They have very strong beaks. While eating out of mom’s hand, a cockatoo bit her finger. No blood, but some pain. Australia is an island, so spectacular sunsets are plentiful. Some of the best were over the Indian Ocean.

Just beautiful

We truly enjoyed our Australian adventures. We hope you will visit there soon. It is fun and the people we met were all very friendly.

January 8, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

More Australian Reflections with Zeb and Eider Part II

Driving through Broome, we entered the Kimberley. Derby is one of the major cities here. We loved Derby but we were fascinated by the Boab Tree. This is the Boab Prison Tree.

Prison Boab Tree

Legend says that prisoners we put inside this tree at night, while being transported to Derby. That is rather scary. Back in Broome, Cable Beach is a wonderful place. A meal or snack at Zander’s on the beach and fabulous sunsets viewed from a camel create unforgettable memories.

So cool

At Broome’s Town Park we were fortunate to witness Stairway to the Moon.

Stairway to the Moon in Broome, Western Australia

This experience is also forever in our memory. Australia has many beautiful national parks. There are over 500 Australian national parks. In Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory we gazed at Aboriginal Rock Art

Aboriginal rock art

and watched huge crocodiles.

A really big crocodile at Kakadu

Thankfully the crocodiles were more interested in the warm sun than tasting Colorado Traveling Ducks. We rode the Ghan, Australia’s other main railroad, to the red center of Australia. Another fascinating train ride. We believe sunrise at Kata Tjuta was beautiful.

Sunrise over Kata Tjuta

Uluru, formerly called Ayers Rock, is huge.

Not just a smooth rock

Scientists say most of the rock, or monolith, is still underground. The above ground height is 863 meters or 1,141 feet. More than that amount is still hidden underground. Next we took a public bus to Coober Pedy. This opal mining town celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Coober Pedy celebrates 100 years

Inside an opal mine, the opal is beautiful in the rock.

Opal still in rock

Just waiting to be mined. Much of this town is underground, living in cave live areas. The Underground Serbian Orthodox Church was spectacular.

From church balcony

A short flight to Adelaide and we rode another bus into the wine country. Here we saw beautiful countryside and, of course, tasted some good wine.

Wine was sampled at Henry’s Drive Winery

Our time in Australia was so much fun. Tomorrow we will finish our reflections of our wonderful vacation.

January 6, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Australia Reflections with Zeb and Eider Duck Part 1

Zeb and Eider Duck spent a couple months in 2015 exploring Australia. We have been showing you what we found during our time, but this week we want to share our favorite Australian memories with you. We liked this post card from Australia showing a map of Australia on the map of the United States.

Australian map over US map and where we visited

Gives a good idea of the distances involved. The red yarn shows where we went. After a couple days in Sydney, we flew to Hobart, Tasmania. Such a beautiful island! The Tasmanian Devil is now found in the wild only in Tasmania.

This Tasmanian Devil was running a lot. He has nice red ears.

We thought he was rather cute. Another famous destination in Tasmania is the Bay of Fires. These rocks gain color from the lichen on them, and the white sand was so soft and the water so blue.

Sitting in soft white sand, near orange boulders and blue water.

There is only ocean between Antarctica and Tasmania, so the water is pretty cold. Tasmania is perfect for camping, hiking and other outdoor activities. The St. Columba Falls are spectacular.

St Columba Falls

From Tasmania, a short flight to Adelaide and a short boat trip took us to Kangaroo Island. Of course, the kangaroos, white and brown, were the stars of the island.

Aren’t they adorable. Our first white kangaroos

There was much competition for top spot with the seals and sea lions and the breathtaking scenery.

Love the beach with sea lions

These guys were so cute! A few days later we took the boat to Adelaide. While in Adelaide, we enjoyed the free city buses. In the city park, the pelican was friendly and curious.

Anything for me?

Black swans very plentiful.

Too close mom

We were told that black swans are only native to areas south of the equator. Australia has great trains. The Indian Pacific Railway took us across the Nullarbor Plain to Perth.

The Indian Pacific Railway connects the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

From Perth a great boat trip took us to Rottnest Island, a pretty island and home to the quokkas.

The quokka is our new friend. He is a marsupial and hops similar to a kangaroo.

Back in Perth, we again utilized free city buses to explore the city. Obtaining a rental car, we drove up the west coast of Australia. We highly recommending driving along the coast. The roads are good, the scenery perfect and people very friendly and helpful. Also free tourist information is available. At Hamlin Pool, we went inside the telegraph station. This is where an Australian lady, using Morse code, helped NASA when our communications system had problems during a space mission.

Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station of 1884

The shell blocks were great to see.

Shell Blocks at Hamelin Pool

This area of Australia was the only time we saw these shell blocks. We visited the second and smallest country on the Australian continent, The Principality of Hutt River. We needed and had our passports stamped here.

Stamped passports

If you are in the area, visit Hutt River and learn about the establishment of this independent principality. Continuing north along the Indian Ocean, we learned of several joint projects between Australia and the United States during World War II. This is the monument to Operation Potshot, one of those cooperative missions.

Operation Potshot Monument on the Indian Ocean

We will continue with our Australian memories this week. We hope you will reminisce with us this week.

January 2, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

The Rocks of Sydney Harbor with Zeb and Eider

This is our last night in Australia. Zeb and Eider are taking the humans to The Rocks.

Going to The Rocks

This was Sydney’s first European settlement near Circular Quay at Sydney Harbor. It has been renovated and now it is a “place to be”. First stop is Cadman’s Cottage.

Cadmans Cottage Historic Site in Sydney

Cadman’s Cottage, built in 1816, is the oldest house in Sydney. It once housed longboats and was the home of the last government coxswain, John Cadman. The area, now known as The Rocks, is one street away from Sydney Harbor and Circular Quay. These steps have been here for many years.

Well worn steps

The stones have certainly been worn over the past couple hundred years. Crossing to the older area, we see the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the narrow streets.

Sydney Harbor Bridge from the Rocks

The bridge crosses from the harbor from the western side to the North Shore. Here is the Observer Hotel.

Observer Hotel

The historical Rawson Institute for Seaman is in great shape. Built in 1859, it was formerly Mariner’s Church.

Rawson Institute for Seamen

Then the Rawson Institute for Seamen. Then it was an art gallery. Since 2011, the building houses a bar and night club. There are several cafes and restaurants here with outside seating. We liked this one with the heaters.

Eat outside with heat towers

It was a cool evening. These old buildings have been carefully maintained.

Great building. Love the red phone booth!

Check out the bright red telephone booth. In the late 1800’s this area was a bustling business center. Steel shod horses and carriages put much dirt and dust into the air, causing problems for pedestrians and shopkeepers. They needed streets with a firm, stable surface and good traction, that wouldn’t make too much noise. The solution was woodblocks.

Streets made of woodblocks

Australian class 1 hardwoods, including blue gum, red gum, ironbark, blackbutt, tallowwood, mahogany and turpentine worked best. They were durable, looked good and minimized noise and dust. There was an ample local supply of wood and the streets were washed every night. We really liked the silhouettes of blue lights in the alley.

Great silhouettes

The old buildings are just great.

Great old buildings

We liked The Rocks, but if it had been a warm evening, we would have spent more time here. Maybe we can come back in the spring or summer??

December 30, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Whale Watching in Sydney with Zeb and Eider Duck

We are back in Sydney, Australia. We really like the Sydney Opera House.

Zeb and Eider by the Sydney Opera House

Wow! Look at this. If we didn’t already love Sydney, this would do it.

A Chocolate Bar!

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar. And it is very close to our hotel. Since we don’t have much time left in Australia, and Sydney is our last stop before the airport and our flight back to the United States, we wanted to do something special today. We are going on a short cruise to watch whales. The people at Sydney Harbor say we should see some humpback whales. We are on the boat, leaving Sydney Harbor.

Leaving Sydney Harbor, we look back at the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge

Behind us we are leaving the Sydney Harbor Bridge. There are people walking on top of the bridge. To the left is the Sydney Opera House. The tall building behind the Opera House has a revolving restaurant on the top. The humans ate there when they were in Sydney 10 years ago. We are so amazed by these steep cliffs, so close to Sydney.

Steep cliffs as we leave Sydney Harbor

The humans on our boat are wandering around, hoping to spot whales.

Humans looking for whales

We ducks also want to see the whales. There are whales here!

Humpback whales here

This shooting water is from a humpback whale. Look! More than one whale is here.

Shooting water is from a whale

We see the whale frolicking in the water.

Humpback whale

He jumped in the water and his tail is beautiful.

Tail of humpback whale

We love these whales.

Humpback whales

They seem to be putting on a show just for us. Look at that perfect tail.

Tail of humpback whale

The lady on the boat is helping us find whales. There are more than whales here. She said this bird is an albatross.

An albatross

It is time now to head back to Sydney Harbor. We see more rock cliffs on the way back.

More steep cliffs are we return to Sydney

Back in Sydney, we head to the shopping area to purchase a few last minute souvenirs.

Last minute shopping at Circular Quay at Sydney Harbor

Our time in Australia is almost over, but we still some more things to show. See you next time.

December 19, 2015 by coloradotravelingducks

Zeb and Eider Continue Touring Australia’s Great Ocean Road

Zeb and Eider Duck and the humans loved this view from our hotel, Beacon Point Ocean View Villas near Apollo Bay, Victoria, Australia.

First view of the day

Just before we left, we admired this rainbow.

Morning rainbow

Isn’t that a great sight first thing in the morning? Driving to the Great Ocean Road, Fabian spotted this koala.

Koala. This is not his face

He is sleeping with his back toward us. Walking at the marina at Apollo Bay,

Going on this pier

we admired this clear water.

Really clear water here

We also admired the boats.

Love boats

We loved the waves breaking.

Crashing waves are beautiful

Driving on the Great Ocean Road, the views were beautiful. This was from Cape Patton.

Great coastline from Cape Patton

At the next stop, the humans fed colorful tropical birds. Humans were given a handful of bird seed and this King Parrot knew what to do.

Feeding King Parrot

This Crimson Rosella was also happy to have a snack.

Crimson Rosella also having a snack

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo were eager to get a share also.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos want some also

This King Parrot found a new place to sit.

Found a new place to sit while eating

Along The Great Ocean Road, we saw many of these Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. We love them, but not everyone is a fan of these beautiful birds.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos are plentiful. Considered exotic birds in US and farmers pest here.

They have very strong beaks and cause much damage in a farmer’s field. Along the Great Ocean Road, we stopped at Memorial Arch.

Memorial Arch

The Great Ocean Road was begun in 1918 with 3,000 workers, many returning veterans from World War I, and the project was completed in 1932. The road was built with axes and picks; no explosives were used. This statue commemorates the men that built The Great Ocean Road.

Commemorating men who built The Great Ocean Road

Our last stop of the day was the Anglesea Golf Course where we were greeted y this kangaroo.

Is he saying welcome to our golf course?

Several kangaroos were grazing on the edge of the fairways, but this young kangaroo wasn’t interested in grazing.

Mom is still the best!

Mom is still the favorite. We really enjoyed our tour with Australian Natural Treasures Touring, and the Great Ocean Road is breathtaking. Visit them at http://www.anttouring.com.au Thanks Glenn and Jeremy.

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