Egg Hunt Success

Happy Easter to all my visitors. Thanks to M for the fun egg hunt on Pippi Beach, Yamba.

Breadfruit Tree Forest

Linking to the Weekend in Black & White meme

South Grafton Sunset

Linking to the Skywatch Friday meme

'Wouldn't Work in an Iron Lung'

One of my favourite exhibits in Grafton's museum, Schaeffer House, is the old shop dummy in the Iron Lung. It always reminds me of that wonderful old Aussie expression, 'They wouldn't work in an Iron Lung'. It meant that a person was extremely lazy.
Iron Lungs have long vanished from hospitals. They were used to treat that terrible disease polio and allowed patients with poliomyelitis to breathe artificially.

K is for Koala

Linking to the ABC Wednesday meme

Wooloweyah Bus Stop

This pretty mural celebrates the heath lands that surround the village/suburb of Wooloweyah. The wide green 'lawn' is a fire break. 

Linking to the Blue Monday meme

Linking to the Monday Murals meme

Hamptons Style @ Lake Cathie

Linking to the Weekend in Black and White meme

Dunbogan Beach @ Dawn

Linking to Skywatch Friday

Beach Cliche Shot

J is for the Jitters or Judiciousness

Kempsey is a lovely town but one feels very apprehensive when you pull up at the Tourist Information Centre and see this sign.
The reality is that Kempsey has no more crime than any other country town, so does this type of information perpetuate stereotypes or is it still wise to warn visitors of possible criminal activity?

Linking to the ABC Wednesday meme

On the Rocks

Linking with the Ruby Tuesday 2 meme

Linking with the Our World Tuesday meme

Vernal Equinox

We arrive at the park, lots of people doing the sorts of things you would expect on a late summer day: swim, chase, laugh, party, cook, embrace, love.
A child cries, then the discordant voice shouts( "shut the &#^& up"), the child cries louder, the voice shouts again: this is not a nice place to be, can we leave now!
Through the rusty playground I see a a group silently wandering the sand spit: I have already left.

Linking to the City Daily Photo Festival of the Equinox

When Bob Hope Came to Laurieton

Googley's Lagoon and the Camden Haven River look very peaceful and quiet on a grey autumn dawn but on the morning of the 14th of August 1944, a Catalina Flying Boat made an emergency landing and awoke the slumbering residents to the most exciting thing that had ever, ever happened!
Aboard the plane was none other than the famous American film star and entertainer Mr Bob Hope. He was returning to Sydney after entertaining WW2 troops in the South Pacific and New Guinea.
His short time in sleepy Laurieton turned the small timber/fishing town upside down, with many humorous anecdotes remaining. If you want to hear an interview from Patty Thomas, who was part of the Hope's party click here and to read some other anecdotes click here.

 Hope leaving the stricken Catalina with Laurieton in the distance. I wonder if the bloke that shouted out, "Have you got any American cigarettes Yank!" is in this shot.

 

The famous image of Hope phoning Sydney from the Laurieton Post Office.

This image was taken in the 1955 when Hope performed in Sydney at the old Stadium and invited some of the people he met in Laurieton to come and watch the show. They presented him with a painting of their town.

Linking to the Friday Skywatch meme

 

A Mechanical Pushmi-pullyu

I was reminded of Dr Dolittle's 2 headed gazelle when I spotted this amazing VW. Look carefully, the front and rear are mirror images, 2 steering wheels, 2 dashboards etc. Is it really mechanically possible?

Linking to Lesley's Thursday Signs meme

I is for Inverell

Butler Hall is now part of the Inverell Art Gallery. In the old days it was used as a supper room for balls held in the adjecent School of Arts building.

Linking to the ABC Wednesday meme

Echidna

The Echidna is a monotreme, an egg laying mammal.  It is a fairly common but highly elusive Australian animal.

Linking to the Our World Tuesday meme

Alstonville Mosaic

Freeborn Park in Alstonville's main street is small but well shaded by large fig trees. The blank wall of the public toilet has been beautified with these 3 impressive mosaics.

Linking to the Mural Monday meme.

Under the Pandanus Tree

Linking to the Skywatch Friday meme

Sounds Like Utopia - Is Utopia

Rainbow Beach at Bonny Hills sounds like the perfect place.

But down the road at Dunbogan you will really find Utopia.

Linking to Lesley's Signs meme

H is for Hall

Gum Flat is a village near Inverell. It has a traditional, and still well used, corrugated iron community hall.

Linking to the ABC Wednesday meme

Monster from the Deep

Can you see the giant lizard emerging from the ocean at Red Rock Headland?

Linking to the Our World Tuesday meme

Swimming at Red Rock

Red Rock is a coastal village to the north of Woolgoolga, the smallish Corindi River enters the Pacific Ocean here. When the tide is coming in Red Rockites and visitors participate in a time honoured aquatic ritual of 'going for a float'.

You go to the river mouth with your noodle( a tube like flotation device), jump in and drift up with the clear blue water to Ford Park, get out, walk back to the river mouth, jump in and do it all over again.
A big word of warning - never do it on the outgoing tide unless you want to go to New Zealand!

Linking to the Blue Monday meme

Australia's Longest Bridge

Australia's longest bridge is part of the Kempsey bypass on the Pacific Highway. The bridge crosses the Macleay River and floodplain. The 3.2km bridge will hopefully be open by Easter.

Linking to the Weekend in Black and White meme

Linking to the Sunday Bridges meme

The Dunbogan Boatshed

The Dunbogan Boat Shed hires boats and kayaks, rents moorings, sells fishing tackle & bait & quality souvenirs, gives away tourist info (we love our sticker 'I've Dun Bogan'), has tame wild fish you can feed and yes! they have fantastic coffee and very comfortable, classy cafe chairs.

On the 1st day of the month the City Daily Photo Community comes together and shoots to a theme, for March it is cafe chairs. Click here to see more entries.