Trip to Australia in 2022

I spent six weeks taking photographs around Australia in September and October 2022. The first four weeks were spent with a group of wildlife and bird lovers, traveling around Queensland, the Northern Territory, and Tasmania. After that I landed in Melbourne, rented a car, and spent 2½ weeks driving the Great Ocean Road, the Grampian Mountains and then visiting friends.

Click to see the whole album for each area, including videos:

Cairns

Cairns (pronounced like "Cans"), a popular destination, is full of birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. We spent time up on the tablelands (including Kuranda), visiting beaches, and seeing amazing creatures in various wetlands.

Cairns Aquarium

Cairns has a wonderful aquarium, with lots of fish and other creatures from the Great Barrier Reef.

Butterflies in Kuranda

Kuranda is a small town on the tablelands with lots of interesting sights, including a large and amazing butterfly sanctuary.

Daintree Rainforest

The Daintree is the oldest rainforest in the world. Lots of amazing creatures.

Northern Territory

We flew into Darwin, and then traveled between several national parks in the far north. We saw amazing aboriginal art painted on rocks that is thousands of years old. We did a boat trip on a river, and saw incredible fights between crocodiles. In one place we stayed, I had a tree frog living in my toilet!

Tasmania

Tasmania is absolutely amazing. We flew into Hobart, and then spent a bunch of time on Bruny Island, which due to its isolation has tons of unusual animals. After that we went north and visited Cradle Mountain National Park, and spent time in Deloraine. We saw Echidnas, albino Wallaby, Penguins, and I got to play with several Wombats, including giving one a massage! We also went to wildlife sanctuaries and saw Tasmanian Devils, Quolls, and other strange creatures. There were huge floods while we were there, but we managed to survive and avoid the worst of it.

Great Ocean Road Loop

After that, I was on my own. I drove the entire Great Ocean Road, including spending time photographing the famous "12 Apostles" (tall seastacks). So much to see along that route, including the Narana Aboriginal Cultural Center, several lighthouses, and many waterfalls. I even got lucky and saw a Koala in the wild. After that I spent some time in the beautiful Grampian Mountains.

Melbourne

Finally, I headed back to Melbourne to stay with some friends. Went to museums, the Botanical Garden, Melbourn's famous grafitti streets, the huge Victoria Market, and the wonderful library. We all went to ArtVo, where you get to put yourself into three-dimensional scenes. Because it was Halloween time, I got to go to some great parties (who knew that Halloween was popular in Australia!).

See also photos from my previous trip in 2006 along the eastern coast of Australia from Cairns to Sydney. That trip includes the famous Great Barrier Reef (including Giant Clams!), and lots of sailing trips.