Lighthouse, Devonport, Tasmania

The Lighthouse near the mouth of the Mersey River in Devonport, Tasmania helps guide The Spirit of Tasmania and a few freight ships into the river to berth.  The lighthouse was built on a stone base and is made of bricks, was built in 1889.

We had to visit Devonport last Monday for an appointment with the Financial Adviser our yearly appointment, all was well.  

We also went to the Cemetery the Lawn one to visit my parents grave and I placed new artificial flowers there. 

Then on Wednesday for the evening meal, dinner, our second eldest granddaughter came for dinner by herself for the very first time.  What a surprise and we had a wonderful time with her.  It will be her 18th birthday on Saturday the 4th of April.

Our clocks move back 1 hour on the 5th of April and also on that day, Easter Sunday is our 3rd Granddaughter's 14th birthday.

The photos here in this section are of the Bluff at Devonport and behind where I'm taking the photo from is the Bluff Caravan Park where we used to stay in our caravan after my parents passed.  Sometimes we would just take a drive to the Bluff and not take the caravan as Devonport is just over 1 hour drive from home.  The sea is Bass Strait.

Sunset, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

 A sunset in Townsville at the Caravan Park we stayed at some years ago.  Many times we tried to get into the same caravan park, but it was always booked out.  It's just by chance we got in the first time we went there.

It's a lovely city, 3,300 km from home, so it's a long way taking several days to get there. It's the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and opposite the Coral Sea, the climate is tropical.  Magnetic Island is about 25 minutes by a ferry.

Townsville has two season, dry and wet.  The river in the photos is the Ross River and it's 49 km long.  Population is approximately 201,313. 

I remember sitting on a seat by the river in awe of the sunset.  It was probably the first good sunset I had viewed on the trip up the east.

Murals at Sheffield

Sheffield is inland along the North West Coast of Tasmania, Australia and it's known for having Mt. Roland nearby and Murals within the town.  It's called Sheffield because the first settlers the Powlett family came from Sheffield in England. Mining and potato exports made the country town thrive back in the late 1880's.

These days Sheffield has reinvented itself with the arts.  Sheffield host a mural competition usually each year and many murals are on  buildings in the main street and other streets within Sheffield.  I took photos of these murals when there last. 

Wreath Flower, Western Australia

Mullewa in Western Australia is one of the areas you will find the wreath flower which is   4,201km (2,610 miles) from Tasmania (home).  We visited this area a few years back only once. 

The Wreath Flower (Lechenaultia macrantha) is known as such because of its unusual circular shape.  It grows well in disturbed areas, and so is commonly found on road verges, gravel pits or areas that have been recently burnt.  Time to see them in flower is springtime. We stayed on the coast at Geralton, Western Australia and took the trip to Mullewa which is 98 km one way to see these flowers which are protected.

I must admit is was a beautiful feeling to be able to see these flowers and take photos of them. That particular year there were not heaps of them to be seen.

The Mangroves of Cape Tribulation, Queensland

 A few of the beaches before we headed up Cape Tribulation.  See previous post.  There are many Mangroves within the beaches.  

Mangroves in Cape Tribulation, located with the Daintree National Park, are part of one of the world's most diverse estuary system, containing over 30 of Australia's 38 mangrove species.  These ancient, intertidal ecosystems have existed for millions of years, acting as critical nurseries of marine life and coastal protection where the rainforest meets the reef.

Mangroves have traditionally been used by the local Kuku Yalanji people for food (including crabs, fish, and fruit) and resources like timber for weapons and canoes.

The area, including its mangrove ecosystems, was added to the World Heritage List in 1988.

You can see Cape Tribulation area where the red dots are on the map.

The Oldest Rainforest in the World

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia is a long way from home, 3,578 km (2,223 miles) as the crow flies.  Cape Tribulation is a renowned, biologically diverse headland in Queensland's Daintree National Park where the world's oldest rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef. The Daintree was named by Captain James Cook on June 10, 1770, after his ship Endeavour struck a reef nearby.  The population of this area 123 people.  

The Daintree is of course tropical so has a dry and wet season.

We have been up this way a few times and these are the signs that greet you.  The road is gravel and some of the creeks do not have bridges so you have to drive through them which we did for couple of them.  We didn't go too far before we turned around and headed back to Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

The Chemist place is before you see a fair way from the signs.

You can see from the map where the State of Tasmania is to Cape Tribulation in Queensland, Australia.

Ashes

A poem I wrote about a war, no war in particular but having said that it's in the desert.  You can draw your own conclusions as to what it is exactly about and perhaps comment your views. 

 ASHES


i was their rainbow, but where is the sun,
where is the bright light
that's supposed to shine down?,
it's all gone now, it's gone.
the desert calls them in the night
angels come,
my body burns to have them near
to be their rainbow once more
it's not going to happen,
been used and abused
from afar.
now the sunlight shines for others
till that bright light goes out,
then I will be left alone
sorrow with grief
wondering why,
why I was abused and used
by men from afar who promised me all,
maybe some are dead and buried
in the war.
who knows if they are lost in the desert,
ashes by now,
so, I walk in the sand, sand between my toes
thinking of those men
from afar,
lost and alone I walked and walked,
bodies everywhere,
clothes tattered and torn
on bodies everywhere,
fire ahead, ashes hot ashes and sand,
all that was left were just ashes,
ashes and sand,
but I'm not there.
© jmd

Sunset out the back door!

 Sitting doing comments on my blog list and looked out the window to see this ever so orange/red sunset about 8.30pm remembering our days are becoming shorter as we head into late summer, grabbed my Canon Camera and headed to the back door.  The photos are the result, and I moved further into the yard and captured a rainbow included in the sunset over the next door house to the east. 

Above, looked south west. Below, looking east.

Below, looking north west. Sorry about the hydro wires but that is how it is.