Sunday 12 June 2016

Southern Ocean sculpts Australian Coastline

The Southern Ocean is the southern most waters of the world’s Oceans with deep waters mainly at depths of 4,000 to 5,000 metres.  The Ocean is notorious for having some of the strongest winds and largest waves on the planet. It is also home to the largest current in the world ocean, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.


Waves crash into the Southern coastline
  

Australia’s southern coast is at the northern end of the Southern Ocean and the coastline is subjected to high energy waves which constantly batter and shape the area into stunning formations. 



The battering waves create small fissures in the rock and over time cracks form or caves are formed  that extend inland. The land is eroded due to the contant wind, rain and waves and structures like the 12 Apostles, Bay of Islands, the Grotto and Loch Ard Gorge are separated from the mainland.


  1.  Wave crashes through a crackline in the coastline

The Grotto


Razorback

Thursday 24 March 2016

Conservation Park on Mornington Peninsula

Moonlit Sanctuary is a conservation park on the Mornington Peninsula and was established by Michael Johnson who was inspired by the British Naturalist Gerald Durrell.  Michael's concept was to develop a park where people could expierence the animals that roam Australia's bushland.

From humble beginnings the Park has now grown into a very popular tourist attraction on 25 acres with wetlands, bushland and more than 30 animal enclosures.


Tawny Frog Mouth


Wetlands early development

You can wander around the park and feed some of the animals and listen to a range of keeper talks. You can also book in for a range of animal experiences.



We take tours to visit the Park on the way to see Phillip Island Penguins and combining the two makes it an amazing day of wildlife experiences. We usually include a koala and dingo experience on our tours.



The koala experience is probably the most popular


The dingo experience is also great fun


The Park has a wide range of Australian animals including our favourite the Tasmanian Devil.


The Park has a cafe and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can also book a night tour, sponsor an animal or be a keeper for a day.