Stunning Australia
Sylvie and I left on November 28, 2009 for Australia only to return on January 1, 2010. We spend two and one half weeks in Brisbane, where I was doing some work at Queensland University of Technology and at Griffith University. Our friends Cam and Wendy took us to many places, including on a three-day trip on their boat to the islands off the Gold Coast. We then flew to Melbourne to pick up a car, which we drove along the Great Ocean Road to South Australia, where we spent the remaining time visiting wine growing areas, natural parks, the outback, and, finally, the capital Adelaide. This was our third trip, and it was as stunning as the other two. There is so much to see, smell, taste, hear, and feel.
((Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version of the image.))
Flora
There is an enormous range of colors and amazing detail in the Australian flora. I attempted to capture some of this great variety largely by means of close-ups.
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Landscapes
In many places of South Australia, the land is parched by the burning sun and the minimal amount of rain that the land experiences especially in the summertime. This gives the land a particular, strange form of beauty. The mighty Murray River supplies much of the water for farming in the area.
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Outback
The Australian outback is a wonderful experience. The towns are small and for hundreds of kilometers there are only homesteads, ranges, and towns with less than 1,000 inhabitants.
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Humans and the Environment
Humans interact with the environment in various ways, not all of which are beneficial, some of which are specifically Australian, such as driving a car onto the beach. Fishing is a favorite activity, wheather from boats or the inevitable jetty that we encountered particulary on Eyre Peninsula.
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