Abandoned

Today I went for a bit of a drive, I really wanted it to be a 'nice day', but I got a grey and humid day that also ended up with showers... Oh well!

So I went across from Penrith to Richmond, through Agnes Banks. I thought I would have another go at going through all of the suburbs in Sydney, alphabetically. But as I had started to head north, there wasn't many with A as a start NOR was there that many, so I had a rethink!

Instead, to start with, I thought I would simply go through the alphabet, and create my own theme based on what I saw. Today, its 'A' - Abandoned...

I don't really know how I got to Freemans Reach Park, but the elevated view gave me this old, somewhat abandoned shed...


On the return towards home, through Wilberforce, I remembered that on 'Freemans Reach Rd', there was an old house, often photographed as well, so I headed up there to have a look see... It has clearly gotten a lot worse than I remembered it!!!




So thats it, 'Abandoned' is done, what a way to spend New Years Day!!! Hope you had a great New Years Eve, and a great day to start 2017!

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 90 - Perth Sunrise Timelapse

click the HD 1080p for a better view

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 89 - Belanglo State Forest Sunset

The Belanglo State Forest in the Southern Highlands, is renowned for a lot of bad things... Except this; when coming back from a day trip to the Nations Capital a week or so ago...

Hoo roo for now...

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Photo a Day Challenge - Day 26 Colour

Today is Australia Day, and is celebrated by all, generally with a BBQ. Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788 . There is also the Australian Day Awards, where extraordinary people are rewarded for what they have done, both to the community and to Australia as a whole.

It is also a day of throwing a 'snag' on the barbie, or lamb! Lately, Sam Kekovich releases a new video!

BUT, there is also another side to 'Australia Day', and that is to the indigenous - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, to which I would like to pay my respect to, both past and present.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders Flags

So, its been a colourful day, both Sam's video and the colours of the flags above. I hope you have had a great Australia Day!

Hoo roo for now...

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Thursday Thirteen No. 13: Yasi

Tropical Cyclone YASI hitting the Far North Queensland coastline... Stay safe!

1. Premier Anna Bligh, simply amazing with all of the natural disasters you've had to face so far this year...

   QLD Premier Anna Bligh & PM Julia Gillard
2. 7.31am A baby has girl has been born in a Cairns evacuation centre. She arrived at 6.09am (AEST) after her mother Akiko Pruss went into labour three hours ago in the first aid room of Redlynch State College. Mrs Pruss has made it clear her second child will not be called Yasi.
3. Tropical Cyclone Yasi approaching the Queensland Coast...

   TC Yasi
4. "It is just a scene of mass devastation. (Cyclone) Larry was a boy compared to this." Larry was Australia's most recent Cyclone, the largest since Tracy hit Darwin.
5. TC Yasi overlaying the United States to show just how BIG it is...

   TC Yasi (overlay to compare size to USA)
6. "It is just a scene of mass devastation. (Cyclone) Larry was a boy compared to this."
7. Satellite map of TC Yasi...

   Satellite map yasi 12-30am QLD time
8. The VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE of the cyclone will take up to 4 hours to pass.
9. Showing strength in the line of TC Yasi

   Good luck North Queensland Yasi
10. DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts in excess of 125 km/h between Cape Tribulation and Ayr will spread inland overnight.
11. Shopping Center becomes a 'make-shift' safe house for the local communities

    Earlville shopping centre
12. Reports are coming in that all banana crops have been lost and over $505 million worth of sugar cane is also gone.
13. Banana crops ruined...

    Ruined Bananas

Hoo roo for now...

Source of images and selected text: - News.com.au

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Queensland flooding...

UPDATE 12/01/2011: 75% of Queensland is now declared as flood affected, which is TWICE as big as Texas, and over FIVE times larger than the United Kingdom...

This recent flooding up in Queensland, is so devastating that words can simply not say how bad it really is... Here is a collection of footage, and images I have sourced to highlight JUST how bad it is. Some areas are under 20m of flood water! Its been claimed that the area of Queensland under flood conditions, is bigger than France and Germany combined!

Toowoomba, at over 700m ABOVE sea level, had over 300mm rain in a 24 hour period alone. Here is some footage, and some photos...

Queensland floods 2011

Toowoomba flood 2011

Toowoomba Floods

Toowoomba Floods

Toowoomba Floods

Hoo roo for now...

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Happy Australia Day!

Just a quick one as I am about to go out to enjoy Australia Day, and have a BBQ followed by Australia Day Fireworks this evening!

And whilst the makers of Vegemite (an Australian icon) KRAFT is no longer an 'AUSSIE' company, there isn't much more that typifies Australia...

Happy Australia Day, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Have a great day everyone!

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May they rest in peace...

This post is going to be a sombre one. As you may, or may not have heard, South Eastern Australia (mainly Victoria) is suffering from some of the most horrific bush fires ever seen. Already, 173 people have lost their lives trying to stay safe within their houses. It is not just houses lost in the fire storms, but whole communities, community buildings and in some cases even the local fire station AND police stations have been lost.

Some of the stories on the local news have been graphic in the content, inspiring in the communities desperately trying to stay strong and supportive (even though those helping others have lost EVERYTHING themselves), but far worse is the absolute disgust I have for the people who intentionally started these fires. Almost half of Victoria is now considered a crime scene, and people are still in the houses that were destroyed.

Here are a few news site recounting the stories.

Daily Telegraph

Victorian bushfire death toll soars still higher

Rain a Catch-22 for fireys

No escape from the Valley of Death

Sydney Morning Herald

New bushfire threat flares

Toll rises as villages reveal their dead

The Age

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