Sunrise on my last day at Depot Beach, NSW, Australia

Still finding photos not yet posted here from my July/August trip to Australia and New Zealand. I particularly like this one for the presence of the sea kayaker in the dawn's early light. Shortly before I snapped this particular photo, a HUGE (to me anyway) male kangaroo hopped up over the dunes and startled me.

Sydney Harbour Bridge during rush hour...

The bridge carries cars, buses, trains, pedestrians and cyclists across the harbor... and maybe even streetcars... I forget. I took this photo because of all the traffic lights.

Setting sun on Sydney Harbour... bridge, boats and city skyline..

This view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was taken from the Sydney Opera House... some of the best views of each of these two famous Sydney sights are taken while opposite the one from the other...

Alien Visitor? No... just a street lamp near the Sydney Opera House...

This just appealed to me... like the translucence and the colors visible as well as the alien appearance...

High above the Clouds... En Route from Sydney, AU to Auckland, NZ

It amazes me what photos can be taken through the double-thick glass of airplane windows while flying along at 30,000 ft (or higher). I purposely left the wing in this for reference rather than cropping it out.

Alert eyes spotted this starfish (with EIGHT points to his star) in a tidal pool as we walked along Depot Beach late Saturday afternoon.

Sunset at Depot Beach, NSW, AU... Looks better in the tidal pool than in the sky...

Getting a decent photo of the sunset was problematic... but reflected in a tidal pool, it's a bit nice to my way of thinking.

Plover seen at Depot Beach, NSW, AU

Am still behind with posts... but learned today from guide on tour in NZ that the bird that Australians call Plover, New Zealanders call Lapwing. This bird is not native to NZ but apparently rode in on a wicked storm, blown here from AU a few years back.

Longing for Chocolate... Sulfur Crested Cockatoo looks in the window at the chocolate shop...

This guy was most interested in the Chocolate shop... note the reflection in the window showing what the previous occupants of the table left behind.

The Three Sisters overlooking the Jamison Valley, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia

Hiking around the Cliff Walks and the side trips can be very exhausting! Caught the bus to Echo Point today and kept my walks to a minimum... this is one of the views of the Three Sisters from today's adventure... showing part of Mount Solitary on the right with the Jamison Valley and distant vistas included.

The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia

Legend has it that three sisters were turned to stone by a medicine man who intended to reverse the spell when it was safe to do so... but he was killed in battle so they remain as stone to this day. Here they are posing for a close-up with the Jamison Valley behind them. This view was taken on my hike around the Cliff Walk today... cannot recall which lookout provided this spectacular view but it was somewhere near Echo Point on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk. (NOTE: there is more than one legend of the Three Sisters, all involve turning them to stone (either by a witch doctor or medicine man) to keep them safe with plans to return them to their natural state being foiled by the untimely death of the spell caster)

Camellia ... photographed in the Blue Mountains in Australia, New South Wales

It's still winter in the Blue Mountains but their winter is not quite like ours... all kinds of flowers blooming and it seems as if it is spring already here!

"Aussie" Spider... in a web in the tree...

Went to a BBQ today... winter in Australia but we dined on the patio... about 3 ft from where I was sitting, this huge spider (~3.5 to 4 inches in the longest dimension) sat in his web in the tree above our heads. He didn't move the entire afternoon! (no clue what kind of spider it is)

Sydney Opera House... as seen from Manly Ferry

Who could ever go to Sydney, Australia and NOT take a photo (or several!) of the Sydney Opera House... not I! (if you want to read a bit about my trip, see my travel blog... will post a couple more photos there either later tonight or tomorrow... depending on when wake up enough to log a few notes)