AUSTRALIA TRIP
August 31-September 18, 2007
These pictures were taken by J. D. Thompson and are copyrighted. The camera used was a Panasonic DMC-TZ1 with a resolution of 2560 x 1920. The images available here are 800 x 600 pixels. Send an email to the photographer if you wish an image of high resolution. The total collection contains nearly 800 photographs. I found that the Panasonic did not yield images up to the quality obtained with my Nikon D-50. However, the Panasonic is much easier to travel with and has the advantage of image stabilization and 10X optical zoom.
Friend Geri and I did this 18 day tour of Australia, visiting Melbourne, Cairns (Great Barrier Reef), Darwin and Sydney and their environs. (We purchased a Qantas Airlines travel package which allows three stops.) Geri's dear friend, Mike, is in poor health and the need for their visiting was the prime reason for travel at this time. We stayed at the home of Mike and his daughter, Nicki and her husband Avi, all of whom were wonderful hosts, not only providing a home base but also taking us to visit some outstanding nature preserves, sculpture garden, and exploring Melbourne.
Neither Geri nor I had done any extensive traveling in Australia. We both wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef and snorkel there, hopefully while the reef was still healthy. Unfortunately, we were too late for that. We also wanted to visit botanical gardens, explore nature and visit Kakadu National Park where we could view Aboriginal rock paintings. The pictures provide proof of success in meeting our goals.
Click on any thumbnail photo to bring up a 800 x 600 image.