Day's End

 After a long hot day on the road it was agreeable to gather with our fellow travellers and enjoy some bubbly and dinner as the sun set over Barra Lodge and the Tomkinson Floodplains.

Bubbly

Canapes

Garlic Prawns

Local Kingfishers

Kingfisher eyeing off my mains

Most people had local Barramundi, I opted for the Fillet steak

Serene Swamp

Our camp is on the banks of the Arafura Swamp. This morning we took a cruise through the wetlands. The scenery was stunning and the bird life abundant.

The blue dot indicates our position

Although the waters seemed tranquil from our boat, when we saw a water buffalo bathing and some crocodiles basking around the shores, we realised that it was far from a serene swamp.

An observant guide

Crocodile

Another Croc

Lovely Lilies

Plenty of Palms

What a beak

Drying off

On the lookout

Sunbaking in the mud

Reflections (and another Croc)

Through the trees

Layers of green

Ready to take off

Thanks, Guides, for a safe tour

Flexible

Just wish my neck was as flexible as this chap who landed in the backyard this morning.

Look right

Look left

Busy Backyard

 As the fish were jumping it was a busy morning with many visitors in the backyard. 

No catch

It was a busy day in the backyard - the fish were jumping and the birds were circling. While the birds caught some fish my camera didn't.

Local fisherman enjoying our jetty

I spy a school of fish

Beach Break

Chilling with family at Vincentia. Thanks to Covid it's the first time since March we'll be sleeping in a different bed.

Seagulls vs. Cormorants

Welcome to my backyard where this morning's match is Seagulls v Cormorants

A School in the backyard

There was a lot of action in our backyard this morning. Looks like there was a school of fish near the jetty

Visitors

Two new visitors to our place, one bold, one shy. Thanks for the spotting and snaps Robert. BTW we think they are Tawny Frogmouths. 

Breakfast Visitor

As I was having breakfast in bed this morning this little chap watched me from our verandah railing.

GatoRide

21 April, 2013

As we had already done the only other tour on offer in our port today, a space themed visit to Cape Canaveral, we opted for the airboat ride.

A short bus ride took us to the town of Christmas, Florida and the very modest headquarters of Midway Airboat Rides. After having an opportunity to visit the gift shop 12 of our group boarded the boat for an adventure with our Captain. We had done an airboat ride in the Florida Everglades a couple of years ago which we enjoyed; although it was different we enjoyed this experience just as much. On our last trip the environment was different, the driver was more of a cowboy and we saw more wildlife.

For today's ride on the St Johns River we had a more experienced Captain with better knowledge of wildlife, our tour was twice as long and we had noise-cancelling headphones with microphones that allowed us to ask questions and  interact with other adventurers. Perhaps our more sedate ride was in deference to the number of silver-haired passengers in our group!

Lots of birdllife

Captain at the helm

Pretty in pink 

First gator sighting

Apparently the gators don't bother the cows

US emblem - Bald Eagle

There weren't many alligators on the bank - no sun for baking

The reeds lead to  different environment

Peaceful cypress grove

Adventurers

Full speed ahead 

Midway Airboats dock

GatorGirl