Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Published by Nate and Hannah under Adventures in Australia on May 24, 2010

Visiting this animal sanctuary has been a long time coming .. we live no longer than 10 minutes from here., but it was worth the wait .. we Had a great time feeding and playing with all the animals.. This Santuary is on the top 10 zoos in the world, and also is the largest and longest running Koala santuary.. the Koalas and Kangaroos roam free in most areas, and a few large areas you can go in to feed them and hang out with them. A good all around day .. check out our pics..and videos!

: Wombat

: Wombat

: fresh water crocs

: afro chickens

: lounge room

: Emu Feet ..

: see raptor

: happy to see Hannah

: common barn owl

: Koalas chillin at the lunch area

: friends

: more friends

: socializing

: awww

: Hannah holding a 19month Salt water Croc

: Nate holding a 19month old Salt Water Croc

: The flying fox bat to greet us when we got home. he lives in our papaya tree

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FRASER II

Published by Nate and Hannah under Adventures in Australia on February 1, 2010

OK first just know never go to Fraser Island January Through March! .. …. INsect haven. We began the trip in Hervey Bay at Friendly’s Hostel, when we arrived someone said “wow!, look at all those bats” .. “where are they goin?” ..”Fraser Island” , ofcoarse. .. So we met some Scotish travelers at the hostel who just got back from Fraser, and said they were attacked by Mosquitos .. and… wait for it… 2.5 cm. lg Marsh Flies/ otherwise know as Bloodsucking bastards that are attracted to EVERYTHING! including Mosquito spray. we were swarmed to the point whre we couldn’t even hang out at camp during the day. we had to eat/pack all at night when the flies fell asleep. most the time we made sandwiches in the car or tent. At One point I made a drink run and was attacked by hundreds all at once, in a few of the pictures you will see us waving swatters to tally our points. Besides the Giant bloodsucking flies, we also spoted a dangerous centipede hiding under KC’s and My tent, Giant spiders, Dingos, many crabs, and ofcoarse the ‘flying fox’ bats. SO with a full day of rain, and setting up camp on day one, and with all the Marsh flies.. we really felt like we had an adventure upon us.. then it happened. Day 3 we were off to the ‘Aquarium’ or Champagne pools. we arrived there at a near high tide and the waves were massive rollers beating against the rock wall. watching them crash, KC needed to get a little closer. After a few waves crashing on the pools wall.. and him holding onto some rocks it looked like it was all good fun getting rained on by the giant foam fallout. , being protected by the many ragged rocks ofcoarse, then came the true test. A new set. Wave one hit, and put KC in the crouching position…still holding onto the rock in front of him, and before he could re-think his strategy wave 2 revealed its face in stand up position. Crushing the barrier rocks in front of KC, and plowing through left KC missing for about 3 seconds. Magically appearing about 20 feet behind his first position curled up inbetween a couple of rocks. Once helping him up and truely seeing what happened we noticed his arm and legs took a beating. most damage to his shoulder. We found an ambulance on the island and arranged his lift back to the mainland, our first opportunity to get off the island was the next morning. . Once we got back to Hervey bay we met up with KC back at Friendly’s to find 10 fresh staples in his shoulder upon other bandages and repairs. All and all it was quite the adventure. Oh by the way he was smiling the whole time.. and ofcoarse while we were cleaning up his arm with the swarms of marsh flies attacking.. We feel stronger coming back from Fraser, and we are thankful to be home, especially KC. Here are the pictures to prove it…well most of it.

: The Bats the night before we took the ferry across to Fraser.

: Wind+Rain+Isalnd = Excited Nate

: the boot

: The Ferry was drifting by as we had to speed on to it! because of the bad conditions

: our turn! as the ferry was scraping by.

: Hannah and KC

: this is how we pop tents.

: A similar picture to the visitor that slept und KC and Nate’s tent, on night 1

: the 4 March Killers.

: Our Land Rover Defender, ‘the beast’ did not get Bogged once, and we pushed the limit.

: Hannah is happy behind the wheel.

: the misty trail

: well we saw McKenzie.. water all around!

: Dingo trail

: he hoped up on the side.

: still Happy..

: Interesting that Laura took this picture 2 days before IT happened.

: runway

: Our dune spot for nights 2 and 3

: notice the fly swatter

: March Flies!

: Fly on glass

: Close up of the beasts that tried to suck us dry.

: One of 2 hot meals we had! because of the flies, notice the swatter again.

: Sean Inspired

: little Indian Mermaid.

: Indian Head Rock Flowers

: the wreck

: notice the swatter

: Crabs hanging in an old port hole.

: After the Champagne pool disaster.. the arm.

: look familiar ( same guy from earlier) coordinated KC off the Isalnd and got him to a hospital.

: just little ants

: StoneTool sand blow

: Lake Wabby

: Stone Tool

: awww.. notice the swatter.

: Beautiful sunrise leaving for 7:30 am ferry on the other side of the Island! here we go.

: this looks Australian.

: almost back to the Ferry!

: all aboard

: see you next time Fraser.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS .. Christmas in the city

Published by Nate and Hannah under Keepin in the loop! on December 23, 2009

We took a few pictures of Christmas in the city. enjoy guys, and Merry Christmas! By the way Mom, Dad, Taylor, Audrey .. that tree is definetly a step toward creativity! Looks like you guys are having fun.

: o Christmas tree

: Christmas Statue of Liberty

: santa glass and steel

: CBD Uniting church (presbyterian/methodist/congregational)

: Church organ pipes

: Christmas flowers

: Hannah under Peace, Love, and Joy

: Girls City Carol Choir

: food robber

: more Christmas hams

: freaky Christmas window display

: City Hall and Christmas tree

: City at night

: view of the new Bridge

: Bridge at night

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Airlie,Whitsundays,Great Barrier Reef & Day Dream Isl.

Published by Nate and Hannah under Adventures in Australia on November 25, 2009

These pictures are from our week long trip to the Whitsunday Islands with Zee and Maryann, we earned our scuba certification to 18m ( 60 feet ) while on the Great Barrier reef and Whitsunday Islands. The sights were amazing and we met some good friends along the way. We had a great scuba instructor – Harry , very patient and thorough, as well as a great Skipper – Basa , he loved to sail and never sleeps. So we had the opportunity to explore some of the outer reef, and some amazing dive sites. Such as Bait Reef, Line Reef, Blue Pearl Bay, Luncheon Bay, Hook Island, Whithaven Beach – where the sand is 98% Silicon , the pureset sand on earth.. You can use it to exfoliate, polish your jewelery, and its even used for the lens on the huble Telescope. Hopefully soon I will upload the underwater pictures.. just need to get them developed. We Miss you guys back home! enjoy the pictures. Oh and a special congrats to Rick and Jamie.. the newest newlyweds!

: Breakfast in Airlie Zee, Maryann, and Hannah

: Map of the Whitsundays

: morning wake-up call at our hotel in Airlie

: The pool class before the trip

: traing and our instructor Harry

: Quick lunch before the sail

: Fist night! on the boat

: First day at sea

: good friends and good times

: Anaconda III

: us and our Boat

: Hannah polishing her ring w/ the sands from Whithaven

: Hannah and Maryann

: shoreline at Whithaven beach

: thats our Sail Boat at Whithaven beach

: yes 4 people stayed in this hideaway

: full sail

: one of my favorite sunsets

: view out to sea

: map of our trip

: our itenerary

: Kate and Jeremy

: Chris and Johan

: The Sea Pack

: ready for our drift dive on Line Reef in GBR

: Getting ready for our dive

: Zee, Johan and Zee’s Mermaid

: The afterparty

: lizard on daydream

: cool orb spider on Daydream

: Zee’s Mermaids on DayDream

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FRASER Island

Published by Nate and Hannah under Adventures in Australia on September 30, 2009

We made it to the great Fraser Island, the Largest Sand Dune Island in the world. The ‘cinqo dingos’ as we coined our selves w/ our island names: Big Fart no Chief ( Mark ), VB wanna make a plan ( Kevin ), One who zips alot ( Sean ), He who hates food ( Nate ), and last but not least to round off the cinqo dingos – Big Chief little fart ( Hannah ) . This island was one of the most amazing experiences for all of us. We embarked on a 3 day – 2 night camping trip just the five of us. Rented a 4wd vehicle and camping equip and set off. We met many animals including a couple dingos that checked out our camp on night 2, and huge possums and rats on night one. Spiders/mozzies/fish/ and birds were not in short supply either. Here are a few of our pics w/ captions.. also going to try and put some video up of the downright difficult 4wd driving required on this Island.

: Destination Fraser

: inner island trail ( typical 4wd road )

: more inner trail

: peaking through to the lake

: thought Tara might liek this one ;)

: lake Birabeen first stop after some serious off roading ‘ get some nate’

: lake Birabeen

: The Cinqo Dingos at lake McKenzie day 1

: the local photographer

: shaka yo

: sea creatures

: perfect

: enjoy it while you can.. the next couple hours tried our abilities

: lake McKenzie easy loungin ( the trip out was another story)

: kookaburro wathcin and waiting for meat

: our visitors on night 1

: lake Mckenzie

: dazin

: the beach .. easy and fast

: the beach is also used as a landing strip for planes

: the beach

: trail to Wabby

: trek to lake Wabby

: the wabby sandblow

: desert or rainforest?

: lake Wabby , Hannah’s favorite spot.. check out our ripples

: rock crossings

: Rainbow Gorge

: the powder white lifting from our feet

: colors of Rainbow gorge

: see those people climbing the dune?

: amazing color

: ahh

: great spectrum

: easy crossing ;)

: our sea pals

: Eli Creek

: floating Eli creek

: frisbee anyone?

: it can be done

: Pinnacles ( Sand formations )

: Pinnacles

: our vehicle and very secluded camp site

: our kitchen day 3

: camp site night 2 noone around but us and dingos.. oh and lizards and spiders crawling from holes at night.

: Mahena Wreck

: decomposition

: favorite pic.. deconstruction at its most efficient

: the wreck

: Mahena Wreck

: Champagne pools ( clear water swimming/ tidal pools )

: humpback whale fin ( can u see it? )

: ok seriously

: yes those colors are real. Indian Head

: good drop at Indian Head point

: helpfull

: Sean’s pic of sea enenimies

: natures dreadlocks

: great colors of the wreck

: local tracks

: Time to go home

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Sydney

Published by Nate and Hannah under Adventures in Australia on September 21, 2009

Met up with Hannah after her Music Therapy conference in Sydney for a couple of days. Also bumped into our friend Ben Hammond. hope you like the pics. Heres a small selection. We visited Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, The Sydney harbor, The rocks ( historical district), and Darling harbor. The place we were recommended for amazing fish and chips on the harbor edge.

: Sydney Harbor

: can u zoom in?

: motif

: very elegant

: hey

: tile of the Opera house

: Opera House bathroom sinks

: one of the perspectives I drew

: Bondi Beach

: Moo – best lunch spot in Bondi ( in our opinion )

: Best Burger Ever! Spinach, Tomatoe, Pineapple, Mango chutney, Bacon, Fried Egg, Beef, and amazing bread

: view from Moo

: check out the man bag.. oh no.

: nice shot of both bridge and opera house, from Ben’s camera

: Sydney harbor Bridge

: Sydney Harbor Bridge

: Darling Harbor

: Our friend Ben

: Shelly Beach, at Manly beach

: Shelly Beach

: rock loungin, Bean and Hannah

: dusting the opera house

: dust storm

: Duststorm the day after we left

: great pic from the news

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Brisbane Festival

Published by Nate and Hannah under Artastic on September 12, 2009

To kick off the Brisbane city festival they do an annual firework and F111 display. The nickname is RiverFire. Fireworks are lit from 5 barges including tops of buildings in the city downtown area. 2 f111′s also came in for a low flight w/ after burn (twice), no pics of those though.. too fast. I tried. Hannah and I enjoyed a spot on the river near the story bridge with a pizza and some interesting fizzy drinks. Check out some of the firework pics below.

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catchin up here and there

Published by Nate and Hannah under Adventures in Australia on September 11, 2009

some pictures that I like from the recent days.. from exploring the town of clevland ( where they are currently filming the next Narnia, to the town of Tweed heads. )

: birds like it too

: my 2 favorite views

: dragon boat from new Narnia movie

: look Kamil opened a Kebab shop! and changed his name

: heres your beer delivery!

: I found a mermaid!

: Justin and Becca came to visit! and I cant see!

: Island down a sand bar at low tide

: the island man groves at low tide

: should I go back to the island or continue walking out to sea in 1′ of water?

: the local diggers

: superbank ;)

: same sunset 5 mins earlier

: nice shot huh?

: shine on us!

: great day

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The EKKA Races

Published by Nate and Hannah under Adventures in Australia on August 8, 2009

We made it to Queensland Exhibition horse-race day, and had a blast drinking cheap beer and routing on 1$ tickets! Had a really good day and night, check out the highlights.

: ferry to the races

: go go go!!!

: peacock

: hannahand rainbow

: track and rainbow

: long day well lived

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The Extra and long Mile

Published by Nate and Hannah under Adventures in Australia on July 25, 2009

SO Hannah and I, and some friends from our Church set out for a 50k walk from inland to sea. We made it about 3/4 of the way before our legs wouldnt let us go any further, who knew u had to stretch before walking. We made is somewhere around 35 k, but made it to the sea! The next couple days we spent recovering with brews and sun.