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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺)

@givemespacetravel.bsky.social

170 followers 22 following 1.9K posts

Traveller, bad photographer, lover of polite discourse. Conspiracy Theories not so much :) I have a travel channel on YouTube for our various wanderings within Australia and the world. https://youtube.com/@givemespacetravel-bg8td?si=np1XxcHSMs37gpW-

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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 1d

Gee, you are making me feel embarrassed 😳 Thanks. I may never have the chance to improve on those.

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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 1d

OK, so not only have I been updating everybody about Public Transport network upgrades in a city that most people have never heard of, but I am still working on Youtube Videos.

The next New Zealand vid of Series 4 is up. Find it at

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aao9...

#travel #newzealand #wellington

Series 4 : EP6 : Ferry, Funicular, Space Place - Picton to Wellington via Cook Strait

YouTube video by GiveMeSpace Travel

www.youtube.com

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 1d

This is the best I managed of a Lilac Breasted Roller in flight. Not good but you just need to maximise your opportunities to get good shots

Poor shot of the extended wings of a Lilac Breasted Roller. A beautiful bird among a continent of beautiful birds (Africa)

Potentially a better shot, but as always, not showing its 'better' side. A bird this stunning should be rare but they aren't. In two weeks in Botswana I saw more than twenty.

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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 1d

When you see one 'in person' their wings seem to have a glossy sheen to them. I saw a few in Namibia a couple of years ago then quite a lot in Botswana recently. I tried for ages to get one in flight, but no luck. They are so quick. Easy to get perched because they sit in one place for ages.

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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 1d

But wait, there's more! Had a look at the bus interchange area and parking. Never know when I might need to use it.

The Bus Interchange complete with playground. TransWA buses serve country towns across the state as we have very little country passenger rail.

The actual bus interchange. This would be for metro buses as well as TransWA country ones? I'll have to give it a try.

Lots of car parking for commuters plus vacant space for even more.

This single track non electrified line serves Bunbury and the south west. You can see one of the new shopping centres in Byford on the left. Its about 5min walk along the dual use path from the station.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 1d

Testing out the newly re- opened local train line today. Has been closed for two years for a massive re- build, mainly to remove level crossings. It also extends further south to Byford, an area with massive population growth about 10km south of the old terminus at Armadale

Platform of the new elevated Armadale station. Doesn't look much but the new station is very nice.

Cycleway along the new section of line. If the have connected all the sections then its about 100km long up the Yanchep.

New Byford station. Very nice. It's a train/bus interchange. A lot of the older stations were 'budget' but this and the new Armadale station are pretty up market.

Dome Cafe, Byford. Domestic is a WA Cafe chain sort of like Starbucks but better. Decent coffee, reasonable food and often in great locations. There are a few outside WA as well. I've been to one in Hobart faces Mt Wellington.
Forced myself to go in and get a coffee and a slice of their delicious carrot cake. Considering I had to pay $2 AUD to park the car at my local station and $0 AUD to ride on the train (I have a Seniors Pass) It's a hard life 😀
BTW, I went to the main station for our area, Kelmscott, and the car park was completely full. Not bad after a 2 year line closure.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 1d

Very nice! I have some poor shots of the upper wing surface and better shots of Rollers sitting on termite mounds but I like this shot a lot. 😀

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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 2d

So, which of these stars were discovered after 1961?

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 2d

Always an excuse to take a trip to Africa. Plenty in Botswana as well as a gazillion other beautiful birds. Oh plus zebra, elephants, giraffe etc.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 2d

Their wings are absolutely beautiful, but very, very difficult to get a shot of due to the way they fly. I just spent two weeks failing to get a good shot. Wonderful just to see them though.

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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 2d

Many people don't realise we have temperate rain forest in Western Australia, and not a small patch either. It's one of my favourite parts of the state.

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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 2d

OK Blueskyers, back to shameless self promotion again. The first video in the 2025 Africa series is up! Haven't even been back a month! New Zealand is not forgotten. I have the next video in that series in production at the moment.

#travel #Africa #Benin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci3b...

www.youtube.com

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 3d

Working away on videos. Hopefully there will be the first Africa one tomorrow and then a New Zealand one later in the week. I'll post links when they are done. In the interim, some misc pix.
#woodwork #coffee #africa

A Jarrah burl bowl is had to fix. Bought it years ago in Nannup. Battery leaked and damaged it. Sanded back and waxed for another 20 years of holding keys etc.

Can't get fresher coffee than this. Pods are not ripe yet. Nice little earner for farmers in Bonkro, Ghana. Its a great cash crop for them.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 4d

At least they have a king with some kind of a clue of what he's doing, even if his mum was a hard act to follow. Anyway, all this 'no kings' stuff in the US is just because they don't want to use one of the 'D' words, coz that's what they have.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 6d

Oh, and another thing. In this area the flowers can give you a beating. This Trigger Plant (Stylidium sp) lures insects in with its shape and probably IR/UV patterns. When they alight it conks them on the back with a pollen covered club. This one was not happy and took some persuasion.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 6d

And finally, some more wildflower pix and I see they are setting up the local Kelmscott Show. Fireworks tonight and fairy floss tomorrow. I might enter the photography competition next year. Waddaya think?

Don't know what these are. Each flower is only about 4mm wide.

A 'Granny's Bonnet', species unknown. Pea like flowers like this are very common in south west Western Australia and mostly belong to the genus Gastrolobium. They tend to be very toxic as they accumulate monoflouroacetate. This turns out to be a good thing because a poison called 1080 is based on the same compound. It kills feral animals such as foxes and cats but local carnivores such as Quolls are not affected.

Calothamnus quadrifidus, the One Sided Clawflower. Very common and very showy. Its common to see large stands of flower covered bushes.

About 1.5km from the reserve is proof that spring is here. They are setting up our local 'show', or maybe it's a 'fair' to you. Local arts, crafts and cooking. Livestock judging, equestrian events, vintage machinery, you name it. Fireworks tonight. We may walk down tomorrow and wander around with some fairy floss or a toffee apple. There is the state Royal Show which pretty much kicks the season off, and then the regions have their own shows. Kelmscott, Cannington and Wanneroo are suburbs that have shows due to our rural past at the fringes of the city.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 6d

More from my wildflower wander. Must remember to wear long trousers next time as I was wandering through the bush and saw my first snake for the season. A Dugite. Sorry, no pic. It did not want to hang around. Quite a good size. About 1.5m. They can be grumpy this time of year.

Smokebush. The grey is the flower. There are some small Balgas (Grasstrees) as well. Smokebush can occur in huge patches.

A Balga starting to flower. These lily relatives put up a flower spikes that can be two metres or more and covered with these small flowers. And I mean 'covered'. There are rich in nectar and attract birds, insects and tiny, mouse sized honey possums.

Balga flower spikes just about fully into flower. I did say 'covered' did I not.

Blue Lechenaultia detail. The flower colour of this species is always blue but the variation can be considerable. In this reserve there are patches of this paler blue and some more intense blue a few hundred metres away. The different shades tend not to mix. This is another plant that can cover large areas in an intense blue carpet.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 6d

Went for a wildflower wander in my local bush reserve after being away for a month in Africa. The wildflower season is coming to a close, but it's not finished yet. The different species flower at different times, so there is always something new to see.
#wawildflowers #wildflowers

A Blue Lady Orchid, Thelymitra crinita. There was a patch of about 30 plants. These are found over a wide range in the south west of Western Australia.

A Spider Orchid with my hand for scale and to hold it still in the wind. Exact species unknown. Caladenia longicauda I think.

A Spider Orchid with someone's junk on the ground. These bush reserves have been and still are used for illegal dumping. This looks like part of an old Austin or something. There was a small 4 cylinder engine block nearby. If you get caught dumping these days, expect a big penalty.

Late Cowslip Orchid showing the single, slender leaf common to Caladenias. There were some round Orchid leaves flat to the ground nearby but no flowers. Probably finished for the year. Experts can often identify an orchid just from the leaf.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 7d

Yep. But people complain that the language is too complicated and then make us even more words that aren't needed. Now let me see, it's a skeet here, a tweet there, a blart on that platform, a poot on this one, oh and a fertang over there, not forgetting the all important splart. Post will do thanks

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 7d

As a hater of silly made up words, I'll persist with calling them 'posts'.

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Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 8d

👍

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 8d

Some cars seem to have very small blinker fluid tanks. Large SUVs, Audi's and BMWs among them. I have an SUV but mine has electric blinkers so I don't have the problem of running out of blinker fluid, which I believe is expensive.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 8d

All unpacked, washing done and jet lag almost gone. Three weeks more of anti malarials. Our Okavango Gin, acquired from the small outlet at Maun Airport, made it home in one piece, despite the efforts of the woman who slung her cabin bag on top of the back hammer throw style.

Our duty free Okavango Gin plus the nice travel sleeves they supplied. Two types, Sentinel and Forager. The Sentinal is the one we have had during our travels. Crisp and clean. The Forager is a bit of a richer flavour. How do I know? The little vendor stall at Maun Airport made us a fairly generous Gin and Tonic with it to help us decide.
These bottles made it intact halfway around the world from Maun, despite a lady slinging her cabin bag on top of the pack full Olympic Hammer Throw style. Looking forward to summer 😀
I'm glad the very small airport had it's priorities right. Can't get a coffee, but you can buy local gin. Yesssss!

I presume they mean the Gin. These freeby bags are nice too.

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 8d

OOo! The trigger plants have started. Might go out and have a look tomorrow 😀

Darryl Browning (OWMC 🇦🇺) @givemespacetravel.bsky.social · 10d

I would have thought they would have picked John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) if they wanted an Italian who had actually been to the mainland. Maybe with his anglicised name they didn't realise he was Italian. Certainly seems a complicated situation.