Christmas Break

I've had a week off over Christmas, and I've taken the opportunity to do a few interesting things.  I went on a few dives and went up to see what's left of the Mt Stromlo observatory since it was pretty well destroyed by bushfires a few years ago.

I went on a dive trip out to Black Rock, about 20min off the coast from Bateman's Bay.  I wasn't sure what the conditions would be like because many of the nearby beaches were closed because of the high surf caused by a nearby anti-cyclone.  You can see from the photo below that the waves were still pretty large and higher than the boat itself, but fortunately there was no current to drag you away.  Under the water it was quite peaceful with pretty good visibility though a fair amount of floating sediment.

 Going up the anchor line back to the boat

 Nudibranchs

"a shell-less, marine snail of the suborder Nudibranchia, having external, often branched respiratory appendages on the back and sides"  - Dictionary.com

 Starfish

 Not a great picture of a starfish, but I was being dragged through an underwater tunnel by the current and I couldn't stop to take a better picture.

A close-up picture of a sponge.

A soft coral with a really interesting shape.












Mt Stromlo

The observatory on Mt Stromlo was pretty-well totalled by bushfires a few years ago.  But since then there has been some reconstruction.  Mt Stromlo is about half an hour's drive out from Canberra.

One of the domes looked ok, but when we peered in through the windows we noticed that everything inside had been destroyed, but still in place.  Unfortunately the observatory was closed on the day we went there, so we couldn't go inside.  It looks like they have repainted the exterior but preserved the interior.

Some of the other domes weren't so lucky.

 There used to be a telescope mounted here.

 There seem to be quite a few new small domes around.

Some of the new domes.

Kangaroos were all over the place.

The view from the top, looking over towards Canberra.  Black Mountain tower is in the distance on the left.

The new Canberra arboretum

This weekend I went for a trip to the new National Arboretum.   I drive past it every day going to work.  It's is a collection of 100 separate tree plantations, with many of these apparently threatened species from around the world.  It's not much to look at now, but I'm sure it will get better as the trees grow.  There is also a pine planted that is a descendant of the Lone Pine at Gallipoli.

I thought that I'd take some pictures now and more over the coming years.  I expect a lot of the trees to be hidden over time by those closer to the roads and paths, so the layout of the plantings may not be obvious.

I just hope we don't lose them to bushfires like the previous forests in this location.

 Himalayan Cedars that were planted in the 1920's and that survived the bush fires.

 A different view of the Himalayan cedars.

 This is the VIP area where they will get visiting Kings, Queens, Presidents, etc to plant trees.  This seems to be the last bit of landscaping.  They've spend over 5 years building hills and valleys for this arboretum.

I think that these were Californian palm trees.  With Lake Burley Griffin in the centre of the shot and Woden (where I work) in the distance.

 When I approached this sculpture it looked like a jumble of rusty loops of metal.  Not even worth a photo.  It was only when I walked down the hill a bit that I saw what it really was.  In a few years you may not be able to see it because the trees will be in the way.  If the palms grow high it might be visible again in 10 years.

 It looks like there are some interesting patterns of trees.  Further back, there are is a plot of trees planted in the shape of the Forbidden City in China.

 This was reminiscent of a graveyard.  It reminded me of a visit to Arlington Cemetery many years ago.

 A sculpture made from old tools.

 Looking towards Civic in the distance with the base of Black Mountain to the left.

Giant Sequoia?  I don't think so.  I could jump over them.  Maybe in 200 years.

Flying over Canberra

Late last year Karyn and I went to a charity dinner and auction for Canteen (Teenagers with Cancer) and we ended up buying a joyflight around Canberra.  We thought that Matthew would use it, but he never actually ended up organising it before he went to Mexico.  It seemed that when Fay and Marlene came for a visit it was a good time to use it, with Karyn chickening out.

Anticipating some reflection from the windows, I used a polarising filter that seemed to work out ok.

 Fay and Marlene in front of the plane.

 The new arboretum showing all the new trees that have been planted.

This is the Governor-General's place.  I once sat at the head of the main banquet table there and I noticed that the big communications tower at the top of Black Mountain sits exactly between two flagpoles at the end of the garden.  Not a coincidence, I suspect.

 During the flight the pilot called air traffic control and asked if we could circle Parliament House a few times.  They said "no worries", so we circled a few times and I got lots of photos.  I bet you can't do that in Washington !

 A closer view.

 This is where I work.  Much more fun to be flying around during my lunchtime than sitting at my desk with a sandwich.

 Some farms around Canberra.  Much greener now that when I went on a balloon trip a few years ago in the middle of a drought.

Here's what the ground looked like in 2009 during the drought.  All the grass was dead and bleached almost white.

 The instruments.  The pilot was trying out an iPad strapped to his left thigh that he had loaded with the relevant maps.  He thought it might be more convenient than large paper maps.

 Coming back in for a landing.

We taxied back to the hanger.

Floriade - a disappointment this year

Today I went to Floriade, which is Canberra's annual flower show in Commonwealth Park on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin.

It was apparent soon after entering that I was about a week too late, as many of the flowerbeds showed the ravages of the recent poor weather.  I reckon that it was probably at its best last weekend.  I can imagine the panic by the organising committee now that it's been announced that the Queen will be visiting next week. I hope they have a few thousand back-up tulips.

 Beds full of dead flowers.

A gardener starting to remove dead flower heads.











The whole show also seemed noticeably smaller than last year.  There were no sculptures in the lakes like in previous years, and smaller flowerbeds.  Despite the dead flowers, there were still a lot in good condition, particularly those that were in more sheltered areas.

 Copying what everyone else was doing.

Posing for a photo by Mum.  Interesting that teenage girls would agree to wearing matching outfits.

 There is an annual competition for the best decorated garden gnome.

 A girl and her mother painting a gnome.