Animals – Llywindatravels 2022

Ohio wildlife

We don’t always get the best wildlife photos. Today we missed the fawn leaping across the road. Other days, as I fumbled for my camera, the young fox stared at us, turned away, and bounded into the bushes. Jonathan saw a badger peeping at us over the top of a mound of dirt. By theContinue reading “Ohio wildlife”

Spring turns into Summer

We’ve been in Lombard, IL for two and a half months, much longer than our normal stops. On June 1, when we should be flying from Athens to Vienna, we will be leaving Lombard, IL for Conneaut, OH, the last town before the PA border. Why? Lake Erie, for starters. We’ve never been there, andContinue reading “Spring turns into Summer”

Winter Solstice in New Brighton

Welcome to this post on our current home in New Brighton, New South Wales. This is also my 500th post on Llywindatravels.com (Where does the time go?) Thank you for reading and joining me on our travels. I hope you’ll keep coming back. It’s been just over five years since we retired and set outContinue reading “Winter Solstice in New Brighton”

The Great Platypus Hunt

Jonathan and I saw a platypus in a darkened display (they are nocturnal) at the Healesville sanctuary outside Melbourne. We thought we had checked off one of those Australia bucket list activities: See a Platypus!!! The platypus was dark on top with a silvery-white belly, leaving a trail of bubbles as it swam across theContinue reading “The Great Platypus Hunt”

Crepuscular Marsupials = kangaroos

Crepuscular: Active at twilight or before sunrise. We started our day late, arriving at the Bonarong Wildlife Sanctuary when the day was already hot. Failing to learn the lesson of our visit to the albatross sanctuary on a similarly bright day, we entered to find that most of the animals are not very happy whenContinue reading “Crepuscular Marsupials = kangaroos”

Beaches, and a hint of wombat

Taking advantage of lovely weather, we’ve been to Seven Mile Beach (where the weather changed), Nine Mile Beach (above, near Swansea), and today Lagoon Beach at the end of the Tasman Peninsula. The peninsula is a big hook, and at the end is the Lime Bay State Reserve. The road ends at a campground borderingContinue reading “Beaches, and a hint of wombat”

Wonders in Wellington

Wellington is not a large city and though it is hilly, the downtown is along the water and easy to walk. Even driving on the left it wasn’t too difficult to navigate. We’ve always been able to find parking and figure out how to pay for it. There are about three coffee shops on eachContinue reading “Wonders in Wellington”

Northland, New Zealand

We wanted to see the far north of New Zealand. We didn’t get to Cape Reinga, the tip of a long finger of land that points north from the rest of the island, but we got to the knuckles, around Doubtless Bay. One long sandy bay after another stretches along the north end of NewContinue reading “Northland, New Zealand”

Wonders of the Galapagos

What makes the Galapagos strange is not the variety of birds and animals. Most are familiar. Pelicans, cormorants, and other seabirds are in the air, sea lions and iguanas on the beach, turtles in the water. We’ve seen these before, on beaches and in documentaries about the Galapagos. It’s their indifference to us. We rideContinue reading “Wonders of the Galapagos”

Sheep Races

Every town in Scotland has a summer festival or agricultural show, meaning that on any given weekend you are within an hour’s drive of at least two such events. We had the Dalbeattie Civic Day on Saturday, culmination of a week-long series of events. The parade started at 1 pm, led by a pipe band.Continue reading “Sheep Races”