Monthly Archives: March 2013

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For the original Battalion Hawk Bloggers post and comments...

Battalion Hawk Bloggers

Hello again, Battalion Hawk Bloggers.

After reading your comment on my last post for you, I thought I would put together this quick post so I could share the graphics used. It shows the original graphic and the parts. You can take and use the parts of the graphic if you find them of use. 🙂

The Original Graphic

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The Parts

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

 The graphics were prepared using Photoshop. The world globe view of North America was created on Photoshop by looking at Google Earth positioned to show North America. I then drew and colour-filled the drawing using a graphics tablet. Here are the parts of the globe picture.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Once the map was created, I added a new layer to the picture. It's like adding a piece of tracing paper on top of the picture. It's tricky to explain in detail but what I next did was fill the new layer with black then selected and deleted the circle so the map looked like it's a picture of the Earth taken from space. It's done by hiding and showing the new layer so I can make the cut out circle the correct size.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

I then added a new layer over the top of the others, filled it with blue and adjusted opacity (how see-through it looks). This gave the world globe the bluish look I wanted so the silhouette would stand out.

The student silhouette was made using a photo taken on a school camp. The background was selected and deleted then adjusting lightness and contrast turned the students into a silhouette. As I have thousands of photos I have taken stored in my iPhoto library, I need only search for a suitable photo. It was pasted over the globe as the final layer.

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For the Techie Kids blog, click on Techie Kids

Dear Katey,

As promised, here is a post showing some of the things to see in my region. My town is on the southern coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Our shire has a history in dairy farming, gold mining, fishing, whaling and tourism. Gold mining and whaling are now part of history. Some people still use metal detectors to try to find gold in the hills and the only whaling is whale watching where tourists see the annual whale migrations along our coast. Dairy farming, fishing and tourism are important parts of our region's economy.

It was back in 1847 the first of my family migrated from Scotland to the Bega Valley. They established their farm in the 1850s. This means my mother's side of the family is one of the oldest families in our shire. A cousin still runs a dairy farm, his milk going into the making of Bega Cheese, naturally a favourite of mine. With my family's history, I thought I'd start with some photos of the old family dairy farm.

On the Dairy Farm

When the weather has been kind, the farm is a mass of green but drought can turn this scene brown.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Bega, N.S.W., Australia

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Bega, N.S.W., Australia

This is an aerial view I took from a plane. From the coast, across Wallagoot Lake and to the mountains on the horizon is much of my shire. The farm is on the far right towards the distant mountains.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Bournda National Park, N.S.W., Australia

In My Town

We have two main beaches in my town. This is the longer one to the south. It is known as Pambula Beach. It stretches to the town of Pambula. The photo was taken along a coastal walking track in town.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

A view from the same track across the lake to my town, Merimbula.

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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

Surfing and other beach sports are popular.

 These photos were taken at our annual surf competition, the Merimbula Classic.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

In The Bega Valley Shire

We have the latest ships come to our shire's harbour in Eden, Twofold Bay.

This really is the replica ship, HMB Endeavour. It was modelled on the Endeavour sailed by Captain James Cook in 1769 till he was killed in Hawaii in 1779. For more about the HMB visit to my area, here is the link to a post on another of my blogs...

HMB Endeavour at Eden – May, 2012

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Location: Eden, N.S.W., Australia

There are historic, picturesque towns popular with tourists. This is Tilba.

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Location: Tilba, N.S.W., Australia

There's even an annual jazz festival.

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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

National Parks with coastal walks - This is in Bournda National Park

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Location: Bournda National Park, N.S.W., Australia

And just in case this is all boring, here are some more animal photos some of which I have not before shared.

This is a white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) seen along our coast.

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Location: Bournda National Park, N.S.W., Australia

Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) . A marsupial. This little girl was orphaned and lives in an animal sanctuary.

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Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) A marsupial

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Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Laughing Kookaburra  (Dacelo novaeguineae). Click on the link and you will see the Wikipedia page. On the right is a picture and information about the laughing kookaburra. Below that is an audio file. Click to play and you will hear the kookaburra's call. I sometimes wake to hear them in the park near my home.
This photo was only taken a day ago when one landed on my TV aerial.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

Soldier Crab (Mictyris longicarpus) When conditions are right for them, they can emerge in hundreds or thousands at low tide. The "army" of crabs wander across the sand feeding.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

Sea Urchin (I'm not sure which species)

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Location: Eden, N.S.W., Australia

You said you like dogs...

Each year, one of our local country shows has a wall climbing event for dogs. There prize is a large bag of dog food. The first two photos is of an eventual winner of the large dog section by clearing a higher wall.

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Location: Pambula, N.S.W., Australia

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Pambula, N.S.W., Australia

The last is an entrant in the small dog challenge... not quite a champion wall climber but a good try. 🙂

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Location: Pambula, N.S.W., Australia

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Christian is interested in Tasmania. Below are some photos from my collection taken in 1988...

Natural Beauty to Discover

 Coastline

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Caves

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Beaches

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Wateralls

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Hiking

A famous hike in Tasmania follows the Overland Track. Starting at Cradle Mountain, you head across mountain and valley until you reach Lake St. Clair. Catching a boat across the lake, you then make your way home. You can go with a group of friends or join a walking tour but allow about six days and make certain you're fit. 🙂

Cradle Mountain and the start of your journey.

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Location: Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, Australia

Lake St.Clair

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Location: Lake St. CLair, Tasmania, Australia

For details about the Overland Hiking Tours... Cradle Mountain Huts Tour details

 

Mining and Logging

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Location: Queenstown, Tasmania, Australia

These are the hills around the town of Queenstown. Mining and smelting of copper had eventually killed the trees on the mountains. The town is proud of its mining past but mining ended in 1994. Tourism is now a big money earner for the community. With the rebuilding of the old mining railway, the West Coast Wilderness Railway offers a wonderful scenic ride across the mountains to Strahan (pronounced "strawn") where tourists can ride boats along the beautiful Gordon River (pictured below).

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Location: Gordon River, Tasmania, Australia

Then There Are the Animals

Bennetts Wallaby

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Location: Lake St. CLair, Tasmania, Australia

Cape Barren Geese

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Location: Lake St. CLair, Tasmania, Australia

Some of the Tasmanian animals in a museum display

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Aboriginal Heritage

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The picture is a museum display showing the type of shelters used by Tasmanian Aborigines. The animal you see is a Tasmanian devil. Unlike the Bugs Bunny Tassie, he is the size of a small dog. The devils are meat and carrion eaters and, like kangaroos, are marsupials, i.e. pouched animals.

There was once a vibrant Aboriginal culture in Tasmania but, with the coming of colonists, disease and official persecution brought an end to their language and much of their cultural heritage. It was one of Australia's saddest times in history. For more information on Aboriginal Tasmanians

Convict Past

The first Europeans to come to live in Tasmania were convicts sent by England. They have left behind the remains of their occupation at places such as Port Arthur and in bridges and buildings around Tasmania.

Port Arthur

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Location: Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia

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Location: Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia

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Location: Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia

Convict built bridge at Richmond

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Location: Richmond, Tasmania, Australia

Convict built bridge at Ross.

I wonder if your can work out why I like the name of this town? 🙂

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Location: Ross, Tasmania, Australia

 

Tasmania lies about as far south of the equator as Iowa is north of the equator.

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This post was one off my 100th Extended Comment post. As the 101st post, Year 4 will be receiving a copy of “Wombat’s Secret” book, two small souvenirs from Potoroo Palace (where I have taken many animal photos) and some Australian animal postcards.

Cerys is a Year 4 student from N.L. school in the U.K. She presented a story as part of the 100 Word Challenge. Having a distinct Australian flavour, I thought I would prepare an audio presentation of her introductory sentences.

 

This video clip is not to be copied. It is based on Cerys's writing.

These are her opening sentences...

Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a girl. She lived in the forest.

She heard something. It sounded like the thump of bounding kangaroos, the laugh of the kookaburra, rustling leaves under the slithering snake and there was another sound. The faint chirp of the cricket rattled on. Dark ravens circled.

Trying not to be tangled by the strong creepers, she pulled out her sword slicing ever so slightly to the enchanted steps. At the bottom of the steps she turned left and then she heard it.

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NUMBER 100: As the recipient of my 100th Extended Comment, Mrs. Yollis and class will be receiving a copy of “Wombat’s Secret” book, Bruce the Wombat, a Potoroo Palace souvenir (where I take many animal photos) and postcards of New Zealand including Mt. Cook mentioned in this post.

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To view the original post from Mrs. Yollis and class...

National Geographic's Giant Map of Asia

Dear Mrs. Yollis and class,

Your map is most certainly not the size to put up on a wall in class.  🙂

When looking at your map of Asia, the continent closest to Australia, it made me think of the long history of the various cultures of Asia, the diverse landscapes, and the interesting people who have added so much to our world. I know my family can trace some of my ancestors back to Asia as would be true for so many of us.

Looking at the map, it also made me consider what has often been called the Indian Subcontinent. Perhaps some of you have heard of continental drift? It’s where the surface of the world is really a series of “plates” floating on the magma (lava) layers below the surface. Scientists call the plates, tectonic plates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics

India is on a separate plate to much of Asia, as is much of what many call the Middle East. Over many millions of years what was thought to be one large mass of land has broken up with sections drifting away. Some call that ancient land mass Pangaea. Here is a Wikimedia Commons graphic of Pangaea showing the positions of where today's tectonic plates might have been.

Pangaea continents

This is a Wikimedia Commons graphic.

For more information about Pangaea, here is the Wikipedia link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangaea

According to Wikipedia, Pangaea started breaking up about 200 million years ago.  At that time, what was to become India was closer to Africa, Antarctica and Australia. India’s plate broke away and headed north eventually running into the Eurasian plate where we see it today. It’s this very slow collision of the plates that caused the great mountains of the Himalayas to rise, including Mount Everest.

I have read the Himalayas are still rising at about 15mm (0.6 inches) a year. It may not sound like much but, over 10,000 years, that would be 150,000 mm or 15,000cm or 150m (that is about 6000 inches or 500 feet).

Don’t you love the numbers involved? A small amount can, given time, become a big amount.

If you look at the following picture from Wikipedia, you can see the positions of the modern tectonic plates. You will see you’re on the North American plate and it is pushing along the Pacific plate. You would all know one of the places where this is happening. Have any of you seen the San Andreas Fault?

Plates tect2 en

This is a Wikimedia Commons graphic.

Looking at some of your buddy classes in “Our World, Our Numbers” you can see Canada is also along the same plate border with you. Your New Zealand buddies are also on a border but their border is between the Australian and Pacific plates. Your Australian and United Kingdom buddies aren’t on the border of their plates.

Imagine, without this movement we wouldn't have magnificent mountains like New Zealand's Mt. Cook...

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Location: Mount Cook, New Zealand

Here are two videos showing information about plate tectonics. The first link is to an easy to understand animation.

http://www.makemegenius.com/video_play.php?id=138&type=0

The second video gives extra, harder information…

This embedded You Tube clip is not my video.

@RossMannell

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This post was one off my 100th Extended Comment post. As the 99th post, the school will be receiving a copy of “Wombat’s Secret” book, two small souvenirs from Potoroo Palace (where I have taken many animal photos) and some Australian animal postcards.

Dear Riley,

Like you, I love animals and nature. I have many photos from insects and other small creatures up to large animals.

All of the photos appearing on this post were taken by me. Schools and students have permission to use them for non-commercial purposes. This means I am letting schools and students use these photos in their school work.

I have created a post for you so I can re-show a number of animal pictures appearing in assorted posts on this blog...

This is a photo of a female swamp wallaby (marsupial mammal). She thought I might have some food for her. The photo is one of my top favourites because she seems to be smiling at me. 🙂

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Eastern Grey Kangaroo (marsupial mammal). He stood nearly 6 ft (175cm) tall.

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Location: Bournda National Park, N.S.W., Australia

"Blinky" is a male koala (marsupial mammal) living at a local animal sanctuary named Potoroo Palace.

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Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Suzie is Potoroo Palace's female koala (marsupial mammal). You can see females have a much whiter front than males.

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Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Leaf curling spider (arachnid). You can see its legs at one end of the leaf.

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Location: Bournda National Park, N.S.W., Australia

If we take the time to look,  spiders can be beautiful.

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Location: Bournda National Park, N.S.W., Australia

This painted lady butterfly (Lepidoptera) was trying to warm itself one morning.

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Location: Bournda National Park, N.S.W., Australia

The blue-tongued skink (lizard) isn't fast moving. I have found them in my garden.

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Location: Bournda National Park, N.S.W., Australia

The kookaburra whose call sounds like it's laughing.

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Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Magpies can sometimes be aggressive. Although most don't, some birds swoop down on people and animals they think are threats. This one didn't seem to mind me taking a photo.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

Australian Wood Duck - One of our prettiest native ducks, this is a male

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Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Corellas - Corellas can arrive in large flocks but in this case three arrived on one of my trees

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Location: Merimbula, N.S.W., Australia

Crimson Rosella - Their call is like a single not from a piccolo

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Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Emu - not quite as large as an ostrich. Did you know the male ostrich looks after the young, not the female?

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Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Wombat (marsupial mammal) - They are not normally out in the day. They prefer dusk and night but I saw this guy while hiking one day.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Yellowpinch, N.S.W., Australia

The black-headed python is non-poisonous.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Alexandra, a volunteer at Potoroo Palace, hows visitors "Olivia" the olive python. Being a python, Olivia is non-poisonous. On my hikes, I have seen three very poisonous snake, the red-bellied black snake, the brown snake, and the tiger snake but I don't have any photos at this time.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Rainbow Lorikeet - These birds live on flower nectar. With such a high sugar diet, they are very noisy and a little crazy when they visit my garden.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Echidna or spiny ant eater (Monotreme mammal) - Like the platypus, the females lay eggs from which the young hatch. The mother's have glands on their skin that can secrete milk. Just like all mammals, the young have milk to drink. I once found one of these guys in my garden and have seen them a number of time in the wild.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Location: Potoroo Palace, N.S.W., Australia

Mammals are divided into three groups.

Monotremes - such as echidna and platypus - are egg laying mammals

Marsupials - kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats and many others -  they are the pouched animals. Marsupials are born very small and make their way into the mother's pouch where they feed and grow until large enough to come outside.

Placentals - This group includes animals like cows, goats, horses, pigs, apes, monkeys and humans

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Dear Emily,

Thank you for your comment. So I can share some more photos (I like sharing photos and graphics of mine when I can), I found it easier to put together another post.

Schools and students have permission to use the photos in this post for non-commercial purpose. This means you can, if you wish, copy any photos for use in school work.

You asked, "What is the building in the first picture?"

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Here is the photo again. The building is the Sydney Opera House and stands on Sydney Harbour not far from the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. This photo had been taken by my brother.

The bay behind the yacht is known as Sydney Cove. It's where the first convicts sent from England in 1788 established a colony and was the beginning of European people in Australia. It wasn't until 1901 Australia became a nation, much later the the U.S.A.'s 1776. In fact, I believe the American Revolution was what made England look towards Australia as a colony so, in a way, U.S.A.'s independence from England helped establish Australia. Did you know our countries may be linked in this way?

This photo is the most recent I have but I'll share a few more I have taken over the years before we had digital photography, i.e. the photos aren't always as clear.

 

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This is my earliest photo of Sydney Opera House. I took it back in 1967 when I was a teenager and they hadn't finished building it. It was taken from the top of what was then one of the tallest buildings in Sydney but today would only be thought of as average.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

In 1988 Australia remembered the founding of the first colony of convicts sent here by England in 1788. There was a large party on the harbour with many thousands of people although the local Aboriginal (Koorie) people remember it as a time when their way of life around Sydney began to be lost. This photo was taken on the day of the celebration.

My first known relative arrived on the second fleet of ships, arriving in 1789. He was a convict named John Tucker. My last known close relative to have come from overseas was my Great Great Grandfather who arrived with his family from Scotland in the 1840s. His name was Robert Spence.

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Back in 1989, a pilot friend of mine took me on a flight up Sydney Harbour. In this photo, taken through the window of the small plane, you can see Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

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This photo across the harbour to the Opera House and Harbour Bridge was taken from the north side of the harbour while I was in Sydney's Taronga Zoo.

Now a final close up view of Sydney Harbour Bridge care of another recent photo by my brother.

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You also asked, " How did you get the pictures under water? Scuba diving? Snorkeling?"

Here is the photo again...

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While I have been snorkeling, I've never owned a camera capable of being used underwater. Checking my photo library, the only photos I had were really taken in Milford Sound, New Zealand. You will see under the photo in my first post for you I said I had to cheat a little and use a New Zealand photo. Milford Sound has an underwater observatory where visitors can see the marine creatures living in the Milford Sound waters without visitors needing to get wet. Below is a picture of Milford Sound I took in 1999. As you can see, it's a beautiful place.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Keep blogging, Emily. 🙂

B4, as part of their collaborative project, "Our World, Our Numbers" posted an image of Pancake Rocks and suggested other landmarks in New Zealand. Bradley responded to my comment. To see their original post...

New Zealand Landmarks

Dear Bradley,

In a way I did see a dinosaur at Pancake Rocks but only when watching a documentary on dinosaurs.

In 2000, BBC Worldwide Ltd. released a twin DVD set named, “Walking With Dinosaurs”. Wanting a scene for the great southern land at the time of the dinosaurs, they chose New Zealand. An ornithocheirus appeared on the rocks care of computer animation. The scene appears in “Episode 4 – Giants of the Skies”.

I have found the episode on You Tube. You should ask your teacher before viewing it to make certain you have permission. I think you will quickly recognise Pancake Rocks. 🙂

This video is not mine and should not be copied. This is only a link to a BBC You Tube video.

In reality, the dinosaurs were long gone before Pancake Rocks started to form.

You live in an amazing country, Bradley. There are so many landmarks to see. I'll share my photos of some of my favourite places in New Zealand. I think you'll know some of them.

The South Island

Pancake Rocks is also one of my favourites.

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Living on the east coast of Australia, I had seen sunrise over the ocean but my first ocean sunset was seen at Geymouth.

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Climbing on Franz Joseph Glacier was a real experience.

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Cruising on board the TSS Earnslaw on Lake Wakatipu.

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Riding on board the Kingston Flyer.

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Visiting Milford Sound.

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Walking the valley towards Mt. Cook.

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and on the North Island

Looking across Lake Taupo to the snow-capped volcanoes of Tongariro National Park.

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Visiting the Whakarewarewa thermal area and seeing the Pohutu Geyser.

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Walking down Waimangu Valley thermal area and seeing steaming cliffs and hot water streams.

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Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Exploring the volcanic crater of Mt. Tarawera. The arrow is pointing to some people on the far rim. Can you see them?

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

@RossMannell

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For A Room With a View's original post...

http://ourworldournumbers.edublogs.org/2013/03/05/topic-2-yorkshire-landmarks-uk/

Hello A Room With a View and Abbey,

I enjoyed watching your presentation on Yorkshire landmarks. It brought back great memories of my visit to Yorkshire. There was so much to see in Yorkshire and York itself. 🙂

I thought I would share some photos of two of your landmarks and a couple other places I enjoyed in Yorkshire.

This is a view of York Minster's western front taken from Precentor's Court. It is difficult to take a photo showing the entire western front without something such as a tree or building getting into the picture but I wanted to try as this was my favourite entrance.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

In order to show the full western front of York Minster, I took two photos and joined them using Photoshop.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Then there are the city gates or bars through the city walls of York. This is York's southern entrance - Micklegate Bar.

Schools and students have permission to use this graphic for non-commercial, educational purposes.

Ribblehead Viaduct is known to railway fans around the world. Being a rail fan, I had to stop and take a photo. I can imagine this being a snow covered scene in winter but this photo was taken in spring. Behind me, hikers were heading off along a trail.

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While visiting the National Railway Museum in York, I was exploring a store area open to the public. A friend here in Australia was a Harry Potter fan and asked me to photograph anything Harry. I saw a sign hanging below a girder. It simply said, "Platform 9 3/4". I suspected I was on Harry Potter's trail.

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The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a heritage railway to the north of York. Taking a ride on one of their trains, I came to the station of Goathland. It may seem a little familiar to some of you. It has been used in the "Heartbeat" TV series as well as in the early Harry Potter films when it appeared as Hogsmeade.

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 Hello Sadie,

I went through my photo library of pictures I have taken and found a couple I can share. Some were taken in The British Museum and one is of the Luxor Obelisk now found in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. You and your class have permission to use my photos if you find them of use in class work or on blogs. In each photo, you can click on it to see it enlarged.

Some photos from the British Museum

In the first photo, if you look carefully at the display two men are viewing, it looks like there are real ushabti on display.

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This sarcophagus contained the mummy of Priest Hornedjitef.

Wikipedia link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornedjitef

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 The British Museum has a number of mummies and sarcophagi from Ancient Egypt on display.

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Red sandstone relief from the pyramid chapel of Queen Shanakdakhete

Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Shanakdakhete

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If you visit Paris and go to the Place de la Concorde, you can see this obelisk on display. It is known as the Luxor Obelisk. Enlarge the photo and you can see heiroglyphs engraved on the obelisk.

Wikipedia link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor_Obelisk

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The Egypt of today is very protective of their heritage. When most museums and collectors of the world claimed artefacts, they felt the objects were the property of those who found them. The Egyptian Government wouldn't allow this to happen in our modern world.

 

Thank you for sharing your report on your visit to Tullie House. It gave me a chance to do a little research on Egyptology.

@RossMannell

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Hello Emily,

You seemed interested in Australia and what can be seen. There are many natural and human things to be seen if you travel the country

whether it's in cities such as Sydney...

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or the natural Australian locations such as a quiet hinterland pool near the Sunshine Coast in Queensland

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a beach in north-east Queensland with the Great Barrier Reef off its shores

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Cradle Mountain in Tasmania

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under its waters

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(This photo is a bit of a cheat. I realised I didn't have any Australian underwater photos in my collection. I took this in New Zealand waters. I must see if I can add some Aussie ones to my collection if I get an underwater camera.)

or even along a track in my town half way between Sydney and Melbourne

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But one thing just about all tourists want to see are the animals unique to Australia

Blue-tongued lizard - cool and smooth to the touch

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Snakes like the non-poisonous black-headed python

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Echidna (spiny ant eater) a mammal which lays eggs

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emu  - a flightless bird not quite as big as the ostrich

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kookaburra - whose call sounds like it's laughing

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kangaroos - which can bound across open land

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Koala - which spends up to 22 hours a day sleeping

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These animals can be seen in the wild as I have with most of them but for many visitors their encounter is in a zoo or animal sanctuary. Some friends run such a place near my town. I made a short You Tube clip featuring some of their animals. You can see it below.

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If you one day do come to Australia, I don't think you'll have much trouble finding things to see and do.

@RossMannell