Glimpses of Australia-Kangaroos at Lake Merreti

Some pics from Renmark Visit

We were in the riverland at Renmark again recently.

Some pics from the trip.

I had a relaxing hour wandering the Renmark Golf Course.

At Renmark Golf Course, outskirts.

At Renmark Golf Course

At Renmark Golf Course

At Renmark Golf Course

At Renmark Golf Course

At Renmark Golf Course

At Dix's Park Paringa

Photographing Kangaroos

For those who don't live in Australia I guess the idea of photographing a Kangaroo would be a pretty exotic idea and on many wishlists.
If you live in Australia you don't need to go far to see Kangaroos but you won't see any hopping down the main streets of our towns.
There was an interesting survey done recently that showed that Kangaroos that live in the hills surrounding Canberra,our national capital, do come into the suburbs at night.
Many country towns do have Kangaroos close by and they may do the same thing there as well.
Kangaroos are most active at night but do also frequent the daytime .
Mostly on very hot summer days they lie on the ground under the shade of trees usually in a depression in the sand.
Kangaroos are usually wary of humans but on some places will be more approachable than others.
Driving on country roads at night you have to be very careful that you don't hit them where they are plentiful.
That is why many cars in the outback have "bullbars" on the front to protect the car from impact.
In National Parks where they are not under threat from hunters they are more likely to be reasonably approachable.
There are many varieties with wallabies being a small form of Kangaroo.
My late father in law used to complain when we were out in the bush and I stopped the car to photograph "roos.
"Haven't you got enough shots of Kangaroos?"
I probably have but I never tire of photographing these beautiful animals.
Anyway below are some of my favourite Kangaroo shots.
A telephoto lens of at least 200mm is usually required.

Murray Sunset National Park

My late father in law ,Dudley Foweraker, was an amazing self taught naturalist.
He was an expert on  Australian native trees and plants,Australian Birds,Conversation and The River Muurray.
For many years he ran his own successful Nursery business.
He lived in Renmark South Australia all his life.
There is a plaque in Renmark on the bank of the Murray River recognising his services to the community ,particularly in the conservation work, and as a consultant to many on trees and birds and plants of the Riverland.
As a keen photographer and birdwatcher it was always a pleasure and education to go out bush with Dud, sometimes just him and me, and other times with our family and friends.
We didn't use four wheel drives just ordinary vehicles , but we covered a lot of territory.
I would often have a small tape recorder running while we drove through the bush as Dud would give a running commentary on everything we saw.
I usually took photos and sometimes movies.
There are some pictures  here from some of these trip.

The Murray Sunset National Park  is a very large National Park  in Victoria.
We were in the area near the Lindsay Creek not far from the South Australian  border.
This particular part of the park had once been a sheep station.
See also my recent post on Mallee Tracks.

The power of a storm

This tank is similar to some on the Park but they did not have water in them where we went.

Dud reckoned this was a very impressive mallee tree

The other side of the above Mallee tree

My flash brings out the rich colour of the tree trunk

This shady spot with hollows in the sand was a place where kangaroos had obviously been sheltering from the noonday sun.

These trees had been uprooted by strong wind gusts

Red Kangaroo

Venturing off the track,can be dicey if you get bogged.

Galahs in flight

There are deadly snakes in this region

These long tracks criss cross the park

Old Pine Tree

Kangaroos at Tidbinbilla

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve near Canberra A.C.T. is a great place to see kangaroos,wallabies and birds.Here are some Kangaroo shots.