Mike Riversdale

I couldn't stop laughing as this trail of camels slowly pondered past us on their way to carry tourists along the Broome beach. There was a guy in the UK called Johnny Morris who did nature / zoo programs for kids. His schtick was to dub in voices to the animals, and I loved it! As these camels galumph down the street I could hear, "Hur hur, we're going on a walk we are. Oooh yesss, a good long walk, hur hur" Here to you Johnny Morris 🍺

 The gorgeous primary colours of  Gantheaume Point (Broome, Western Australia)

First day in Broome at the end of our trek across the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Here we are at  Gantheaume Point staring out at the blue blue Indian Ocean against the blue blue sky whilst standing on the red red rocks. It is certainly primary colour country.

Out along the mudflats of Derby on the edge of Western Australia you can experience some quite remarkable dawn/dusk sculptures. Sculptures On The Marsh includes this one called Kimberly Ringer but I could've (and may) included Contemplation or Outback Football , both of which are very cool.

 There's the following new photo albums up for those that want to have a poke around: Albert Lee in Fun Events : Gigs In Word views : UK : Wales Monmouth over the years  Wyesham

Halls Creek is a fairly modern town in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia and the only sizable town for 600 km on the Highway. However, it's not the first attempt at a Halls Creek township. On Christmas Day 1885 prospector Charlie Hall found a 870-gram (28-troy-ounce) gold nugget at a site that would eventually be named after him. News of the discovery drew more than 15,000 people to what is now Old Halls Creek to try their luck however the gold rush lasted less than three months and the town was left with few inhabitants and little water. In 1948 an airfield was built near the site of the present town and over the next decade the old town moved nearer to this new site. Except for the police station, which was finally relocated in 1961, the old town was abandoned by 1954. Question: WHAT, or WHO, was the old police station policing for, weird! So, that's where the story of the Halls Creek towns would fade away as a small mention in a local museum if it wasn't fo...

Calm, chilled, peaceful.

The sign is on the side of the hotel that required a clean breathaliser for entry . Like you I didn't understand it, what is "humbugging" and why can't we do it? .. in Australian Aboriginal English, "humbug" is used in a general manner to refer to irritating or pestering someone. Source: Wikipedia: Humbug#Etymology

I've never been breathalised before and so it was a surprise to do it BEFORE we entered the bar. Drunk locals wanting "just one more" attempt entry apparently, this is to stop them.

Big and blue. Actually, take a look at it on a map , Lake Argyle is sooooooo much higher than this, and made by blocking up one bit.

Driving across the Northern Territory can feel like you're in the middle of nowhere when in reality your skirting around the middle of nowhere. And much like there's no darkness without light, there's no feeling of nowhere without the odd roadhouse every couple of hundred kilometres.

At a mere 20,000* years old it blows my young and fleeting mind at who the people were and how Namarrgon, the Lightning Man, has survived all that time. * that's how long archeologists and locals say they've been using the Anbangbang rocks for shelter and rituals, this might have been painted yesterday for all I know, but I suspect not.

Who's says the kids don't get out and entertain themselves anymore!

The " Adelaide River Cruises - Jumping Crocodile Experience " was the most excellent time, our guide was funny, down to earth, and very knowledgeable. This croc wasn't even the biggest, that came a little further down the river with Brutus, the 3 legged massive specimen .

If you know what sort of lizard this is please leave a comment, thanks.

Over the years I've heard of these places, "the Gaza strip", and, "the West Bank", words that describe a place somewhere in the Middle East that people live in and fight over. How big is the Gaza Strip? The west of what is the West Bank? Is this country Palestine? How many people live there? Who's the government of these places? No idea, basic actual facts about these places have never been placed before me so I'll have to go find out for myself eh ... yeah yeah, I'll do it tomorrow, stuff to do. "1 million people in Gaza have been told to move to the south." That was the moment for me. Was that a 5 minute walk, if so that sounded pointless. After an afternoon of reading the Web I have a much clearer sense of the environment everyone is suffering within. So, how long have been those in north Gaza been ordered to go? The Gaza Strip is 41 km (25 mi) long. Let's say 20-25 km, doesn't seem very far for me. Can you imagine leaving your h...

In certain parts of the Northern Territory of Australia the highways have a speed limit of 130kmh (just under 81mph).  The first time a "130" speed sign came up we thought it was a joke. Then another and not before long someone passed us at 130kmh. Ok, seems real, let's do this. It's quite invigorating travelling along at that speed, especially with cruise control on. And by god 100kmh felt slow once we hit Western Australia and had to join the rest of the slow coaches.

They assure you that rangers check the waterholes for crocodiles however I relied on the "safety in numbers" approach to crocodile death mitigation together with the assumption they'd go for the juicy young ones first.

Darwin, they had a mermaid at the playground whilst I was there. I got a photo, this is it. Note: this is a month after the green hair and it's gone already, le sigh.

Back in the day I always wanted to have purple hair so, when I went to see Deep Purple, my girlfriend at the time dyed it. Almost instantly after that I wanted another colour, green.  It took from 1985 to 2022 to be finally have green hair thanks to my mate Jo and me pulling my finger out. In between my actual hair had gone from dark to grey and hair dye doesn't stick to grey so this time I had to have a transition colour, bleach blonde. I have already bought the next colour, red, but it sits in the bathroom cabinet waiting, waiting, waiting ...

Would've made a great mascot for my mental health breakdown back in 2016.

It astounds me that from the beach at Waitārere you can, when the light is right, see Mt Taranaki which is so so far away.  It hovers over the horizon, seemingly popping out from the sea. Yes, you can also see Mt Ruapehu from the very same beach. That also blows my mind!

Sky Tower in Auckland from a particularly rockety angle 😁🚀

I don't know if I'd been drinking, having a senior moment, or am just plain dumb, but I recall sitting at the airport for ages trying to work out how to wear this face mask.

I believe it's the World Of Wearable Arts (WOW) time in Wellington as I write this so, timely. This is Axminstress  by Kate MacKenzie (2018, New Zealand), bloody fantastic eh!

Another AI story from Google's Bard : The abandoned house stood alone in the middle of a field, its windows boarded up and its roof sagging. It was a dark and forbidding place, full of secrets and shadows. The locals whispered stories about the house. They said that it was haunted by the ghosts of its former inhabitants, a family who had been murdered in cold blood. Some said that the house was possessed by a malevolent spirit, and that it would bring bad luck to anyone who dared to enter its walls. One day, a group of teenagers decided to explore the abandoned house. They had heard the stories, but they didn't believe them. They thought it would be fun to spend a night in the house and see if anything happened. The teenagers arrived at the house late at night. They climbed through a broken window and entered the dark and dusty interior. The house was silent and still, except for the creaking of the floorboards beneath their feet. The teenagers explored the house, room by room....

Wellington Stadium and a rugby date with my daughter. It was July 2022 and the All Blacks took on Ireland for a 22-32 loss . As I write we are a week before the 2023 Rugby World Cup Quarter Finals of which one is, Ireland v All Blacks. You know what happened, I don't, yet.

Sometimes, from the right angle on the right day at the right time, Wellington is absolutely gorgeous.

From dark blue to flaming orange.

The next door neighbours were having a seance and the spirit was bright and fulsome.

1, 2, 3 ... MIRAMAR!

I can't remember where I found this, but YES! UK is well along the road but not done deal, if you recognise the history, the constant messaging, the obvious end point, it can be stopped. Aotearoa New Zealand, ooooh, you've had the first of the dominoes tip over but it's so obvious it can't ... yes this is where it ends up. Reduce the budget of public services. Elimination of positions in public services, because the budget has been reduced. Complain about the decline in quality and efficiency of public services. Claim that the degradation of public services is proof of government inefficiency and so privatisation is needed.

This is a weird one that you will either dismiss within a nanosecond or, like me, cast your eyes over loving the colours, the patterns, and the hint at things unseeable.

Aaaaaand breathe out .... Relax.

It had to happen eh, a glorious sunset from the beach at Waitārere in time lapse.

Sometimes you just gotta snuggle down and wait for the world to move on.