Long Photo Post - National Botanic Gardens!

So, school is in full swing, which basically means that I'm going to try to do a photo post maybe once a week, and another word-only post once a week. Hopefully I can sustain that throughout the semester, even if its just a 'we're alive!' post. That being said, here is the photo post! On Sunday I went to the Botanic Gardens which are across the street from our apartment. Simon met me after at the cafe there for brunch, since it seems like the ONLY place open on a Sunday if you want food. Eesh!

The week has been good so far, just LOTS of reading. Anywhere from 10-40 pages per article, with an average of 4 articles for each of my 3 classes. Topped off with the fact that while some are in plain English, others were written back when IR was just being developed, or are being written by academics who've been in the field so long that they forget some of us have a hard time with philosophical-style writing! And then add on my new responsibilities of being a student rep, and trying to help out with the Burma Update conference in May (more about that in a later post), and, well, I'm tired and it's only Tuesday! But I digress...

The Botanic Gardens were really tranquil and serene. At some points I couldn't even hear other people, which was pretty nice. I was super diligent with my picture taking, making sure I got the names of most, if not all, of the plants I photographed. The problem is when I went to post all of that tonight I realized how much time it would take to upload those photos, so I didn't. oops! If you're really curious about the name of something, I'm sure I have a photo of the tag so feel free to leave a comment or send me an email. Let the tour begin!

The entrance to the Gardens. Mom and I were debating if it was Botanical or Botanic. Looks like the latter wins!

More signs at the entrance.

The steps leading up to the Visitors Center and the Bookshop. Didn't have time for the bookshop, and was happy that I didn't have to pay to get in! Got a map from the Visitors Center and went on my way.

Though I snapped these photos early in my tour, they are the pride of this photoset. Why, you may ask. Because they're Kookaburra's sitting in a Eucalyptus (gum) tree! Like the song!!

These guys also had me believing that there were monkeys living in trees behind our apartment for the first week until I was told, multiple times, that there aren't wild monkeys in Oz. They're laugh is maniacal, I love the sound of it! I am so happy I was able to get these pics.

A beautiful fountain at the Visitors Center.

This bird was really colourful, as they all are here, but the light wasn't great so the colours didn't turn out. That is a warning for these photos - because it was overcast, the auto setting on my camera overexposed a lot of shots making them seem a lot lighter than they were in reality. It was actually a relatively dark day, looked like it was on the cusp of rain. Just to set the tone!

Second happiest photos to capture. This Kangaroo was just hanging out in the gardens. I'm not even sure how I spotted it, it was that camouflaged. There was a mom and young daughter heading the opposite direction, so I pointed it out and they were really grateful.

I like that these are dubbed 'birthday candles'.

This pine cone was really neat. It was the size and shape of a golf ball. Probably not as aerodynamic though!

A neat picture of the evolution of this plant.

This flowers nickname is "Canberra Bells", named so in celebration of 100 years of Canberra, which is funny because that's not until 2013. I love the flower though.

This bird and I had a serious staring competition going on. So much so that it's partner flew away and it remained totally nonplussed. I was a little intimidated after a while!

Another bird eating something in the tree.

This was a greenhouse exhibit. I loved the fact that they were trying to make it appealing with the title. It was a really neat exhibit though. All about germination and carnivorous plants.

The view from the greenhouse entrance.

Venus Flytrap and a bell shaped plant with a lid. So devious!!

Another alluring death plant for flies!

I love this quote. As many of you know, I'm TERRIBLE with keeping plants alive!

Orchids!

I love the story below. A carnivorous plant that went vegetarian!

Back outside again. This bird was really devouring this plant.

So, right as I'm reading this sign, there is a rustling behind me. I kid you not. My heart was in my throat BIG TIME. Then I turned around slowly and guess what was there - a rabbit! I had to laugh at myself. Sadly I couldn't get my camera together in time to snap it, but I'm sure glad it wasn't a poisonous snake!!

These flowers were so tiny that I took a picture with my thumb in it as a reference.

This was what the day looked like - doom and gloom! Fortunately it didn't rain on me.

The rainforest. It was great. There were other paths but at this point I was running late to meet Simon for brunch so I kinda sped through the last part. Luckily its about 5 minutes away and free, so I'm sure I'll go back often!

After breakfast. To prove that though I am normally taking most of the photos and not in them, it doesn't mean I don't exist!

A view of Canberra and the surrounding 'mountains' taken on the way home.

The view of our residence from the street.

A photo of our two balconies, with the top of my bike and the clothing line!

There you have it! Sorry for the lack of writing, I am tired and want to remove myself from the computer as soon as possible, but I'll try to write a more in-depth post again soon. And those of you who want to hear from Simon, start petitioning him, because my persistent nagging doesn't seem to be having any effect!

Til soon!