http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/KLN/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from KLN en-us Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:55:04 +0000 Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:55:04 +0000 There dives the fur sealA sleek speeding bulletQuick as a flash he twists and he soarsSnapping at fish with sharp toothy jawsTodayrsquos entry is all about the New Zealand fur seal an occasional visitor to Coral Bay one that turns up during the colder winter months when storms down south send it scurrying northwards. The New Zealand fur seal not surprisingly is found mainly around New Zeala http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Coral-Bay/blog-433204.html A shark is a fish with really big teeth.Theyrsquoll eat you whole head hands and feet.When there hungry theyrsquoll track you down.Theyrsquoll sniff you out like a blood hound.Adrian C.I want you to close your eyes. Imagine you are swimming in water of the deepest navy with empty blue space stretching as far as the eye can see. Beams of light dance down from above. Suddenly a reflect http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Ningaloo-Reef/blog-396948.html A lobster from the water cameAnd saw another just the sameIn form and size but gaily cladIn scarlet clothing while she hadNo other raiment to her backThan her old suit of greenish black.Miss GouldSpiny lobsters belong to a group or lsquogenusrsquo named Panulirus by scientists after a mythical seaman who fell off his boat was killed by a band of ferocious Italians and his spirit forced http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Coral-Bay/blog-389524.html Today I touched the buffalobsterand the goldfisharkthe eagleopard ocelotterand the weaselark.Ken NesbittThe underwater circus theme is continuing in this blog entry last week I talked about acrobatic manta rays this time I am looking at the tiny clowns of the sea the spectacular nudibranchslsquoNudibranchrsquohellipthe word sounds exotic and strange but if you translate it into Engli http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Ningaloo-Reef/blog-385189.html Soaring on wings that cannot flyscouring the sand for lifedrifting over beds where treasures lieliving below the worldly strifeMichael R. AultIn days gone by mariners sailing the high seas caught sight of strange batlike creatures flying through the water. These monsters reached up to 6m from wingtip to wingtip and their heads were topped with a pair of giant black or grey horns. The superst http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Coral-Bay/blog-381497.html Well I am back in Australia and this is the start of a new series on the marine and land based creatures of this amazing continent and in particular of the beautiful Coral Bay on the Ningaloo Reef.Enjoy... http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Western-Australia/Coral-Bay/blog-381495.html The Wombat said to the KangarooGooday my friend and how are youI'm glad you asked said the KangarooI'm sitting here wondering what to do.I've lost me jump and got the humpSo I can't be a KangarooBoo Hoo.Mick LeighElephants are lovely guysThey're good and true and tell no lies.They don't take more than they can eatAnd always watch where they put their feet.Wayne HepburnImagine catching http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Kedah-and-Perlis/Pulau-Langkawi/blog-346160.html Is anyone out there or does no one careThe bribes nourish nothing but disgust and despair.Pongo Pygmaeus may soon disappearFrom Sumatra and Borneo without even a tear.D. Noss JrThis week I am departing slightly from the marine theme to introduce you to one of our closer animal cousins the Orangutan. This primate is found only in the jungles of Borneo and northern Sumatra in the countries of M http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Kalimantan/blog-341486.html Today the dolphins came to playI watched them jump for joyIt seemed just then they were wise old menand I a foolish boyWayne MarshalGreek mythology tells the story of a group of pirates that were thrown into the ocean by the god Dionysus. They were rescued from a watery grave by Poseidon who changed them into dolphins and made them eternal slaves to the human race.Now imagine a cow. Itrsquos http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Bali/Nusa-Penida/blog-335986.html A life on the ocean waveA home on the rolling deepWhere the scattered waters raveAnd the winds their revels keepEpes SargentFlying FishThe open ocean is a bottomless depth of the deepest blue. The landscape is featureless no rocks no waving forests of seaweed and no handy crevices to hide in if you are being chased by a ferocious predator with gnashing teeth. Dark navy water stretches as http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Northern-Territory/Melville-Island/blog-332776.html No animal is half as vileAs CrockyWock the crocodile.On Saturdays he likes to crunchSix juicy children for his lunchRoald DahlThe Australian Saltwater crocodile is an impressive beastie believe me Irsquove seen one. It was patrolling the shallow waters of a deserted beach off Cape Grenville in Far North Queensland. I was standing on dry land at the time but my next meal my bed and my t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cape-York/blog-329296.html One baby turtle alone and new. Finds a friend and then there are two. Two baby turtles crawl down to the sea. They find another and then there are threeAnonAfter a summer break I have joined a different boat the SV Argo for a new adventure sailing from the sunny climes of Australia to the even hotter and sunnier climes of Thailand. We have a crew of 21 students and 6 staff aboard all champi http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Cairns/open-water/blog-324475.html The time has come to say goodbye. After 6 months of travelling the Caribbean on Ocean Star I now have a few months off to travel back to England see my family hang out with Mrs Mott and generally enjoy some rest and relaxationI hope you have had fun hearing about my adventures and finding out a little bit more about the weird and wonderful sights of the Caribbean whether it was learning abo http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/British-Virgin-Islands/Virgin-Gorda/blog-259413.html Grandma was eaten by a sharkDad by a killer whaleAnd my baby brother got slurped upBy a rather hungry sea snailAndrea ShavickSo you think you know your sharks scary horrible teeth producing machines all set to attack Well according to National Geographic more humans get bitten by people from New York each year than by sharks. So itrsquos time to learn a bit more about these amazing crea http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Antigua-and-Barbuda/Barbuda/blog-256440.html Oh how I wish I was a fish to swim in the deep blue sea.I would swim up and down and all around in laps of two or three.There would be no rules to followall fun down here.On land rules are troublea real pain in the rear.K.B. ButlerWhenever you swim in the Caribbean whether it is over the reef in amongst the dark sunken roots of mangrove trees or above sparkling white sands you are sure to sp http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Antigua-and-Barbuda/Antigua/blog-255193.html 'Up in de hills where de streams are coolAn mullet an janga swim in de poolI have ten acres of mountain sideAn a daintyfoot donkey dat I rideFour Gros Michel an four LacatanSome coconut trees and some hills of yam Evan JonesThe plants of the Caribbean are extremely colourful with exotic looking flowers and fruits. Some of the most common species were brought by early settlers for food http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guadeloupe/Les-Saintes/blog-250598.html Worms finer for fishing you couldn't be wishingI delved them dismayed from the velvety sodThe rich loam upturning I gathered them squirmingbig fat gleamy earthworms all ripe for my rod. Robert ServiceIn the morning if you get outside early enough you will see blackbirds pull wiggling pink worms from the grass before wolfing them down hungrily. The sea is also home to worms of all descriptio http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Saint-Lucia/Soufri-re/blog-246386.html I must go down to the seas again to the lonely sea and the skyAnd all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her byAnd the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shakingAnd a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.John MasefieldI started sailing around on Ocean Star in September but have never really introduced you to her properly so I thought I would take this http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Saint-Vincent-and-Grenadines/Grenadines/blog-243878.html Irsquod like to be under the seaIn an octopusrsquos garden in the shade The BeatlesThis semester as I travel around the Caribbean I am going to be posting blogs on some of the weird and wonderful creatures and the exotic vegetation I see along the way. Today Irsquom starting with the lsquoCommon Octopusrsquo although believe me there is nothing common about this bizarre animal.If you http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/blog-240014.html I hope you had a great Christmas and holiday and are now back at school raring to go for 2008. I travelled to Puerto Rico over Christmas. We visited the island of Culebra also known as one of the lsquoSpanish Virgin Islandsrsquo for a bit of a break and to do some diving. Culebra is a tiny little place with only about 2000 residents. Everyone knows everyone so when we found ourselves wit http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Puerto-Rico/Culebra/Dewey/blog-236508.html