Saturday, April 28, 2007

Photo Hunters - Rare


Jaymes, in a rare moment, feeding the pelicans.

I brought Jaymes with me to Gold Coast, Australia on a business trip in December 2002. On the weekend, my Australian friend Mike brought us on a cruise on his houseboat along a scenic river. It was a lovely day. Mike and his son Jared love this river. I fell in love with it too.

The water was so clear and calm. You could see lots of jellyfish in it. And schools of fishes.

There were pelicans circling above the clear blue skies and fishing in the river. Jared brought out a pail of cut fish and a box of bread crusts for the birds. Jaymes had so much fun feeding them, throwing the fish to the beautiful birds who caught them with their large beaks. You could even slide the fish down their open and awaiting beaks. We were so close to nature.

Then we anchored at the riverbank to fish. Mike showed Jaymes how to throw a fishing line and they tried fishing for our lunch. Mike and Jared then set some traps to catch crabs. They had a table and two chairs set up with a yummy Carrot Cake that Mike's wife, Brenda baked. There were 2 bottles of red wine from their vineyard, crunchy salad and roasted chicken sandwiches. We had a picnic while waiting for the fish to bait.

Jaymes was truly enjoying this rare moment of nature and with awesome guys. We don't have the chance to enjoy such a great activity in Singapore.

Jaymes waiting patiently for a silly fish .... hehehe.... the fish was too smart. 2 hours and no fish took the bait.

We did catch 4 big crabs though. We brought them back to Brenda who cooked them for dinner. The crabs tasted so sweet!

48 comments:

  1. A simple life is a beautiful life. How lovely times.

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  2. Yes, oceanskies.
    I'm looking forward to the day when I can sit down with a good book, having a picnic with my family at our dream destination.
    Soon...

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  3. So beautiful and nice, plus it reminded me of my two holidays in Australia in Perth and Tasmania. I remembered in Perth how we drove around in a rented car looking for nice restaurants at vineyards which offered a splendid view. Those lakes teeming with fish and water fowl also made our day, and of course the cool and bracing weather.

    Sigh.... I sure as hell do need a holiday soon!!

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  4. Beautiful pictures and a nice take on the theme. Hope you get your dream vacation soon.

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  5. Australia is such a beautiful and charming place. Tranquil. But too expensive lah! And the racism. haiz... was about to emigrate there, then brake suddenly.

    You sure do need a holiday. Want to try China? hehe....

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  6. Hi cindy!
    I like your rare family photo :)

    I'm planning a vacation with my son again, after his exams.

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  7. Captain Picard.
    Yes it is. A lovely place to destress and spend the day.

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  8. Reminds of my trip to Aussie. It was at Philips Island. Was there for the fairy penguins parade, we walked ard the town area and we saw an couple feeding pelicans & seagulls by the seaside. True 'nuff, its rare that this can happened in SG, perhaps only in zoo or birdparks.

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  9. Awesome! I wish I could tell stories of how I was taken places on business trips and such but alas, that has not been my life. I bet you that those pictures hold many great memoies.

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  10. A good way to enjoy life is always to blend with the nature

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  11. So beautiful..Thanks for sharing


    Hope you stop by and check out the Scavenger Hunt over at Amys Random Thoughts!

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  12. zeezee,
    Jaymes and I went to Philip Island to watch the fairy penguins parade too! It was an awesome experience!

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  13. Hi jose!
    Thanks for stopping by. Welcome.
    Indeed, I am thankful to those people who make my business trips and holidays, great times to remember. Those are very fond memories that I keep in my heart always.

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  14. Tom,
    You should try to make a trip to Australia for a holiday. It's got some really great places to explore.

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  15. yenjai,
    Yes, it is great to be in the 'arms' of nature. :)
    Bliss.

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  16. Hi amy!
    Thanks for informing me. Will check it out.

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  17. Crabbing!!! Fishing!!! The power of nature... is really so amazing. It's really good for recharging ourselves.

    Very nice trip you have there. It must be really nice to be staying onboard a houseboat. That kind of quality of life is probably to cost us millions in Singapore.

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  18. Hi Ed!
    Oh, I have a great trip there.

    Not only does it cost us millions of dollars to own a houseboat, there is no scenic river views! sigh.... concrete jungle in Singapore.

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  19. Beautiful photos! Welcome to the Photo Hunt!

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  20. Nice little memory lane trip story! Almost like a movie short. You've had some great experiences in life.. Glad to know you.

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  21. lb,
    Yes, in the future I shall shoot a video and do a Vlog. hehe....

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  22. That is so neat. Such a great experience for you both.

    Welcome to the Hunt.

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  23. What beautiful pictures! I am sure Jaymes will remember that special day!

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  24. Pelican, eh? Feeding 'em fish? Nice pictures, ECL.

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  25. ECL, how was the catch ? Any big fish ? hehe..there's a huge jellyfish invasion here in Newport Beach around Oct/Nov each year, you couldn't eat jellyfish afterwards haha, but then again, I'll eat it again during CNY hiaks :P

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  26. Hi lauen s.!
    Thank you for dropping in. Yes, Jaymes is asking when we are going again!

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  27. Hi Bernard!
    You should take a holiday like this for Joseph too. I'm sure it will be an unforgettable holiday for Joseph.

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  28. Hi meltingwok!!!
    We didn't catch any fish, not even a teeny weeny one! haha...

    I love jellyfish and yes I usually eat them during CNY too!

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  29. What a wonderful memory he will have forever! Those pelicans are so exotic and beautiful.

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  30. Hello meeyauw!
    Yes, he misses the pelicans! It was the first time in my life I saw pelicans too. A wonderful experience!

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  31. That is so neat that Jaymes got to experience something new. It's nice when our kids get to experience new things and enjoy them. I have never seen pelicans in person myself.

    Thanks for stopping by and welcome to the Saturday scavanger hunt. It's lots of fun.
    Biker Betty :)

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  32. Hi Biker Betty!
    I think you are so cool!

    Thanks for stopping by and the warm welcome. It sure is fun getting to know more bloggers like you.

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  33. It is a great group of bloggers that participate and loads of fun. I have met many nice people.

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  34. Yes Biker Betty.
    I have met several fun and interesting photo hunters and talented too! Truly a great group of bloggers!

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  35. The carrot cake you mentioned is the cake right? Not chai tow kuay?

    I like Australia as a holiday destination because it's just a short distance away from S'pore. You don't have to travel so far (like to Europe and US) and still enjoy nature and scenic drives.

    Gold Coast, Brisbane is of course more racist than other cities lah! I love Tasmania! Like mini NZ, man!

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  36. Yes, tigerfish.

    Carrot Cake. The Western style one not Singapore version.

    I haven't been to Tasmania. Shall go next trip.... dunno when becos going China more often these days.

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  37. What a lovely memory and beautiful photos. A truly wonderful experience for you and Jaymes.
    As a transplanted Australian living in a very multicultural city now, I'm saddened to see Tigerfish's comment above, about Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
    jmb

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  38. jmb,
    You are Australian!Australia's beautiful but sadly there is some racial prejudice in the country. Jaymes and I experienced it a few times while we were there. It was scary.

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  39. Really beautiful spot. What a nice memory for you and Jaymes. Cannot remember the last time I went fishing?

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  40. simple american,
    You should bring your son on your fishing trip, this trip does leave a deep impression on Jaymes. It's really a guy thing.

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  41. Hi Heidi,
    Thanks for stopping by.
    It was indeed very fun for Jaymes and I!

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  42. Hi again!
    I wanted to finally respond to your inquiry about the three column template. Sorry it took so long.

    If interested, go to http://www.blogcrowds.com and you can pick up a free three column template.

    There were some problems: the banner is still a problem for MSIE users. I lost nothing except a lot of time. I am very fussy and left messages in the forums about the slight problems I had.

    I suggest you try it out. There are three column templates for all rounders blogger templates.

    Hope your week is going well!

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  43. Oh meeyauw!
    Thanks so much for your response. I appreciate it very much that you reply to my question despite a busy schedule.

    You really make my day! :)

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