Northern Lights

Sunny conservatorium
Originally uploaded by Petra Bos.

In March this year Adelaide hosted the Northern Lights festival. Several historic buildings on North Terrace were transformed into paintings made out of light. The display changed every few minutes. It was amazing!

Kangaroo Island

Hello there
Originally uploaded by Petra Bos.

Before my parents left Australia again we made a trip to Kangaroo Island. Years ago, Sylvia and I had visited this island just South of Adelaide and I remembered it as one of the highlights of our Australia travels. It didn't disappoint this time either!

Unfortunately just weeks before our trip to K.I., there had been some massive bushfires and large parts of the island had gone up in flames. It was astonishing to see how big the area of the fires actually was and how much of the national parks was burned down. Bushfires are however, essential for the Australian forest to survive. Seeds of some plants actually need the heat of a fire to be able to support new growth! And it was indeed amazing to see how quickly new growth was already picking up again on the island.

The amount of wildlife on Kangaroo Island is amazing. Kangaroos, possums, wallabies, seal and sea lions a plenty. Koalas are even eating themselves out of habitat! It is an amazing place to get to see some of the Australian wildlife up close and personal. We definitely won't forget New Year's Eve 2007: on the beach surrounded by sea lions and 47 degrees Celsius!

I haven't even mentioned the scenery of KI yet; have a look at the photos to see for yourself...