http://bird-o.com/2010/11/04/solo-twitcher-to-cross-tasman-in-rubber-ring/
Alan š
******************************************************************************* Alan McBride, MBO.
Photojournalist | Writer | Traveller | + Member: Australian Photographic Society Travel Writers Association – Board of Directors American Writers & Artists Inc. International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance National Association of Independent Writers & Editors Travelwriters . com Travcom New Zealand Regional Representative Australia: Neotropical Bird Club
http://web.me.com/amcbride1 http://www.wildiaries.com http://www.worldreviewer.com/member/alanmcbride/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmcbride http://www.twitter.com/alanmcbride
Good planets are hard to find; until we do, please, be green and read from the screen
Tel: + 61 419 414 860 Fax: + 61 2 9973 2306 Skype: mcbird101
P O Box 190 | Newport Beach | NSW 2106 | Australia
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Alan Friends and I have just spent a weekend in Kakadu, fishing and relaxing with a little birding. I now feel a bit of a hypocrite telling you off, after spending hours on (and in) the South Alligator River. We were going to try to make the mouth, but with the spring tides, we were dealing with feast or famine (as far as the water level and speed of current were concerned. The mud banks made it really tricky to navigate, and by the time we returned to the landing, the tide was rushing in at full bore.
Imagine if you will, three of us trying to manoeuvre a large dinghy (built for five) onto a trailer in water thick with mud, and rushing upstream at several kms an hour. Not to mention the presence of snapping handbags. Fortunately it didnĀ¹t take more than twenty minutes with Sue driving and Harmony and me in the water fighting the current.
The boat was slightly off centre, but as evening was then falling we decided not to risk the water again, but to come back the next morning and try again. Or rather I suggested that another one of our number come for the experience. She, that time, was keeping the fifth member of our party, a sick friend, company back at the Kakadu Lodge. However, Valda had bad shoulders and if not needed for my scintillating personality, I was for the muscle I could put into launching and retrieving, a boat in a tide coming in at full bore. But we did need more help. Fortunately two hefty German backpackers and then four locals arrived to help us. It was nice to be around men who accepted that we knew what we were doing, and were happy to provide some extra heave power without making smart remarks. By the way, the water was so warm (70oF) that any fish we would have caught, would have already been cooked!
Then we set off for the upstream ramp of the East Alligator, a far easier river to enter and navigate.
This river is beautiful, with banks of white sand studded with weeping paperbarks, their grey-green foliage setting off the emerald of other trees, the red sandstone escarpment beyond and the blue sky. I did a bit of fishing plus some birding. No success on the latter, but we didnĀ¹t mind. The Āhills were aliveĀ¹ with the calls of White-lined Honeyeater mostly, plus Sandstone Shrike-thrush and several other species. There were a couple of snatches of song from Rainbow Pitta.
Valda drove down to meet us, and while waiting for us to return to the landing, taped up a loose slider on the trailer that had been one cause of our problems. We got the boat out of the water with ease, despite a fairly fast tide. Our friend had been too ill to go fishing, or to even do a little gentle birdwatching. However, she wanted a full description of the bird calls we heard and I was more than happy to oblige.
Denise
on 5/11/10 10:36 AM, Alan McBride at amcbride1@me.com wrote:
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Thanks to Paul, Denise and all the other respondents.
What is truly inspiring is the amount of care and concern shown by B-Aus readers;-)
Truth is it’s a statue from an exhibition called Sculptures by the Sea between Bondi & Tamarama which I saw the day before, hence it seemed appropriate
Good isn’t it, as is the rest of the exhibition;-)
See http://sculpturebythesea.com/
Cheers and thanks for a humbling experience. Hoping the water’s not too cold and see you soon;-)
Alan
******************************************************************************* Alan McBride, MBO.
Photojournalist | Writer | Traveller | + Member: Australian Photographic Society Travel Writers Association – Board of Directors American Writers & Artists Inc. International Travel Writers & Photographers Alliance National Association of Independent Writers & Editors Travelwriters . com Travcom New Zealand Regional Representative Australia: Neotropical Bird Club
http://web.me.com/amcbride1 http://www.wildiaries.com http://www.worldreviewer.com/member/alanmcbride/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanmcbride http://www.twitter.com/alanmcbride
Good planets are hard to find; until we do, please, be green and read from the screen
Tel: + 61 419 414 860 Fax: + 61 2 9973 2306 Skype: mcbird101
P O Box 190 | Newport Beach | NSW 2106 | Australia
This e-mail and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received this e-mail in error please notify the sender. This e-mail is also subject to copyright. No part of it should be reproduced, adapted or transmitted without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
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