Something to think about..

..before you come to Sydney: It is one of the most expensive cities on this planet. Young people, such as students, often have no other possibility than to share their room in order to afford the rent of their room! So do I. Gosh.. am I happy that my room mate is sociable, pretty and does not smell!

Isopod group 2011

The Isopod group at the Australian Museum 2011: From left to right: Luana Lins (PhD student, Brasil, systematics of Chelator [Desmosomatidae], Buz Wilson (USA, principle investigator), Tim Lee (Honours student, Australia, revision and population studies on terrestrial isopods), Torben Riehl (systematics of Macrostylidae). Picture (c) Luana Lins.

Hey ya! No Buz decided to have weekly lab meetings to discuss the state of our work, new relevant papers and other issues. That is one hour full of information, nice smalltalk, strong coffee and lovely cake every Wednesday morning! Good, isn't it?
Cheers! T.

A weekend in Kurri Kurri, NSW

G'day dear mates! Jasmin and I have just returned from a family visit to the country metropolis of Kurri Kurri! Surrounded by the coal industry this beautiful place is situated in the center of virtually loads of entertainment, cultural heritage and wildlife as well as recreational areas. Not to forget, the Hunter Valley, one of Australia's most famous wine areas, has to be considered when thinking about why this place is so much at ease.

My first alive Grey Kangaroo!!!! Most of the time you can approach and watch them sleeping very close by the streets (vom vierrädrigen Schicksal an den Fahrbahnrand gespühlt).

No comment.

My smackaroo and a pavlova - a typical Australian dessert. Even the lightest desert may cause health issues..

Summed up: The weekend was cheerful and we had plenty of physical rest, food and drinks. (Probably no more food this week, otherwise I have to buy larger Jeans.) I was able to give my knee a break, which is probably not too bad. Many places were beautiful to see, e.g. the cliffs in Newcastle, the Mountains (hills for Europeans) in the Upper Hunter or Lake Macquarie. Only, the time was too short to enjoy the wildlife much this time. We probably know places to come back to some day. The Hunter Valley is a must for every person who likes a good wine or two.
If there is something that Australians can do almost as good as Germans then it is a barbecuing. (If there is something, Australians cannot, it is making good sausages.)
Catch ya later!
T.

When I woke up this morning..

..these guys were out in the backyard producing lots of noise: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus). I f....ing love this country!

Moved again

After having a bit of problems with sleeping in our room (because of the noise of planes, cars and trains) we moved again. Now we are back in Lewisham. That is an inner west sub of Sydney. The place is beautiful, quiet and the people in this house are just great!

A new place setting standards for a good accommodation: My own serviette ring with imprinted initials!

Our huge backyard. Here I find some time to rest and get rid of the stress. We've also got scarecrows.

Back from the Blue Mountains

Hey ya! We are back from a gorgeous weekend in the Blue Mountains - a mountainous area bordering the metropolitan area of Sydney in the west. There are a lot of things that you are not supposed to do!

The Greater Blue Mountains Area, however, was unanimously listed as a World Heritage Area by UNESCO and it features thousands of landscape attractions, steep cliffs, wonderful panorama, rare plant communities. Therefore, the Blue Mountains are a perfect place for bush walking and wildlife observation.

With a rental car it took us about 1,5 hours down the Great Western Highway until we reached the foot of the mountains. Our first stop on Saturday was Wentworth Falls were we did some walking down to the falls, despite my bad knee which disables me since a week.

That was a good start with nice sunshine, loads of birds and spectacular views over the valleys of the Blue Mountains National Park. Later we went to Leura and Katoomba simply to find even more spectacular sites. Except from Katoomba, not too many other tourists were around so we could really enjoy it.

Over night we stayed in the Sky Rider Motor Inn, a budget accommodation which was really nice for its prize.

It was freezing in the morning, so when we hit the road on Sunday again, there was still frost in the car's windows. Yes yes, winter really arrived. It was in 900 m above sea level, though!

I really think that what followed was one of the most beautiful and in the same time impressive breakfasts I ever had. We went to Blackheath, bought some croissant and coffee to take with us and went straight to the Govett's Leap Lookout. We arrived there before everyone else and enjoyed our breakkie, the sun and an outstanding view besides ourselves.

After another half-day walk down and up the cliffs, several new bird and plant species, we drove back to Sydney. Yes, I drove on the left-hand side myself and I was not involved in any kind of traffic crime or crash! Cool, isn't it?

Redbrowed Finch

Passeridae

Neochmia

temporalis

Eastern Yellow Robin

Petroicidae

Eopsaltria

australis

White-browed Scrubwren

Pardalitidae

Sericornis

frontalis

Our first Koala ever!

Australian King Parrot

Psittacidae

Alisterus

scapularis

Eastern Spinebill

Meliphagidae

Acanthorynchus

tenuirostris

And here is our bird list for the last 1.5 days Blue Mountains:

Australian Name	Family	Genus	Species
Australian King Parrot	Psittacidae	Alisterus	scapularis
Australian Magpie	Australian Magpie	Gymnorhona	tibicen
Australian Raven	Corvidae	Corvus	coronoides
Australian White Ibis	Threskiornitidae	Threskiornis	molucca
Common Myna	Sturnidae	Acridotheres	tristis
Crested Pigeon	Columbidae	Ocyphaps	lophotes
Crimson Rosella	Psittacidae	Platycercus	elegans
Eastern Spinebill	Meliphagidae	Acanthorynchus	tenuirostris
Eastern Yellow Robin	Petroicidae	Eopsaltria	australis
Laughing Kookaburra	Halcyonidae	Dacelo	noviguinae
Magpie Lark	Dicruridae	Grallina	cyanoleuca
New Holland Honeyeater	Meliphagidae	Phylidonyris	novaehollandiae
Noisy Miner	Meliphagidae	Manorina	melanocephala
Peregrine Falcon	Falconidae	Falco	peregrinus
Pied Currawong	Artamidae	Strepera	graculina
Red Wattlebird	Meliphagidae	Anthochaera	carunculata
Redbrowed Finch	Passeridae	Neochmia	temporalis
Restless Flycatcher	Dicruridae	Myiagra	inquieta
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo	Cacatuidae	Cacatua	galerita
Tree Martin	Hirundinidae	Petrochelidon	nigricans
White-browed Scrubwren	Pardalitidae	Sericornis	frontalis
White-necked Heron	Ardeidae	Ardea	pacifica
Yellow Thornbill	Pardalotidae	Acanthiza	nana
Yellow-faced Honeyeater	Meliphagidae	Lichenostomus	chrysops