2010 Oceania – Boomerang

What does NYC have to do with Australia and New Zealand?!?

BDK — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 04:08:49 +0000

after the long flight from Auckland to lax i then zipped up to seattle and a few hours later was on board a flight to fairbanks. i spent 2 nights in fairbanks, got on a plane to return to seattle and then another flight to new york city. all told i was in nyc for 10 days, had a concert to go to every night, save one when i went to a play instead. now, on to florida!

view from hotel room. that's the hudson river and pretty much the exact place where the "we're going to be in the hudson" flight ditched.

the night at the metropolitan opera. i was the only one in attendance wearing a "Chicken Air" t-shirt!

ceiling of "the met".

had tickets to watch a taping of the letterman show. interesting to do, once.

"the met" at lincoln center.

not sure why they need a guy in a cape, must be an opera thingy.

replacement for the "twin towers". (still think think they should just rebuilt the old ones.)

sleeping guard at the american indian museum.

The last of AU and Sydney…

BDK — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 04:02:09 +0000

i flew from hobart back to sydney. after calling alaska airlines on a near daily basis i was finally able to obtain a business class ticket for the return to north america. the only rub was that i had to make a stop in auckland along he way. it added maybe an hour to the flight time, but it was worth it to have avoided a coach seat for 14 hours.

many ozzies have added these kangaroo proof bumpers to their vehicles. given the number of roos and wallabies on the highways at night it seems like a good idea.

Tasmanian Coal

BDK — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:00:36 +0000

my last day in tasmania and i visited Coal Mines Historic Site. one of the many penal camps that resulted in the founding of australia.

Devils of Tasmania!

BDK — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 03:56:51 +0000

had a chance to see a Tasmanian Devil. they are something else. unfortunately they are currently under threat due to a genetic defect that is devastating the wild populations.

Mole Creek Karst Mational Park

BDK — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 03:54:41 +0000

Mole Creek Karst national park. under the ground….

More fun road things….

BDK — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 03:11:05 +0000

more fun on the foreign roads…..i really like this one…

so....to slow traffic, here's an idea....

let's take all the traffic on this two way street and force it into a single lane! you either slow down, or get in a head-on collision ....brilliant!

Total Genius in Traffic Control…

BDK — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 01:03:07 +0000

Cradle Mtn. Lake St. Clair National Park

BDK — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 03:06:39 +0000

went to Cradle Mtn. Lake St. Clair np. this is THE park in tasmania. it has all kinds of world heritage this and that. frankly, i found it average or even below average as far as scenic beauty goes. where it does shine is in its flora. something like 50% of the plant life in the park is found nowhere else on earth. unfortunately, the days i was there were cloudy, so maybe i didn’t see the place in its best light. the other factor that colored my evaluation of the place was, again, too many people for my tastes—that being a result of it being high season, holiday-wise.

not sure what this is. i didn't stop and poke at it. should have. could be a fungal fruiting body, or, a swarm of slime mold.

there was a canoe party on the lake. this was their trailer. do you think they have that canoe cinched down enough? maybe give it one more tug?!?