tiabunna's photos

My earlier image "Bedourie Benches" in the little town of Bedourie, showed the community hall with the sign "Where the Simpson Desert meets the Channel Country". This aerial dawn image (best viewed large).shows what they mean! The country is very flat and occasional heavy rains further away bring floods which spread extensively. The country near the desert then comes to life with good pastures. In the distance are the dunes at the edge of the Simpson Desert, the world's largest parallel-dune sand desert (resulting from the prevailing winds). Further images, taken slightly later, in the PiPs.

Since some of my ipernity friends saw the Royal Hotel (see PiP) they have been keen to stay there. We're looking here into the Ladies' Lounge, complete with fireplace, where I'm sure they will be very comfortable. :-) For everyone else, Happy Wall Wednesday and have a great week.

Arriving in the light aircraft over Lake Machattie as the sun rose, then crossing the lake and seeing the river floodwaters (from rains hundreds of km further north, nearly two months earlier) coming into the lake. (See also PiPs). Here's a suitable musical link.

Bedourie is the administrative centre of the Shire of Diamantina, which also has the towns of Birdsville and Betoota. The Shire is the largest in Queensland and covers an area of almost 95,000 sq km, which makes it larger than Hungary, Portugal or Ireland (among other countries). The permanent population of Bedourie in the 2016 Census was 122 (the entire Shire had 266). Anyway, it's a long trip to get there (over 1,600 km from Brisbane, the State capital), so take a rest on the bench (also seen in the PiP). Happy Bench Monday and best wishes for the week, everyone.

For Macro Mondays group 7/8/2023, topic #321. "2 Euro coin" . Well, I'm afraid this topic is not useful for those of us around the world, so I've gone with a (slightly worn) Australian $2 coin. Sadly, that doesn't quite match up to the value of 2 Euros, which at present would be A$3.35. With that thought, I've added a PiP with the full 2 Euro value. Wishing everyone a Happy Macro Monday.

Still on the dawn light aircraft flight from Birdsville, approaching Lake Machattie as the sun rises. See also PiPs. Lake Machattie (and other adjacent smaller lakes), at the times when they actually hold water, are important breeding areas for waterbirds and are ranked as a "Key Biodiversity Area of international significance".

The (former) Royal Hotel, built in 1883, was one of three hotels in Birdsville. It transferred to the Australian Inland Mission for use as a hospital from 1923 until 1937, then it was used as a private residence for some years. More extensive background information in the PiP. Happy Fence Friday, everyone, have a great weekend.

The light coloured area toward the horizon is the Bilpa Morea Claypan, apparently the world's largest claypan. Best viewed large. The light aircraft is still heading north as the sun rises (see the PiP for an image a few minutes earlier).

The Diamantina River is one of the major (usually not flowing) rivers of outback Queensland, eventually finding its way to Lake Eyre. Taken on the light aircraft dawn flight from Birdsville.with some light rain showers in the distance as the sun rises.