tiabunna's photos

The colours deepened as the sun sank below the distant horizon: unfortunately there was no obliging seagull for this shot. (This seems to look best on black - press 'Z').

The sunset of our second evening at Lake Albert promised to be as good as the first.

It was great to see and inspect the replica Portuguese caravel Notorious while it was visiting Batemans Bay, but it was overwhelming to actually see it putting to sea. I was unable to put aside the thought that, in all probability, it would have been nearly 500 years since such a ship had travelled our coast! The second and third photos (in notes) show the ship passing offshore islands.

These honeyeaters are reasonably common in the SE of Australia, but I don't think I've ever seen as many as near Lake Albert.

Fill your screen by mousing over the note at top left (or just hit Z to view full-screen on black) . Stitched panorama of the Coorong, a long expanse of sand spits and enclosed waterways along part of the South Australian coast (mainly National Park). The film "Stormboy" about a pelican was made in this area, should you know or remember it.

Two photos taken inside the Portuguese caravel, showing the hand-adzed logs used in the construction. I love the fireplace in the left hand shot! Taken with available light at high ISO and using the Sigma 10-20.

Daybreak adding colour to the mist and fog over Lake Albert - and some pelicans chasing breakfast. (Probably best viewed on black - press 'Z')

People queuing to inspect the replica 15th century Portuguese caravel 'Notorious' at Batemans Bay, NSW Australia. Though not totally proven, it is very probable that several ships of this type, led by the Portuguese explorer Cristóvão de Mendonça were the first to sail down Australia's east coast in the early 1500s - about 250 years prior to Captain Cook's trip in the 'Endeavour' ! I now have written and illustrated an article about the 'Notorious' and the early European exploration of Australia: Were the Portuguese first to explore the Australian coast? You can follow the doings of the 'Notorious' on Facebook - look for notorioustheship .

See note at top left for a photo of the "Notorious" I met Graeme while inspecting the replica 15th century Portuguese caravel visiting Batemans Bay. Ships to this design were used by Columbus in 1492 and (almost certainly) by Cristóvão de Mendonça to sail down Australia's east coast in the early 1500s. The ship itself is (to use a much over-used term) truly awesome. Three hundred tonnes of reclaimed timber were used in the project: the ship is 17 M long, with a beam of 5.5M and a draft of 2.1M. Its displacement is 55 tonnes. Everywhere there are huge hand adzed logs and other interesting details. It is about as authentic as would be possible. And here's the part that totally impressed me: Captain Graeme researched, designed and built it himself! The project took ten years and the ship was launched in early 2011. What a colossal project, one has to be staggered at that kind of commitment, though when I mentioned that to Graeme he modestly said that he'd had the assistance of several friends. Well, I take my hat off to you! Graeme kindly agreed to be 22 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page You can read more about the 'Notorious' and its doings here: www. facebook.com/notorioustheship