balloon afloat

Bucket List

I recently celebrated a special birthday....My daughters and future son in law surprised me with an amazing gift, something I have wanted to do for a very long time..

We were up early 3am and headed to Camden, NSW Australia to join a team of ballooners.
I was so excited one of my daughters was a little nervous she is scared of heights. After joining others we travelled a few ks in a bus to a farm just outside of Cobbity.

We all had to help unload the balloon.The paddock was knee deep with wet grass.The sunrise was superb. and its colours were
out of this world. There were four balloons up in the air at once ,we reached a height of 2500 metres. I could have soared higher.We flew for around three hours skimming over creeks and trees. Played cat and mouse with another balloon. After landing we returned to where we had set off and celebrated with a champagne breakfast..

"On The banks of the Snowy River"

Just a little Aussie history lesson...

One of the places I wanted to visit during my recent holiday In the Snowy Mountain area was Dalgety; mostly I wanted to wander through an antiques shed called "The Old Tin Shed" unfortunatley the only day of the week it closed was Wednesdays... yes I visited on Wednesday.

This little town with a population of around 70 was previously known as Buckley's Crossing ; was once a major stock crossing
when bullock trains were an important mode of transport. It is the only town left on the Snowy River.

Before the bridge was built in 1888 a punt was used to carry stock and travellers across the river.

In 1902 Dalgety was gazetted as a site for our National Capital, Canberra. There is a story going around that the reason it wasn't suitable was because politicians after swimming in the river decided it was too cold . The real reason however, was because it was too close to the Victorian border and the fishing wharfs at Bombala. They wanted the capital to be half way between New South Wales and Victoria. Which is where it is now.

It was disappointing we did not get to browse about the Tin Shed but we spend many hours walking around the historic buildings.

The earliest building is Dalgety House built in 184o.

Making the perfect picture....

I have a habit of carrying my camera everywhere with me, It sometimes drives my family crazy, they become embarrissed when I drag it out to "take the perfect picture"..

I took these photos on Saturday, at The Wisteria Gardens, which is situated at Cumberland Hospital, Westmead.
Each September it is opened to the public, every Saturday and Sunday during this month they have little market stalls which the proceeds go towards patients who are mentally ill...


Saturday was a perfect day, a beautiful day for walking, and taking in springtime.... I 've learnt something valuable from God, if we are in a hurry we can miss seeing the perfect picture and fail to recognise Him.



As much as I love to see the photos I have taken during the day , I love to see the perfect picture He gives us each day; if we slow down we will see it and thank Him...

Peace in a busy shopping centre

Yesterday I had a chance to spend an hour of my busy day walking about a shopping centre, filling in time waiting for my son and daughter....

These are some photos which I took.

I found this great little swamp. I couldn't resist whipping out my camera and taking some snaps..

This little swamp certainly brings peace to the busy industry which surrounds it..

Giants of the North (Gija Jumulu)

Just a little history first about the Boab trees. They are a distinctive landmark of the Kimberley Ranges. They have relatives in Madagascar and Africa. Boabs are relics of Gondwana, a time when the southern continents were close together millions of years ago.

The Boab is a rare example of an Australian native plant which drops its leaves during the dry season. It lives to a ripe old age storing large amounts of water in its trunk.




This huge giant above was transported by semi ( below) 3200km from Telegarph Creek Western Australia to where it stands today in the Botanical Gardens Perth WA.. It made the huge trek on the 20th July 2008 the longest journey in history for a tree of this size..

I found it awesome and amazing just looking at its size and magnificence and to think it survived the long journey.