Trevor's Travels

Travel blogs about New Zealand

No Comments »25th May, 2007; Category: New Zealand, Travel Blogs

Yesterday I featured a travel blog about New Zealand. Since then I’ve found a few more, so if you are thinking about travelling to The Land of the Long White Cloud you should check out these blogs:

New Zealand Travel Blogs – a collection of blog with plenty of photos.
Christchurch Tour Guide – a blog about things to see and do and what’s happening in Christchurch through the eyes of a local.
An Argentinian-American in New Zealand – perspectives on life in New Zealand through the eyes of a recent immigrant.

Travelling New Zealand

No Comments »24th May, 2007; Category: New Zealand, Travel Blogs

I have not yet had the joy of travelling New Zealand but I hope to rectify that one day. From friends and family who have been there, I know it is a beautiful place filled with wonderful people and places. We actually have a good excuse to go there because we have a number of friends from New Zealand who used to live here in South Australia.

In the meantime, I need to travel in New Zealand vicariously. Travel blogs make this quite easy. Here is just one that I’ve come across recently:

Travel New Zealand – events, websites, articles and general thoughts about New Zealand.

Storm Clouds over Murray Bridge, South Australia

No Comments »23rd May, 2007; Category: Murray Bridge, South Australia

Storm clouds over Murray Bridge

Yesterday I wrote about a recent trip to Mannum. While there I took some photos of some spectacular storm clouds that had built up during the afternoon. As I travelled home the setting sun lit up these clouds creating an amazing light show.

Storm clouds over Murray Bridge, South Australia

All the shots shown on this post were actually taken from our own driveway. Somehow the photos do not really do justice to the magnificence of the clouds.

Storm clouds over Murray Bridge, South Australia

All photos are enhanced by clicking the on the photo to enlarge the image.

Storm Clouds over Mannum, South Australia

1 Comment »22nd May, 2007; Category: Mannum, Murray River, South Australia

Storm clouds over Mannum, South Australia

Last Tuesday afternoon I drove to Mannum for a meeting. This lovely little town on the banks of the River Murray is about a half hour drive north of our home in Murray Bridge. A local community group called The Friends of the Mannum Walking Trails has asked me to write a pamphlet giving visitors to Mannum a guide to bird watching in and around the town.

Storm clouds over Mannum, South Australia

It was a good meeting and we were able to deal with the business in a reasonable time. This allowed me about an hour to do a little birding and photography before heading home again. On the northern outskirts of the town there is a bird sanctuary right next to the caravan park. This is usually an excellent birding spot with a good variety of water birds. On this occasion I was a little disappointed and there was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen.

Storm clouds over Mannum, South Australia

My attention quickly shifted from the birds to the clouds. All afternoon a series of spectacular storm clouds built up over and near the town. These clouds became the focus of my camera.

Storm clouds over Mannum, South Australia

Click on the photo to enlarge the image.

Aquatic Centre, Swanport Reserve, Murray Bridge

No Comments »21st May, 2007; Category: Historic places, Murray Bridge

Canoes on the River Murray

Over the last few days I have written about the picnic lunch we had at Swanport Reserve recently. This reserve is a few minutes drove from our home and not far south of Murray Bridge in South Australia. This is a popular picnic area which also attracts people who are birders (like myself – see Trevor’s Birding blog), anglers, tourists and people keen on a variety of water sports.

Adjoining the reserve is the Murray Bridge Sailing Club and the Aquatic Centre. The centre is run and staffed by the Education Department and has a dedicated camping area with cabins for visiting students. School groups come from a wide catchment area to use the facilities here. The activities are mainly water based, teaching the students skills in sailing, skiing, small boat handling, surf boarding, rowing and canoeing. The centre is in high demand.

Sailboarders and rowers on the River Murray

I had a small stake in the development of the centre in its very early days. About twenty years ago my class grew some trees and bushes for planting out in the grounds of the centre. We also followed this up with boat trips on the river looking at both the natural environment and the historic background of the use of the river in this part of the country.

Related articles:

Click on the photos to enlarge the images.