Birds (Nambucca Heads)

The farm where I spent Xmas abounded in birds.  I was ecstatic to see Regent Bowerbird - a beautiful species with black and gold plumage that I've wanted to see for ages.  Another new bird species for me was the Pacific Baza which was hard at work collecting twigs for a nest.  Dani took a great photo of an Eastern Spinebill - an extraordinary achievement with her 55 mm lens!!  The King Parrots that visited the farm in the early morning were also gorgeous and quite tame.  Colin, Dani's dad, is a great lover of birds and wildlife, and it was great to share his enthusiasm.

Regent Bowerbird

Eastern Spinebill (photo by Dx with a 55 mm lens!)

King Parrot

Pacific Baza collecting twigs

Mattias Klum at the Opera House

Wow, what an amazing day.  For my birthday, Dani treated me to a presentation by Mattias Klum - a renowned National Geographic Photographer.  His images were absolutely sublime - including extraordinary close ups of Asiatic Lions, a 5 metre long King Cobra inches from his face, soul seering portraits of Orangutans, birds of paradise, meerkats and a Kinkajou  - the cutest nocturnal critter you've ever seen that lives only in the high canopies of the Amazon.  

To get his photos, Mattias has climbed 50 meter tall trees using only vines with 30 kg of lenses on his back, dangled from a rope attached to a hot air balloon over the Borneo rainforest and spent months getting meerkats so used to him that they perched on his camera lens.  

Not only were his photos incredible, but he was also the most entertaining, inspiring and humorous presenter imaginable.  He kept us all mesmerised.  

And it gets even better!  It all took place in the Opera House which I've seen and photographed from the outside countless times but never actually entered before.  Attending an Opera House gig has been on my bucket list ever since I came to Sydney.  So all in all, I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my Sunday afternoon.  Unforgettable.

All dressed up

Inside the Opera House

... and scenes from outside

Leopard in The Kruger

I desperately wanted to photograph a leopard (my favourite animal) during my time in the Kruger but after 3 weeks, I started to lose hope.  My only sighting had been a teasing tail disappearing into the bush.

Then during a drive in a secluded part of the park, I saw the faint shape of a leopard lying under a tree.  I resolved to wait for him to show himself, no matter how long it took.  

Three and a half hours later, my resolve was slipping as I had to get back to camp by dusk.

Then, without warning, he stood up, stretched and yawned. And then walked slowly and languidly in my direction. Closer and closer. Until he was inches from my car window, too close to even photograph.  And he looked straight at me, and I felt a sense of connection with him so deep and profound that I was in ecstasy and tears at the same time. It probably didn't last more than a few seconds, but it seemed to last for ages.

Then he stretched again and preened and walked to the opposite side of the car into beautiful light, then disappeared back into the bushes, leaving me with a feeling of gratitude and wonder that I still haven't lost in the two weeks since I've been home.

Of all the beautiful animals I saw and photographed in the Kruger, this was the undoubted highlight.

My first sight of koalas in the wild

I have always wanted to see a koala in the wild.  In fact, it's on my life list.  So I was very excited when I saw one for the first time.  And, I think you'll agree, these little fellows are very photogenic.  Koalas are quite common at Kennett River and on the road to the Cape Otway Lighthouse.

If you look carefully in the photo below, you can see a baby koala.

Major landmark: My 1000th new bird species

My number 1 life goal has been to see 1000 birds in the wild. Thanks to a bumper crop of 74 new birds in North Queensland, I have now passed that - currently at 1015 birds. As you can imagine, I was very excited indeed when I saw my 1000th bird - a beautiful red winged parrot. My birding hobby has brought me a lot of fun over the years since I started at school. I look forward to seeing many more feathered friends as life goes on - and who knows, maybe reach 2000 one day!

Things I would love to do before I die

"If the vision is there, the means will follow."   Faith Popcorn

Longer term

• Read the BBC 100 top reads.
• Capture wonder and beauty through photographs.
• Photograph a tiger in the wild.
• Make a real difference to someone's life.
• See 100 mammals in the wild.
• Start a successful and popular web site.
• Practice Chi Gong daily for a year.
• Visit many nature reserves and do many hikes.
• Perform random acts of kindness.
• Watch all David Attenborough's documentaries.
• Meditate in beautiful, spiritual places.
• Earn a significant portion of my income doing what I love doing (relating to photography, training and coaching, blogging and / or movies).
• Identify someone who has inspired me most. Let him / her know.
• Always be the first to say hello.
• Create 6 powerful, new habits in one year .
• Achieve financial abundance with one of my passions.
• Help people learn powerful, new skills in an inspiring and easy way.
• Write a letter to at least 5 family and friends telling them how much they mean to me.
• Learn to cook 6 excellent dishes.
• Exercise 5 times a week for 12 months.
• Go on an artificial sugar diet for 3 months.
• Inspire other people to take up photography.
• Gain enlightenment.
• Achieve inner tranquility and outer effectiveness.
• Conquer a big fear.

Travel related

• Visit 50 countries
• Do a 6 month Australian road trip
• Antarctica
• Papua New Guinea
• Sri Lanka
• Madagascar
• Indonesia
• Vietnam
• Columbia
• Central America
• India (again)
• Everest Base camp
• Central America
• Colombia
• See a tiger, polar bear, blue whale
• Visit Manepools in Zimbabwe
• See the Great Wall of China
• Canoo down the Zambezi river
• Visit Nevada and Utah
• Be a hippie in Southern India for a month
• Birds to see: King or Emperor penguin, Lovely Fairy Wren, snowy owl
• Swim with a Whale Shark
• See a tiger, polar bear, blue whale
• Explore Cape York (Australia)
• Explore Australia  (Kimberleys, Cape York, Mungo National Park)
• Live in South America or Asia for a year teaching English
• Go hiking in New Zealand

Once Off

• Write a book
• Be still for 3 days
• Fly in a hot air balloon over a beautiful landscape
• Read a book on a subject I never thought of reading

---

Completed

• Experience blissful peace through meditation. (2023 and ongoing)
• Explore Antarctica and South Georgia   (2023)
• See King Penguins in the wild  (2023)
• Get good photos of a Malachite kingfisher (2022)
• See a blue whale  (2022)
• Explore the Arctic (2022)
• Explore Cambodia  (2017)
• Inspire others to blog (Russell, Jo, Nicola, Sue, Eva)

• See a Regent Bowerbird (2013)

• Watch a show in the Sydney Opera House  (2012)

• Go on an African safari with a camera  (2012)

• Photograph a leopard  (2012)

• Learn massage  (2011)

• Explore the Great Ocean Road (2011)

• See a Koala in the wild (2011)

• Comprehensively photograph Sydney (2011)

• Try teaching  (2011)

• Photograph Cape Town (2010)

• Tour New Zealand (2008)

• See an Echidna in the wild (2008)

• Visit Uluru (2008)

• Visit Kakadu National Park (2008)

• Identify 1000 birds in the wild (2007)

• See a sea eagle (2007)

• Explore the Great Barrier Reef (2007)

• See a duck-billed Platypus in the wild (2007)

• Emigrate to Australia (2006)

• Do a photography course (2006)

• Buy a good camera (2006)

• Travel through South America (2006)

• See an albatross (2006)

• Explore the jungles of the Amazon Basin (2006)

• Explore The Galapagos Islands (2006)

• Climb a live volcano (2006)

• Hike on a glacier (2006)

• Try sand boarding (2006)

• Do the Inca Trail (2006)

• See a condor (2006)

• See a hummingbird (2006)

• See the top 250 IMDB movies of all time (2005)

• See a North American bear (2005)

• Hike in the Canadian Rockies (2005)

• Complete a triathlon (2005)

• See Mama Mia in London (2005)

• Visit Prague (2004)

• Listen to the choir at a King's College service (2004)

• Create my own web site (2004)

• See a Kookaboro (2004)

• Meditate every day for a year (2004)

• Keep an online journal for at least 12 months (2004)

• Visit Croatia (2004)

• No sugar for a month (2004)

• Rollerblade from Hyde Park to Picadilly (2004)

• Learn to dive (2004)

• Be a travelling business guy with high tech gadgets (2003)

• See a toucan (2003)

• Visit Iguassu Falls (Brazil) (2003)

• Goto "Proms in the Park" (2003)

• Reach a toned 90 kg's (2003)

• Be a zany tour leader (2002)

• Try paragliding (2002)

• See a bearded vulture (2002)

• See The Big 5 in a wildlife park (2001)

• Visit The Serengeti  (2001)

• Go whitewater rafting down The Zambezi  (2001)

• Hike the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal ( 2001)

• Swim with wild dolphins (1999)

• See Tutankamin's treasures (1997)

• See the Pyramids (1997)

• See Petra (1997)

• See The Taj Mahal (1997)

• Float down The Nile (1997)

• Visit the ruins of Pompeii (1996)

• See a Pel's Fishing Owl (1991)