We spotted quite a few giraffe during our time in Kruger which was always exciting. We sat for quite a while and watched this giraffe try and reach the leaves at the top. While we were waiting the other giraffe came over and he had scars all over his body. I thought it may have been from an attack by a lion or leopard, but someone said it looked more like some type of cancer - maybe someone might be able to help.

A female Kudu that we spotted when we were driving around Kruger National Park.

I have decided to join Nina on her challenge to add a flower photo a day for 365 days.

www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/

We are headed back to finish clearing out Peter's Dad's house - catch up with you all tomorrow.

Aaaaaah Loch Ness, that most enigmatic of Loch's.

And Nessie proved as stubborn as ever and didn't make an appearance to me, was I cheesed off or what!!!

Because we were based so close to Loch Ness we always seemed to end up here, I am beginning to think that all roads lead to the Loch!

This particular morning we were up at the crack of dawn, heading off to Oban, (darling husband didn't tell me it was a three hour drive and we missed the ferry to Staffa - wahhhhhhh). The fog was quite heavy, but it was only when we got to the opposite side, onto the road to Fort William, that we actually found a place to stop.

I just love this shot with the sun finding a break in the fog and highlighting the calm surface.

Mind after visiting the Loch Ness Centre and seeing how there is often underwater waves up to 40ft high, that calm surface can be very misleading!!

Also discovered that several years ago a chap WALKED the full length of Loch Ness (32 miles), UNDERWATER for charity.

I get the screaming heebie jeebies just thinking about it!!!!

Had to lie low since I posted my last photo as a clot has somehow found space amongst the scar tissue in my lungs and its causing me a bit of grief.

So, please forgive me as I am very slow at the moment in saying hello to my Flickr family.

EXPLORED NO.199

Taken in Pilanesberg Game Park. I love Waterbuck - they are the antelopes that have a target on their bottoms.

I have decided to join Nina on her challenge to add a flower photo a day for 365 days.

www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/

45 days to go - we will be leaving Australia in 13 days for our trip so hopefully I will have internet access at times so I can keep up with the challenge.

I couldn't resist taking photos of Highland cows that we spotted during our travels around Scotland and other parts of the UK.

Still got the Sound of Music buzzing through my brain!

For the first time, one can get a sense of scale with those little cars in the valley.

Actually I would call these mere foothills compared to some of the mountains further down the road, but I still wouldn't like to take a quick gallop up them!!

If one looks carefully, just above the white camper van and curving towards the right hand edge of the photo, you can see a railway track.

The Great Western Highway Sleeper Train runs on this track and it is reputed to be one of the top ten rail journey's in the World for stunning scenery.

And I am not going to argue with that statement.

EXPLORE NO. 7 1ST DECEMBER 2013

We have two more days in Kruger befor heading to Hartbeespoort to spend the night before flying out on Friday, arriving home on Saturday afternoon. The last few days have flown by.

Our Internet at the hotel runs out in a couple of hours, so we will be off the air until we arrive home. Next time we speak, we will be back in our own surroundings. Catch up with everyone soon.

I was taking some photos of some birds from a hide in Kruger National Park when I heard a splash in the water. I turned around and spotted this Hippopotamus looking at me.

Before we went on our river cruise on Saturday, the owner of the property took us on a game drive. He took us up a steep (and rocky) mountain road to the top of the hill. At the top of the hill there was a flat outcrop which offered 360 degree views of the surrounding countryside.

We have been on some very rocky roads in four wheel drives and seen some very wild countryside during our 10 day stay - what an adventure.

Closeup of a beautiful Petunia that was was growing in my wheelbarrow garden. The weather is cooling down fast now, so most of the flowers are disappearing.

When we first arrived in Kruger, we stopped near the shop at Lower Sabie and I spotted this beautiful Glossy Starling having a bath in the bird bath. Sorry for so many photos, but I couldn't decide which photos to leave out.

I have decided to join Nina on her challenge to add a flower photo a day for 365 days.

www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/

I little bouquet of Everlasting Daisies from my garden.

This is another photo from my day with Pat (Larigan here on Flickr) during our stay in Bexhill. We visited the Bentley Waterfowl and Car Museum and saw so many different species of waterfowl. Something seems to have caught their attention.

I am wishing I was back in the UK - 39 C yesterday and 41 C today, and it isn't even Summer yet.

This is another huge Giraffe that we saw as we were driving around Kruger National Park. When you see them in zoos, they look big, but when you actually see them in the wild they are much bigger than you imagined.

Tibouchina flowers are blooming in my garden at the moment. I think they may have been confused by the warm weather that we have been having, even though we are well into Winter. Winter has certainly arrived today though as it is so cold after a lovely sunny day yesterday.

The National Memorial Arboretum is a national site of remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, which honours the fallen, recognises service and sacrifice and fosters pride in our country. It is a spiritually uplifting place and is emerging as a world-renowned centre for remembrance

The Arboretum is situated just south of Alrewas on approximately 150 acres of old gravel workings, 5 miles north of Lichfield, Staffordshire. It is adjacent to the confluence of the River Tame with the River Trent, and directly neighbouring Croxall Lakes. The Arboretum contains over 50,000 trees, with more being added each year. There are nearly 300 memorials for the armed forces, civilian organisations and voluntary bodies who have played a part in serving the country.

This is one of the memorials that I saw when I visited the gardens.

When we were in Kruger I arranged to meet up with Piet at the Satara Rest Camp. There were plenty of photo opportunities with lots of birds flying around. I love the Hornbills - such unusual birds. It was lovely to meet another Flickr friend face to face.

www.flickr.com/photos/oom_piet/

During our trip, we called into Diss. It was an overcast day, but no rain. We called in to a cafe for lunch and when we came out the rain was torrential. We sheltered in the doorway for a while as the street became flooded. In the end we had to make a dash to the car with my camera covered by a plastic bag. I got drenched, but at least the camera stayed dry.

Taken at a local lagoon with the Tamron 150 - 600 lens. I am still unsure about the lens which I bought to take to Africa on our next trip there (hopefully next year). I like the quality, but have had a couple of episodes with it and not sure I could trust it for such a trip. Unsure which way to go at the moment.

The Eurasian Coot is recognised by its snowy white bill and forehead shield. The remainder of the bird is dark sooty grey, except for its bright red eye. Immature birds are generally paler than adults with a white wash on the throat. Nestlings are downy, black with fine yellow tips. The head is orange-red and the bill is red with a cream-white tip.

I am having so much trouble with Flickr today - what is going on. I am having trouble commenting and adding tags to my photos. I have to go out for a while and hope it is all sorted by the time I come back home - so frustrating. Why can't Flickr just leave everything alone - every time we get used to one way, they decide to make more changes??

One from the archives that I found when I was looking for something else, which is always the way LOL.

It is another lovely, sunny Winter's day here in Sydney - still a little cool, but this is how I like the weather to be.

A beautiful dahlia with two centres that I saw in France.

It has been a Bank Holiday weekend here in England and it has been so crowded with people taking advantage of the nice weather, especially today.

During the week we visited one of Peter's friends. I asked how his pet Yellow Crested Cockatoo was going as I couldn't see him wandering around and his wife told me it had died early this year. I took this photo in 2012 when he would have been 56 years old. He reached the grand old age of 59 years and her husband had him all of his 59 years.

Another photo of my favourite African animal taken in Kruger National Park.

9 days to go.

This is another lovely flower from th garden of the Tudor Cottage in Barton, Warickshire. It is a quaint 17th century cottage filled with beams and wonkey floors - a lovely place to spend some time.

Norfolk is dotted with many windmills. This is Thurne Drainage Mill, one of my favourites.

I have decided to join Nina on her challenge to add a flower photo a day for 365 days.

www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/

I was taking photos of this unusual flower during our visit to Parramatta Park yesterday, when this Noisy Myna decided to join in.

Cango Caves is regarded as one of South Africa's foremost natural wonders. The fascinating calcite caves comprise an underground wonderland of stalactites and stalagmites.

I am quite claustrophobic, but I was determined to enter the caves when we were on our tour of the Eastern Cape. I am so glad that I did - they were beautiful. There was only one part where I began to feel uncomfortable, but it was just before I could see daylight, so not too bad.

I was laid low yesterday with either food poisoning or the worst tummy bug that I have ever had. I am feeling almost back to normal today, thank goodness.

As we were driving around Kruger, we came across this giraffe walking through the bush. We stopped for her to cross and she gave us a cursory glance as she walked by.

This is my entry for the 52 in 2015 challenge - #18 Something Sweet. As it is Easter later this week, I also thought it would be an appropriate photo for the challenge. These are some of the treats that my grandchildren will be receiving.

I have decided to join Nina on her challenge to add a flower photo a day for 365 days.

www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/

I am bored LOL. I can see so many dragonflies flying around the garden and can't go out to photograph them.

This is my photo for the challenge 52 in 2014 #10 Door or Doorway. This is the side door on our garage. I think it may need repainting LOL.

This Lavender is growing beautifully in my neighbour's garden. After a few lovely warm days, we are back to around 17C today with clouds. It keeps looking as though it will rain, but none so far.

This time tomorrow we will be boarding the plane for our trip to the UK. I am not looking forward to the 23 hour flight, but can't wait until we touch down and we can begin our journey.

I love swans - they are so graceful. In Australia we rarely see black swans, only native black swans (which I love). It is always so exciting to see the many white swans drifting along the waterways of the UK.

We drove to the Central Coast today to see Peter's Dad who is now 95.5 years old. He is still going pretty good for his age, but slowing down and finding it a bit more difficult to get around.

It was a lovely Spring day - sunny with temps of around 28C with a nice breeze which is in complete contrast to the next few days where the temps are supposed to be between 39-41C. I hate our long, hot Summers and can't wait for Autumn LOL.

Ludlow is one of my favourite places to visit. It is like stepping back in time and has many wonderful places to see. It has a castle, market, many B&W buildings and Stokesay Castle (another favourite) is nearby. We have stayed in the Wheatsheaf Inn twice now - a true old fashioned English pub.

This is my photo for the 52 in 2015 challenge - #22 - A peaceful place.

This is taken not far from the

Aged Care home where Peter's Dad resides. We often drive there for a while when we take him out for a few hours.

Peter's Dad is still quite frail and confused, but is walking a bit better with his walker - hopefully he will recover from the effects of the anaesthetic so we can continue taking him out for lunch and a drive around the area. He is now 96 and has done quite well up until now for someone of his age, which is quite an achievement.

It is another beautiful Winter's Day here in Sydney today - sunny, cool but not too cool - just how I like it.

I am having problems with my wrist again, so I may not be able to comment on your photos for a little while as I am wearing the splint to try and ease the pain. It is only 6 weeks until we go to South Africa and I hope it is a bit better by then. The splint usually does the trick.

When we cleared out my brother's unit after his passing, I came across this crystal ball. I had been thinking of getting one for quite a while and I was so pleased that I found it. This is my first attempt from today with some flowers from Peter's Dad's floral arrangement.

This is also my photo for the 52 in 2016 Challenge - #46 Plant

Ohhhhhhh I do love a stormy sky.

Living on the coast seems to give me a huge variety of clouds to ohhh and ahhhh over, especially when they are overhead one's house.

I waited and waited for the rain thinking we were going to have a belter of a storm but all we got was a dribble as the cloud headed out to sea.

At least I got an impressive cloud to photograph!

This is my photo for the 52 in 2014 challenge. It is #18 - Canine. I couldn't decide which one to add,so I added two subjects this week.

I spotted this tree when I was wandering around Bristol zoo. It reminds me of Christmas for some reason (would look even better with a dusting of snow).

I found these photos whilst going though my archives the other day. The Noisy Myna birds love our grevilleas and often drop in for a visit.

So far so good with my wrist - the pain has eased so much. Hopefully it will continue this way and I will be able to cancel my visit to the hand surgeon.

Even though it is Winter and the nights have been getting down to 2C, we have had two lovely 18C sunny days. I went out yesterday with my camera and visited my neighbour's garden and spotted two bees flying around her Jade plant.

I have decided to join Nina (www.flickr.com/photos/21560098@N06/) on her challenge of taking a flower photo a day for 365 days.

I am not sure what I will do when I am out of action after the surgery - I will just have to add some from the archives until I can pick up the camera again.

After we followed the Wildebeest down the road (see yesterday's photo), we came around the bend to see this huge male elephant walking down the road towards the dam. There was a car coming up the other way and it stopped. The elephant kept going towards the car and the driver of the car kept reversing. In the end he had no where else to go and we began to think it was getting a bit tricky. Then another elephant came out from the bushes and began walking towards the car and now there were two. The second elephant then walked off into the bushes on the left hand side and started walking up the hill. After a few minutes of deliberating, the big elephant followed the other one up the hill. When the driver of the car stopped next to us, Peter said "that was a bit tricky" and the driver said "yes, I didn't really trust him".

Well, I am home from hospital. There were a few emergencies so I wasn't operated on until nearly 8 p.m. and with painkillers I had a good rest, only waking when the nurses came to check on me. The surgeon came to see me this morning and said that the operation went well. I am feeling a little weary, so I will catch up with you all later.