Going to Boulders Beach with all the penguins was a fun experience for the boys.





There were lots of nesting penguins and they are more agile than you think, jumping between the rocks on the beach (notice how the penguin below is airborne).



They sit on their nests until the eggs hatch.



and they stay with the young ones after they hatch too.



And once in a while a seagull gets lucky and steals one of the eggs.




There are hundreds of them on the beach.





And they are right next to the path.





The whole area was covered in smoke from a massive bush fire up in the hills, so our eyes were watering and hurting by the end of it.



Despite the smoke I still managed to get a good photo of this beautiful flightless bird.

In the evening we went to Cafe Africa. This is a nice little cafe serving authentic African cuisine in the middle of Capetown. The menu was a 16 course degustation type menu with all you can eat of food from all over Africa.

They came around to do a bit of face painting and later there was drumming and dancing from the staff.

On the way down from Table Mountain we visited Bo Kaap.

This is a predominantly muslim neighbourhood with some very colourful houses.



Great as a backdrop for photographing the most beautiful girl I know.



And also the most handsome boys.

After Kruger we flew to Capetown.

The first day we went to Table Mountain. The mountain is often covered in clouds, and with a beautiful hot day we though we'd make the most of it and head up there when we had the opportunity.

The queue getting up there with the cable car was massive, several hundred metres. We quickly learned that the queue for people who had pre-purchased tickets was shorter and also moved faster than the other queue. We quickly jumped across to the other queue and using my mobile I purchased tickets while we were still waiting.



The view from up there is amazing and the top is actually a lot flatter than I though it would be.

One evening at Hazyview we went to a local cultural village of the Shangana Tribe.





First we went to the village itself and were introduced to local food and customs.





The local witch doctor showed us some of the local medicines they used for stomach pains etc.





Afterwards we were entertained by local drumming and dancing in a large hut. Beforehand they had to warm up the drum skins to make them the right tune.



But first we were greeted by the chief of the village.















One of the dances was the boot dance which they danced in the mines of South Africa during the Apartheid.



After the show we had a very traditional and yummy communal dinner as guest of the chief.

At one of the private game reserved the owner maintains a little car museum with some very cool cars.



Especially this Ferrari 335S is interesting. If it is the real thing then it is one of only five ever made where the last one sold at an auction was sold for more that 30 million pounds.

One morning when it was raining at Hazyview we went to the local Reptile Park.

They had a large display of snakes and other reptiles, and also some interesting talks such as about Poisonous snakes.

One of the snakes they showed us was the African Puff Adder, which I remember as a really vicious snake from my days in Kenya. The snake handler certainly convinced me that it is not as aggressive as I thought by walking bare feet past it when it was all curled up really to attack.

Towards the northern end of Kruger there is a wildlife rehabilitation centre where injured animals are cared for before returned to the wild.

Some are unfortunately in a condition where they can never be returned and these are used for educating visitors on wildlife issues.

The guide on our tour around the centre was truly amazing, very funny and very knowledgeable.

Angry Lioness:



Leopard:


Cheetah:


Chevel Cat:


Lion:


Lion with Snack:


Painted Dogs:


Hyena:


Southern Ground Hornbill:


Eagles:








Voltures:




Honey Badger:

In South Africa we did two days in the Kruger National Park.

The first day we hired a private guide to take us around in a 4WD and the second day we did a self drive.

With the guide we were lucky enough to spot all the Big 5 (Elephants, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo and Rhino). The advantage of a guide is that they are in constant radio communications with all the other cars and therefore can track the animals. On this day it was very hot and a lot of the animals were hiding in the bush and it seemed that we spotted all the animals and called it in to the other cars.



Having the private guide was a massive advantage as we could spend the time as we wanted, so we didn't spend much time on say elephants, but we did spend 45 minutes stalking a lion hoping it would get too hot under a bush and get out into the clear.

The second day we went it was raining and a lot more challenging, but we still spotted some that we didn't see the first day.

Camera wise I knew it would be a challenge to get good photos with a normal lens and didn't have the budget or justification to spend on a fast long lens. Instead all the photos in this post were taken with my 80-200 f2.8 with a 2x teleconverter. I used my tripod as a monopod and the guide was great at moving the car into spots where I had a clear line of sight (another advantage of not having to consider other passengers).

Here are the Big 5 we spotted.

Leopard:



Lion:



Rhinos:





Elephants:













African Buffalos:





And here are some of the others such as Zebras:







Hyenas:





Giraffes:





Impalas:





Kudu:





Waterbucks:



Wothhogs:





Baboons:





Monkeys:



Guinea Fowl:



African Fishing Eagles:



Storks:



Marabous:



Turtles (These ones are predators):



Weaver birds:



Chameleons:

On the first day in northern South Africa we drove the Panorama route. This is a beautiful drive up through the mountains and is full of scenic views of the Blyde River Canyon and waterfalls.

The most famous place is Bourkes Potholes.







And the Pinacle







But everywhere is full of beautiful scenery

Good news everyone...we are expecting a baby and the stork should be delivering around mid June next year.

I guess most of you guys already know by now....for the rest of you...Surprise!!

It is not unexpected as we were trying.




Now there is a busy time ahead preparing for the baby. Kims wants the baby room painted (Even though in my opinion the baby doesn't care what colour it is).

We will also need to get hold of stuff like prams etc. If there are any baby items that you can spare (especielly items such as car baby seats, pram and changing table) then we would be very grateful.

We don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet (We should know by the end of January).

yesterday it was Kim and I's one year anniversary.

We actually celebrated it on Saturday with a visit to one of Sydney top restaurants called Bilson's.

Yesterday we instead planned to have a nice evening out watching a movie in the evening. Kim was apparently waiting for me to deliver something to her office (or so her colleague said) but after work I was waiting at the car with a bunch of flowers. Kim was so excited to go out in the evening that she forgot to get off the train at our station with the result that she by accident ended up in Parramatta (western Sydney)...it took her one and a half hours to make it to the car...but fortunately the flower still looked fresh.

When we got home I spend some time experimenting with some photos and some lighting of the flowers before we went out, and here are the results. The Macro photos are taking using a 35/50mm lens reversed. The light comes from a single strobe reflected of a mirror.














The movie was really good and entertaining. We saw 2012...and it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is.

Every year in October & November there is an exhibition called Sculptures by the Sea. The city exhibits close to 200 sculptures on the stretch of coastline between Bondi and Tamarama. The public can go for a walk and have a look at the sculptures and vote for their favourits...if they are able to find parking that is.

Some of them are really good and some of them at just plain weird.

Here's some photos I took of my favourites.

It has been raining almost constantly for the past two weeks (since the dust storm really) and Andy and I had organised to go climbing in the Blue Mountains together with a friends of his (Dan) who's never been on on real rock before.

We looked a the forecast and it didn't look promising for the mountains so the night before we decided to go to plan B and go to Barrenjoey instead.

The quality of the climbing is more limited, but at least it is a shorter drive and walk-in in case you have to bail.

We arrived up at Palm Beach in the morning and the roads were still soaked in water from all the rain the night before. We therefore decided to stop at a cafe and have some breakfast and let the cliffs dry out a bit before walking in there.

While eating breakfast we were having a look at the latest radar pictures and we could see that it was pouring down in the mountains and we could see rain approaching the Sydney area.

After breakfast we were trying to decide whether we should bail or go climbing. After much procrastination we decided to climb and went to the carpark. Andy pulled out the insect repellent and started rubbing it into his genitals (or so it looked) saying that it would keep the chicks away (which I'm sure his wife appreciates)...or was it ticks.



For Dans benefit we started out on one of the easiest climbs around there called Jezebel. Andy did the first lead and as he finished we could feel the first rain drops. I then did the second climb and once I reached the top the rain became heavier. The plan was to have Dan follow me up so that he could try an absail from the top. Once he reached the top it really started pouring and all of us became drenched while setting up the absail and clearing the gear.

Dan made it down in good style (although nervous) and once I'd made it to the ground as well we quickly packed our gear and headed back home for a nice warm shower.

Mostly a non-climbing day really...but Andy did get his sugar-hit with the pancakes.

Saturday evening Kim and I went with a couple of friends to the Capitol Theatre to see the Broadway play called Wicked.

The play is about how the Wicked witch became wicked in 'The Wizard of Oz'.



The play very cleverly provides the background for the Wizard of Oz.

This was Kims birthday present to me earlier in the year...satisfied the criteria for presents: Must be an experience or a consumable.

It was a really nice evening and the play was very funny...especially the Wizard of Goodness (a real blonde)

The last 24 hours has been the most freak weather I've (and anyone else) has experienced in Sydney.

Yesterday we had 30 degrees during the day and in the evening a huge thunderstorm descended upon Sydney with massive rainfalls and very high winds. Kim found that water was dripping through ceiling and my first though was "This ain't good" and rushed up to check if there was a hole in the roof tiles or in the plumbing (if you see one of the previous posts then you'll notice that we've installed Solar hot water and this system is positioned above that same bathroom).

I could clearly see where the water had come in, but it wasn't through any gaps and it seemed that the strong winds had pushed the water backwards and upwards under the tiles...whew...but I'll have another look next time it rains.

Then this morning I woke up and looked out the window and everything was covered in a bright red and yellow haze and it was blowing a gale. I had a look at the forecast and stuck my head outside the window and it turned out that all of NSW was encapsulated in a massive dust storm with fine red dust coming from the Australian outback.



Everything outside is now covered in this fine dust, cars, windows...everything.

One of out friends too the following photo from his balcony:



The area covered by the dust is huge and apparently it may even reach New Zealand.

This weekend we invited a group of my friends over for BBQ.

The official excuse was for my recovery after my Hernia surgery (which is still causing me some grief some days).

It was a beautiful spring day with 31 degrees in the shade and luckily I had put up a gazebo outside to cover the area and provide a bit of shade.

Most of the day I was attending the BBQ cooking Lamb Cutlets, Fish, Prawns, Vietnamese Sausages and Chicken skewers.

The last batch of chicken skewers I forgot on the BBQ with a very predictable result.



In the evening we had Kim's family over for dinner/BBQ, so a repetition of the afternoon.

This weekend we went to Sasha's and Mavis's wedding.




Family and friends were invited to attend the ceremony at Greenwich at 10am. The location they had chosen had a stunning view of Sydney Harvour and skyline.

When we arrived neither the groom or the bride were there. Approximately 20 minutes later the bride arrived, but still no groom, so she did another round in the car.

Finally at 10.30 Sasha arrived with his dad after having been stuck in traffic, shortly after Mavis arrived in her beautiful wedding dress and the ceremony could get under way.



It was a beautiful ceremony, beautiful location and beautiful weather.

After the ceremony it was photo time.

The reception was at a restaurant called Occilate Wildly in Newtown. The food was nice and at the end of the afternoon everyone went on their way.

During the trip Kim took a number of videos using her compact camera. Here are the best ones (Click on the links to download the videos):

Denmark:

Knights Fighting
Firing Weapon

Italy:

Verona
Aida the Opera 1
Aida the Opera 2
Aida the Opera 3
Aida the Opera 4
San Gimignano
View of Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre from the boat
Driving to Portofino
Portofino
View of Lake Como
Lake Como from the Boat
Driving on mountain roads
Cow (Dont kill the cow)
Switzerland

The week before we went away on holiday I experienced pain in the pelvic area. I quickly got it diagnosed with ultrasound to be a hernia. Furtunately it could wait until we came back from holiday to be fixed although it was giving me some problems along the way carrying suitcases etc.

As soon as we came back I went to see the specialist and he told he that it would have to be fixed with surgery and that he could schedule it for the following week.

In the morning of the surgery I had to be at the hospital at 6.30am in the morning. Surgery started at 9am and by 11am I was awake again released at 1pm.

So it terms of the surgery it was very smooth...but it was very painful afterwards. I had problems standing up and sitting down.


This photo was taken two days after the surgery:



The cut is 13cm long and at this point I am still very much in pain.


The feedback from the doctor was that this was an Indirect Inaugural hernia and apparently the type that can cause a lot of problems later on if not fixed.

Unfortunately part of hernia surgery is that they have to cut some of the nerves so that they don't get caught in the mesh they use to repair it with.


This means that now two and a half weeks after the surgery there is still a large area around the cut that has got no sensation to touch or pain and some areas are hyper sensitive with the result that even the lightest touch is painful.

I hope the eventually all the sensation returns to normal (apparently in 25% of the cases this doesn't happen). I also hope that the scar won't be too bad and will mostly disappear long term.

New Years eve this year was celebrated on the Lawn at the Botanical Gardens near the opera house. We had a nice combined view of the fireworks in the city, on the harbour and on the bridge. We were there with a group of friends and and we brought picnic blankets and food to eat.

The 9pm fireworks were a bit disappointing compared to other years but the midnight one was really good. This year they use the whole area, so simultaneously fireworks were being fired from the harbour, the bridge as well as the high rise buildings in the city.



Fireworks are illegal to buy and sell here in Australia, so instead the city (and most other cities) instead put on large firework displays. This means that you every year get professional firework displays instead of the sporadic stuff you get in other countries where people themselves buy it.

Besides, if firework was allowed then the State Emergency Services would be spending three weeks after New Years Eve fighting bushfires every year. Click here to Download video of Firework Display #1
Click here to Download video of Firework Display #2
Click here to Download video of Firework Display #3
Click here to Download video of Firework Display #4


Click here to see more photos from New Years Eve

In September 2006 I went on a business trip to Tokyo along with a colleague of mine Tsukada-san.

Most of the trip was hard work and very long days, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos here and there.

We did get the deal in Tokyo, so the trip was worthwhile, and we are now installing our solution across all of Asia.







Click here to see more photos from: Tokyo/Slideshow

In Mid 2006 I went to a work meeting in Krabi in Thailand.

This happens to be a few kilometers away from one of the best rock climbing destinations in the world. So, after the meeting I took a few days off to go rock climbing.

Kim happened to be travelling in the Northern part of Thailand with some friends who had to leave on the same day my meeting ended. Kim flew down to Krabi where I picked her up at the airport.

Unfortunately it was rainy season, so most of the time in Railay it was raining, but we did manage to get one day of climbing done and the rest of the time we spend in the restaurants and playing cards.


Click here to see more photos from: Thailand/Slideshow

In 2006 I went to Holland a couple of time for work. We have an office in Vianen 50 milometers outside Amsterdam.

I normally don't take a lot of photos when I go there, but if you click on the link below then you can see some of the ones I did take.


Click here to see more photos from:Holland/Slideshow

In early 2006 I went a trip to Seattle for our annual kick-off event.

Some of us flew over there a few days early to go skiing in Wanatchee east of Seattle. If was a weekend of perfect skiing. It was my first time skiing so I took some lessons after which I was doing fine (blue slopes).

During the week we had lots of meetings and dinners. There were award nights as well as just social nights where we could meet up with the rest of the company.

The following all of us in International went down to Crystal Mountain at Mount Raineer to do some more skiing. It was a lot of fun and we all had a great time.


Click here to see more photos from: USA/Slideshow

Mid 2006 I went with Soeren and his family (visiting from Thailand) to Thredbo to do some skiing. We drove down there Friday night and returned Sunday night. Thredbo is located in the Australian Alps 5 hours drive south of Sydney.

Generally the skiing conditions are pretty good, but last year was pretty bad, but we did get some skiing done.


Click here to see more photos from:Skiing in Australia 2006/Slideshow

In early 2006 my Mum had a stroke while my parents were on holiday in Thailand.

A few months later in April when I was in Europe for work I used the opportunity to go and visit and check up on how my mum is doing.

She is now in a wheelchair and still getting used to finding new ways of doing things.

I didn't do much while I was there, because it was mainly a social visit to help my mum and dad.


Click here to see more photos from: Denmark/Slideshow

I have a number of photos that don't really justify being in individual albums. I have now added all these photos from 2006 into one album.

Click here to see more photos from: Miscellaneous/Slideshow

I quite regularly head up to the Blue Mountains to go Rock Climbing.

We normally camp overnight and then depending on the weather and temperature decide on the day what walls we are going climbing on. The photos in the gallery are a selection of some of the photos I've taken in 2006, but there will be more to come in 2007.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of photos of me climbing as I tend to forget to pass my camera to someone else.

Most of the time I go with my friend Sarah, but she has now moved to Canberra so she doesn't come up there as often as she used to.


Click here to see more photos from: Climbing in the Blue Mountains/Slideshow

In Mid 2006 I was in Portugal for our International Partner Conference with the company.

It was a week of being busy setting up for the conference, socialising but also a lot of fun and partying.


Click here to see more photos from:Portugal/Slideshow