Lego Whale (Sydney, Australia)

Using 100,000s of iconic coloured plastic blocks, artists have temporarily expanded the marine wonders of the Sydney Aquarium with life size Lego models of various familiar creatures. My favourite is a full-size breaching whale with a superb backdrop of a tiny rowboat (and its mother sailing ship) being troubled by the wild seas. The picture stands seven to eight metres in height with remarkable detail of the brewing maelstrom and the dark unyielding ocean. And to think it is all done one tiny brick at a time...

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Swimming with Whale Sharks (Western Australia)

guest post by fly.com

If asked whether or not you fancy swimming alongside a 10 metre long shark with little else to protect you other than a wetsuit and a snorkel, it would be no surprise if there were very few takers. In reality, thousands of people book their long distance flight all the way to Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef every year between March and July to do just that.

Whale Sharks are the ocean's largest fish and they come complete with 3,000 tiny teeth and a fin that’s taller than most adults. Terrifying as that may sound, these gentle creatures have very little interest in dining on us and their diet consists of plankton and little else – thanks goodness!

Although similar experiences can be enjoyed around the world in places like Honduras and Cuba, Western Australia is unique in the fact that the whale sharks venture so close to the shore. The sharks feed just beyond the reef, which at its closest is just 300ft offshore meaning there is no need for long boat rides in order to get to where these giants roam.

A typical trip will involve heading out to sea, being told to get your wetsuits on and be ready at any time for the call from the spotter plane. Whale sharks can dive down to 2000 feet (600 metres) but come to the surface to feed, therefore it is important that when they are spotted you jump in straight away so that you can swim with them for as long as they allow before they dive back down to the depths.

Although the crew are quick to remind you that these sharks feed on nothing but plankton, the word shark still sends shivers up the spine. You have little time to think about it as no sooner have you been told that a shark has been spotted than you are rushing towards the back of the boat to hop in and see for yourself.

As you go under, you will be disorientated by the waves lapping at your snorkel and the bright sunshine darting through the surface and momentarily blinding you. Hang in there because as the water clears you will be greeted by one of the most spectacular sights any nature lover can hope for. These calm ocean giants, covered in spots and stripes like to take their time, they glide along with their impossibly large mouths agape in an attempt to make the most of the plankton rich water so prevalent in Western Australia during this time of year.

Although encounters with whale sharks can be brief, it is something that simply must be experienced. Very little is known about the whale shark, no-one knows how many exist or how long they live which makes them all the more fascinating to us. One thing is for certain, they have no interest in you. All they are doing is having their lunch so get over those fears and hop on in. It’s an experience of a lifetime and not to be missed.

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The Beauty and Terror of Loch Ard Gorge (Australia)

In sunshine, the Victorian coastline known as the Great Ocean Road offers panoramas of glistening blue ocean, natural beauty and a sense of serenity. The area is dotted with unusual and striking rock formations (several with evocative names like the Twelve Apostles, London Bridge and The Grotto) gradually being warn by the savage seas. When the weather is nasty, the ocean turns to a inky swirling maelstrom and the wind whistles in evil howls. For mariners, such weather must be hellish.

As such, the area is also known as Shipwreck Coast with over 700 ships recorded as lost through Australia's short history (less than a third have been located).

Days of thick fogs, grey skies, blustery winds and rough seas prevented the captain of the Loch Ard, an iron-hulled clipper sailing from England from completing his journey. Trying to navigate the brutal strait (threading the needle) between King Island and the mainland in the early winter of 1878, the Loch Ard plunged into a tiny rocky island just off the mainland called Muttonbird Island. Within fifteen short minutes, the ship sunk taking the lives of 52 of its passengers.

Miraculously, Tom Pearce, a young man of 18 clung to a lifeboat and was fortuitously swept through the narrow opening of Loch Ard Gorge onto a tiny peaceful beach. Hearing screams and spotting a young woman struggling in the waves clinging desperately to flotsam, Tom swam and rescued the only other survivor, the by-then unconscious Eva Carmichael. Revived by brandy from a washed up crate, both rested in a cave protected by a tiny strip of beach and surrounded by the suffocating cliffs of the gorge. After some rest, Tom climbed the steep cliffs (now a set of wooden stairs) to seek help and both were rescued. Neither saw each other ever after the rescue period, Eva returning to Ireland (Tom became a ship's captain!).

Today, visitors can quietly stroll the beach, visit the small cave, gaze at the vertical walls of the cliff and walk the pleasant trails around Loch Ard Gorge highlighting the peaceful triangle of water and the hidden gate to the Antarctic Ocean and open seas.

Nearby, people can see a living reminder of the unrelenting seas chipping away at the fragile limestone coast. Island Arch stood guard near Loch Ard Gorge for many centuries until in July, 2009 it collapsed leaving two pillars. These have been named Tom and Eva in memory of the two brave survivors of the area's most well-known shipwreck.

Similarly recent collapses lays witness to the continuing weathering and change in the area. Another of the Twelve Apostles toppled some years ago and London Bridge became London Arch in 1990.

For parts of this beautiful area, the road hugs the water as vistas of the rugged coastline open around each sweeping bend. Many rate it Australia's finest drive. Numerous stops and sidepaths highlight various rock formations and panoramic lookouts. Loch Ard Gorge is a highlight stop giving a glimpse into the feeling of desperation that young Tom and Eva, along with the passengers and crew of the Loch Ard must have felt as brutal weather, poor visibility and the savage coastline played in taking the lives of 52 people and how luck played such a part in saving two souls.

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Australia

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include climate-change issues such as the depletion of the ozone layer and more frequent droughts, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.

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The Curiosity Shop (Jenolan Caves, Australia)

At 380 million years, Jenolan Caves are thought to be the oldest visited caves in the world. Around two hours drive west of Sydney, ten caves are open to the public. This photo shows the mesmerising beauty of the Orient Cave visited recently with my close and treasured friend Kath. The cave features three exceptionally featured rooms evocatively called the Indian, Egyptian and Persian Cambers. The formation is appropriately called The Curiosity Shop and includes helictites that are the strange formations that grow in all directions defying gravity (and scientific explanation).

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Photo of the Week: A Single Drip (Jenolan Caves, Australia)

Two hundred kilometres west of Sydney, Jenolan Caves are thought to be the oldest show caves in the world at an estimated 380 million years, well before dinosaurs roamed our planet.It is staggering to believe such beauty and richly decorated limestone chambers are built by the constant dripping of water such as the single drops landing in the spectacular Indian Chamber of the Orient Cave (undoubtedly one of the most spectacular caves in the world).

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