Photo Gallery - AUSTRALIA
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SS Maheno Shipwreck – Fraser Island, Australia
SS Maheno was an ocean liner belonging to the Union Company of New Zealand that operated in the Tasman Sea, crossing between New Zealand and Australia, from 1905 until 1935. She was also used as a Hospital Ship by the New Zealand Naval Forces during World War I. After the Maheno was decommissioned, she was washed ashore on Fraser Island by a cyclone in 1935 where the disintegrating wreck remains as a popular tourist attraction.
Lotus Pond – Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Australia
The Lotus is one of the most beautiful flowers in the world and is revered in the East where it is a symbol of fertility, nobility, holiness and purity. It is symbolic in both Hindu and Buddhist religions as the lotus displays all of the stages of growth simultaneously: bud, flower and seedpod - the lotus is also a symbol of the past, present and future, or an individual’s progress from the lowest to the highest state of consciousness. The lotus has also been grown for culinary use for hundreds of years as the leaf stalks, young leaves, rootstock and seeds are all edible.
Rainbow Lorikeet – Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Australia
The rainbow lorikeet is a medium-sized parrot common along the eastern seaboard of Australia, in the rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. They often travel together in pairs and defend their feeding and nesting areas aggressively against other rainbow lorikeets and other bird species. Rainbow lorikeets feed mainly on fruit, pollen and nectar, and possess a tongue adapted especially for their particular diet. The flowers of the Australian native corkwood tree contain nectar that is a major part of the bird's diet, and it was in no hurry to leave this tree.
Canna Lily - Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Australia
The Canna Lily is an exotic tropical plant which has stunning foliage and vibrant flowers and can look great when mass planted. The flower colors range from red, orange and yellow or a combination of these colors. They grow in most areas of Australia in different sizes and are low maintenance. Nature intended these bright flowers to attract pollinators collecting nectar and pollen, such as the bee seen on this Yellow Canna Lily.
Dragon’s Blood Tree - Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Australia
Dragon's Blood Tree is native to the Canary Islands, off the north-west coast of Africa, and is rarely found growing naturally elsewhere. This tree was planted in the early 1900s by the director of the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens, who was an enthusiast of Canary Islands flora and made efforts to give the Gardens a tropical touch. The name of the dragon’s blood tree is steeped in mythical origins, both for its appearance as the hundred-headed dragon, as well as when cut, the tree exudes ‘dragon’s blood’, a red sap which is still used today in furniture polishes and resins.