Stan Lee at Supanova 2014
Photos from the recent Supanova event in Sydney during Jun 2014
https://plus.google.com/photos/117152776420218977218/albums/6025518511340926481
Supanova Sydney 2014
Category Archives: Social Outings
Tempus Two Concert
At Tempus Two for a fantastic evening of John Farnham and Lionel Richie! Booyah!! #lionelfarnieTT – with Christina at Tempus Two
View on Path
New Years Eve 2012 – Sydney, Australia
Newcastle Photo-Walk
On the 16th January 2011, I embarked on a photo-walk around Newcastle with my girlfriend and her daughter with ten themes to photograph (and one photo to submit of my own choice). The path was a fixed option, the themes were wide and varied, and here are the results of what I took. I hope you enjoy them.
Maitland Aroma Coffee And Chocolate Festival
Aroma Coffee And Chocolate Festival 2010
Last Day Of Summer
This was a great day to be out on the bike. Starting at Williamtown we headed down through Newcastle and past Lake Macquarie to Wyong before moving west towards Kulnura, where we stopped for lunch at Jerry’s Diner. A huge burger later and I was fuelled up and ready to get back on the bike. We went north through Laguna and to Wollombi along some all-too-short twisty roads, before heading back east towards home.
Sunday Bike Ride-Gloucester
It was a fine (if very warm) day on Sunday, and a few of us went out for a ride through the Bulahdelah area. Using a little app for my iPhone, I tracked where we went on this 250km ride that had us stopping in Gloucester for lunch. Some of the roads were a little rough for my little bike, but there were some very fun bits of bitumen near Wootton. We made it back mid-afternoon, just before the cooling rains fell. Not a badly spent Sunday at all.
Kualoa Ranch Hawaii
Kualoa Ranch is the site of movies like Godzilla, Jurassic Park and 50 First Dates, as well as TV shows like Lost. My day at Kualoa Ranch started early, and it was going to be a full day ahead of me.
First up was a cruise out in Kaneohe Bay to find some green sea turtles. The water was blue and pristine, a slight breeze, with the sun shining. We noticed a couple of turtles out on the sand bar, but they quickly dove away. Our boat continued out past Chinaman’s Hat (see picture right), giving the opportunity for some great photos of the surrounding scenery. On the way back the boat slowed by one of the reefs, and there one of the sea turtles popped his head above the water. Another one close by did the same, giving me a close view of these amazing creatures. I was going to be even more surprised later that day by one of these…
My second tour was through the gardens and around the fish pond (Molii Pond). We had the chance to see some of the local flora (most of it brought to the islands by the Polynesians) including fruits and flowers. A boat ride around the pond gave insight into how the early Hawaiians lured fish into the pond through a series of gates built into an 800 year old volcanic rock wall. The dock we departed from and returned to had been used in Lost (season 2 I believe, but I’ve never watched the show) to moor the submarine used in the show. The submarine was blown up, along with part of the dock. It was then back for a buffet lunch and a cup of Kona coffee (make that two).
The third tour straight after lunch was an offroad tour in a six wheel drive Pinzgauer up the mountain range (see left). It was rough, bumpy and fast, but a hell of a lot of fun! There were some amazing views from up there of Kaneohe Bay as well as Kaaawa Valley (where the Gallimimus stampeded in Jurassic Park). It was a mad dash back down the hill to make the final tour. 
This was the Ranch and Movie Tour, and took us around the back of the range we had just driven up. The end of the range (closest point to the ocean in the photo) housed the bunkers for Army Command back in WWII. This was later used in the movie Pearl Harbour, and inisde contained history of the movies in the location including:
Mighty Joe Young,
Jurassic Park,
Tears Of The Son,
50 First Dates,
Pearl Harbour,
George Of The Jungle,
Lost TV Series,
Windtalkers,
You, Me, and Dupree, and
Godzilla.
From there it was down into Kaaawa Valley itself to see the locations first hand. We stopped at the log from Jurassic Park that Sam Neill and the children hid behind, where Adam Sandler waited for Drew Barrymore each day, the plane landed in You, Me And Dupree, and Nicholas Cage ran across the battlefields of Windtalkers.
The day didn’t end there though. It was off around Kahana Bay to Laie Point for some very cool rock formations and a beautiful view back the way we had just came. The drive around the island continued past Shark Bay and Turtle Beach where I was fortunate enough to finally see a Green Sea Turtle up close, and I mean close. He was sunning himself on the beach, and you could get within a metre of where he lay. Exciting stuff! Then it was back to the house for a quiet night in after a huge day out.
Hawaii Big Island
New lava flowing over old lava
My second weekend in the Hawaiian Islands was spent on the largest of the island chain, known as the Big Island. This is the home of lush rainforests, lava flows, earthquakes, Kona coffee, and the largest island mountain in the world.
We flew from Honolulu to the Big Island on Friday 8th May, landing five hours after a minor earthquake shook the island. A quick trip up the coast from Hilo led us to some beautiful lush jungle and coastlines. We then drove up to the Volcano National Park where we were staying for the next two nights, minutes from the rim of the crater.
Saturday morning was an early start as we headed up the coast to the home of the Kona Coffee that I love so much. I managed to sample a cup of 100% pure Kona, which was a lot smoother than the 10% blend I’ve enjoyed previously. Anywhere that looked interesting on the way, we stopped to check out: Black Sands Beach, Green Sands Beach, South Point (the most southern part of the United States), Captain Cook’s Monument, The Painted Church, The Kona Coffee Museum, and anywhere the scenery was breathtaking. Which was often.
We returned back to the cabin to change out to jeans and covered boots for our lava viewing extravaganza that night. We made our way to Kalapana, which was outside the Volcano National Park, and parked the car. It was a short trek out over lava fields to the site, and in the distance we could see steam rising from the ground where the laval flow travelled. There were quite a few people in the viewing area, and I found a spot where I could set up my camera. I used my bag as an improvised tripod, set up my 400mm lens, and using the new camera’s live view, framed my shot. The live view saved me trying to lean down and look through the eye piece to frame shots. I attached the remote shutter release, and then just watched to lava hit the water, pressing the button anytime I saw something spectacular. I pressed that button a lot.
While there I got talking tot he couple next to me, giving them a few tips on how to use their Canon DSLR. I even lent them my 24-105mm to make shooting a bit easier. They were still using the kit lens with the camera, so the one I gave them was a welcome temporary upgrade. Nearby someone overheard our conversation, and asked where I was from in Australia. I discovered he had been at the same ANZAC Day dawn service as I just two weeks before, and had also been out at South Point earlier that day, remembering my bright green and gold shirt. He is also going to be in Washington DC at the same time as I will be in a week. Small world.
Once I had my fill of night time lava, we drove back to the Halema Umau crater to view the open crater at night. I took a number of long exposure shots before the rain set in. I had the imperssion of a blacksmith’s furnace looking at this phenomenon at night.
Our last day was going to involve a lot of driving and walking. We drove down Chain Of Craters Road towards the coast. There were a number of stops along the way showing recent lava fields and craters, as well as older craters well covered with vegetation. At the edge of the cliff face a magnificent vista spread out before us (through the vog – volcanic fog), and the flows of lava could be clearly seen below like black rivers leading to the ocean. We drove to the end of Chain Of Craters Road where the flow of lava covered the road ahead (see pic right). A trek over the flow revealed an alien and interesting landscape, before we reached the end and had to turn around.
There was also a walk out to a collection of petroglyphs about a kilometre off the road. These were markings engraved into the hardened lava rock by native Hawaiians, and it was amazing to see how far from anywhere they were. Looking around all that could be seen for miles was rock, and it made me wonder what made the natives come here to this one spot to leave their mark. This was our last stop in the Volcano National Park, and from here we headed back up the road to the park entrance, and on to Hilo to see the local waterfalls. We stopped at Akaka Falls firstly, which was an amazing waterfall simply due to the height of it. Our last location was Rainbow Falls in Hilo itself, as well as the Boiling Pots nearby. After climbing over the rocks, it was time to head to the airport, and back to Oahu.
Honda CBR600RR Jenolan Caves Ride
This post is a little overdue, but with preparations for my trip to the US, I didn’t get around to following up my Jenolan Caves ride.
The day started with perfect weather, and three of us met up at a local cafe for a coffee and breakfast before making a move. My counterparts were on a Triumph cruiser and a Suzuki GSXR1000. Traffic was a little heavy heading up Bells Line Road, but was thin enough by the first twisties that I was able to have a little play. I had the utmost confidence going into the 35 and 25 km/h corners, more so than I’ve ever had on the older bike. Taffic got heavy again from there, but we moved past most of it before hitting the smooth ashphalt of Mount Tomah. The brakes were hardly touched at all, as the engine managed to pull me up most of the time once the throttle was released.
The ride down into the caves themselves was a slower affair, with the narrow roads and loose gravel giving me a cautious outlook. At some places there was only enugh room for one car, and I’d hate to round a corner to meet a situation like that at pace. Call me a girly girl, but I didn’t want to write this beautiful machine off in its first real ride, nor did I want to see how far down it was over the edge.
The Jenolan Caves themselves were magnificent, with our tour taking us through the Lucas Cave. We were in there for about an hour, and I’ll have a gallery showcasing this phenomenon once I return from overseas. The ride home was as fantastic as the ride out there. I made a brief stop on the way home to take photos of the scenery and came across three riders on the side of the road. Unfortunately one of them on an Aprilia had a siezed engine, and they were awaiting a tow. I stayed for about 15 minutes chewing the fat and talking bikes before heading off again to catch the other two riders down the road for a coffee.
Once coffees were down (and Graham had finished his $15 pastie), we conducted a fuel check. The GSXR was on reserve, while my bike was about 2/3rds full. I know the Suzuki had about an extra 40kms to ride than me, but that was quite a shock. I worked out that I should be able to get around 400kms out of a tank, a 30% improvement on the 2004 CBR. I’ll know actual mileage once I fill the bike up, but it’s looking pretty bloody good so far.
Writing this has given me the urge to go for a ride, but my bike is holed up in the garage on the other side of the pacific. the wait will just make the ride that much sweeter once I get back home.
Daniel Hall's Blog 
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