We’ve travelled about 25,000 kilometres this year and experienced some amazing places.
We started the tradition last year of our favourite pictures of the year. So, being tradition, here we go again. These may not be the best pictures, but they are our favourites, in no particular order.
Judy and Jenni were walking back from our afternoon walk on South Golden Beach. We were there celebrating Judy’s birthday. The sun was setting and lit the sky bright red with the smoke haze of the distant bush fires burning. Tragic and beautiful. December 2019.It was my 3rd time at Woodford Folk Festival and Jenni’s 9th time. I took hundreds of pictures at the festival but this one of two Maori dancers stands out for us. The group were MĀMĀ MIHIRANGI & THE MĀREIKURA and the show they put on was brilliant. December 2019.When relaxing on Kingscliff Beach I spotted this young Osprey sitting on a pole at the end of the pier.. I edged up as close as I could and it didn’t fly off so I rattled off a few pictures. November 2019.We joined the annual Bowies Down Brunswick charity event in November. This is the after party. The organiser Kristian Fletcher and Jenni were joined by a bunch of David Bowie fans to sing along to Starman. This is the result. November 2019.Early morning walks on Yaroomba beach in between storms makes for some stunning scenery. Nov 2019.We camped at Marengo Beach near Apollo Bay for a few days before crossing the Great Ocean Road. The sunrises were spectacular. We took our morning coffees to the beach every day to catch the show, it was worth it. May 2019.My favourite picture of Maddy and Jenni at Maddy’s birthday party at Lucinda in Hobart, Tasmania. May 2019.This is a bitter sweet picture of Greedy Smith. In May we drove from Hobart to Devonport in Tasmania just to fulfil a dream and see Mental as Anything playing live. Greedy Smith was brilliant. 7 months after I took this picture he died from a heart attack. He was a real character and a great entertainer. May 2019.Marengo Beach campsite at night. My first attempt at Star Trails over our tent set up. May 2019.One of our biggest adventures this year took us across the Nullarbor to Perth and back. These silos are in Kimba at the start of the long drive across and officially halfway across Australia. The artist used these colours so they would look best at sunset, this is exactly when we arrived. They looked stunning and marked the start of one of our most ambitious journeys yet. June 2019.All they seemed to be catching off the jetty in Fowlers Bay was squid. I’d not seen one close up before, their eyes are fascinating. June 2019.Fowlers Bay is a tiny village of about 200 residents. It is on the southern coast line completely off grid and down a 25km dirt road. There was no light pollution, the night skies were crystal clear. This is my attempt to capture the Milky Way above the Jetty. June 2019.Fowlers Bay again this time at sunrise. It was cold and windy but we got up early to catch the sunrise. It was worth it. One of the most spectacular we’ve seen on our journey so far. June 2019.Behind Eucla Roadhouse on the Nullarbor is an abandoned Telegraph Station. We stopped in Eucla and before the left the next day we took a detour to see it. The telegraph station was interesting enough but we nearly tripped over this Emu as it was feeding. I got this snap as it trotted off, this is as close as I have got to a wild one. June 2019.in 198 Austrailian author May Gibbs published a series of children’s books about Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, two little gumnut babies. They are famous in Australia but I’d never heard of them before Jenni told me of them. These are gumnuts. This was taken when we visited Middleton Beach near Albany. June 2019.This bird is a Galah, a breed of cockatoo. When we were in Western Australia we got up before dawn to visit the famous Pinnacles. I was delighted to spot this little guy nibbling at the rocks, he let me get quite close. The early morning light was incredible against the yellow /orange rocks. You can see the Pinnacles stretch out behind him, the long shadows demonstrating how early it was. July 2019.We had a house sit in Bussleton for a couple of weeks and got to know the area quite well. The Jetty is a big tourist attraction. We arrived at sunset an although I got lots of pictures of the sun setting over and behind the Jetty this simple one of the gift shop is my favourite. Jul 2019.I got to surf Wave Rock at dawn, incredible. August 2019.One of the most disturbing things about crossing the Nullarbor is the number of dead kangaroos on or beside the road. I counted 20 in a 200 metres stretch in one very bad part. The road is almost dead straight the entire 1200 kilometre stretch and has a 100kph limit, so you can put on your cruise and just steer, a little bit. That means the big trucks smash lots of kangaroos doing this sort of thing. We saw this sight after a heavy rainfall, lots of creatures drinking from the puddles on the road. Above the town of Kimba is the excellently named “White’s Knob” and on the top of White’s Knob are the Edward John Eyre sculptures. Edward John Eyre is remembered as the first white man to cross Australia from Sydney to the Swan River. There are two statues, one of the man himself and this one that represents all the indigenous peoples who assisted him on the journey. The details of this statues face struck both Jenni and I as remarkable. It was sculpted by Roland Weight and Marcus Possingham in 2011. June 2019.While walking along Coolum Beach at sunset we spied this beautiful little guy. He’s a Horn-Eyed Ghost Crab. Wonder why he’s called that? November 2019.Gordon River Tasmania, March 2019, Strahan, remote West Coast, blue skies, warm weather and calm seas. When Jenni and I reminisce about the most memorable parts of our 2019 adventures the Gordon River cruise is always the first to come up. It was a glimpse of a land mostly untouched by humanity and was soul enriching. We give thanks to the activists who stopped some avaricious dickheads damming it and destroying this unique place, we felt privileged to be able to witness it.Gordon River again, lying on our backs on the deck of the boat looking up to the clear, clear skies. We were hundreds of miles from any concentration of humans and their noise and light pollution. It was breathtaking. March 2019.What would life be without friends? To our delight Carol and Greg came to visit us in Tasmania. This is us sitting in the official Edge of the World. March 2019.At Trowutta Arch in the Tarkine in Tasmania, Jenni with Carol and Greg. The darkness and almost luminous green moss on top of the water in the sinkhole looked very dramatic. March 2019.Jenni being her usual subdued self at the Leaning Church vineyard in Lilydale in Tasmania. It’s a hidden treasure of a place. Don’t all of you start going there and spoiling it! March 2019.With the blue skies and clear waters this could be mistaken for some paradise island. Well, it is Tasmania Jenni went for a swim in one of our favourite places in Tasmania, Bridport. Jan 2019.Garlic bulbs hanging out to dry. Taken at sunset. January 2019.Allens Rivulet in Tasmania at sunset. The smoke from the fires in nearby Huonville created this wild orange hue and the amazing sky. February 2019.We stopped in Margaret River in Western Australia. During a forest walk we spied this cluster of fungi. July 2019.Yallingup coast, Western Australia. Wild and beautiful. July 2019.Final best picture of 2019 had to be this one from the cruise up the Gordon River. March 2019.
Walligans Travels 
Wonderful tradition and simply gorgeous photos! Thanks for sharing.
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