Kakadu & Arnhem Land – a DVD review
I have subscribed to the Australian Geographic magazine for many years and enjoy the interesting and varied articles about Australia that they contain. I think that the photography contained in these magazines is brilliant. I particularly enjoy any photos and articles about birds, plants and other aspects of our wonderful flora and fauna.
Special DVD
The last two issues of the magazine have included a bonus DVD produced and presented by Sorrel Wilby. The current issue, which arrived a few days ago, included number 2 in the series and is titled “Kakadu & Arnhem Land.” It covers some of the flora and fauna of this wonderful region of the Northern Territory of Australia. Its main strength, however, is in the coverage of the culture of the local Aboriginal people. The commentary gives one a good introduction to the deep spiritual connection between the Aboriginal culture and the land we know as Kakadu.
The birds and plants of Kakadu
While this new DVD does not specifically cover the vast range of birds and plants present in the Kakadu and Arnhem Land region, it does feature quite a number of species, especially water birds, in several sections. The opening few minutes show quite an array of the birds one can see there. Several species of plants and insects are also featured but this is just a taste of the enormous range of flora and fauna that has been recorded there.
Bonus feature
A special extra bonus on the DVD is a 4 minute feature on photographer David Hancock. He has specialised in photographing the Kakadu and Arnhem Land area. His latest article “Buffalo Rising” – about buffaloes in the Northern Territory – is included in the current issue of the magazine.
Conclusion
This beautiful new DVD will certainly give people a taste of what is to be seen in the Kakadu area. The photography is beautiful and inspiring. The introduction to the spiritual and cultural heritage of the region is interesting. Overall, it will inspire people who have never visited the region to put Kakadu on their “must see” list. Those who have had the delight of already experiencing the region will feel the urge to return.
Birders wanting lots of photos of birds may be disappointed. I would like to have seen more birds featured – but then, this was not intended as just another bird DVD. Its intention was to paint a broader picture, and has indeed, succeeded in doing so.
The main section runs for 52 minutes.
UPDATE January 4th 2008: Back copies of this DVD and others in the same series are currently available from the magazine by ringing 1300 555 176 Monday to Friday during office hours (Australian time).
Update Nov 2013: I’m not sure if these DVDs are still available.
Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia
3 Comments »27th November, 2005; Category: Birds, Camera, Finches, Flowers, General, Photos, Plants, Thornbills
This morning we travelled down river through Tailem Bend to the small town of Wellington, South Australia. This town is near the end of the River Murray where it flows into Lake Alexandrina. From this lake it flows into the Coorong and out to the Southern Ocean.
Just east of the river at Wellington is the Pangarinda Arboretum. This consists of a plantation of Australian native plants established over a decade ago by local members of the Australian Plant Society (APS). The plantation has been planted in sections to represent different plant regimes from different parts of Australia.
Today’s gathering of members of APS was for a special Christmas lunch for members of the three local branches of APS. Members came from the Murray Bridge, Parrakie and Karoonda groups. Also present were members of the family of Ross Foreman who celebrates his 80th birthday tomorrow. Ross and his late wife Pat have been long time members of APS and they have freely given hundreds of volunteer hours of work to the arboretum. After cutting the birthday cake we all moved to another section of the plantation for Ross to open the Foreman Gazebo. This looks over the arboretum to the east and the river to the west.
After the ceremony we all wandered around the plantings looking at the many flowering plants. Some had finished their spring flowering but others, like the banksias, were resplendant in a variety of shapes and colours.
The bird watching was quite good too, with 22 species recorded, despite all the people wandering around. I managed to get some very good flower shots and one good photograph of a thornbill. The following is a list of the birds seen:
White Faced Heron
Pacific Black Duck
Nankeen Kestral
Swamp Harrier
Black Kite
White Ibis
Rock Dove
Peaceful Dove
Crested Pigeon
Galah
Elegant Parrot
Singing Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
Magie Lark
Australian Magpie
Yellow Rumped Thornbill
Common Starling
House Sparrow
Common Blackbird
European Goldfinch
Willie Wagtail
Welcome Swallow
Yellow Rumped Thornbill
One of the members who regularly does volunteer work there reported to me that Zebra Finches had been breeding in the plantation recently.
Going Botanical
Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens
Yesterday my wife and I visited the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens. These gardens in the Mt Lofty Ranges are part of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and are about 15-20 minutes drive from the CBD.
It was a glorious day and just right for a walk through this delightful spot in South Australia. It was about 25 degrees Celcius, clear azure blue sky with a gentle cooling breeze just right for the exertion of walking uphill. These gardens are a feature of the eastern slopes of Mt Lofty, the highest point dominating the Adelaide skyline.
Rhondodendrons
The section we walked through is dominated by extensive planting of Rhondodendrons. These magnificent plants were mostly out in flower and made a dazzling display in the Australian bushland surrounding them.
The forest we walked through was dominated by an introduced bird unfortunately. I love the call of the Common Blackbird, but when it drowns out the calls of our lovely native species it is disappointing. I must have seen and heard over 50 of this species in the hour and a half walk.
Other species included a small flock of Yellow-Tailed Black-Cockatoos, several Grey Fantails, a single Eastern Spinebill and many Crimson Rosella parrots. In the upper section of the park the only bird I managed to photograph was a Grey Currawong, too busy searching for his afternoon snack under the bark of the nearby trees to worry about my camera clicking away.
Grey Currawong
After our walk we drove down to the lower section to have afternoon tea in the lakeside picnic grounds. Here I was able to get many good shots of a Black Swan,
Black Swan
a single Magpie Lark,
Australian Magpie Lark
several Eurasian Coot, Pacific Black Duck and many Wood Ducks.
Australian Wood Duck
The Hoary Headed Grebes out in the middle of the lake were too far away to get good photos.
Mt. Lofty Botanic Gardens