227 replies to this topic

[Team Bubble Tea]

Week 9: Wiggin's Slate Quarry.

Don't get too excited.

Map and our route.

Start of the Lenah Valley/Kangaroo Valley Rd access tracks.

Last time we were here we had to take off boots etc. to wade across the ford. It was easy today.

Old non-native plants from when this was a working farm.



Yes.



About half way up.






That's it!

A few hours up and about 40 minutes down.

Younger TBT team member D, when asked about the trip said "Steep"

Cheers
Jon

[Shane V]

Looks like a very cool walk Jon. Thanks for sharing. Absolutely love the pano.

[Mystic]

Agree with Shane about the pano Jon. Love the comment by the young one

[Cascade]

Hey TBT, some more nice pics and information, were going to know that area as well as you do by the time you finishing covering it all, don't wear the kids out to much or they won't want to go. But I guess it helps them sleep well when they go to bed or on the way home.

[Team Bubble Tea]

Cascade, you sure will! And those kids need all the walks/climbs/swims they can get, most of the time they're stuck in front of the computer.

Week 10: DOLPHINS!

After living in Hobart for many years finally got around to doing the Bedlam Walls walk across the river from Nyrstar (as EZ is now known). Saw some rowers, a yacht, the MONA ferry and about 16 or so dolphins. And better still, actually got a few in some pics. It was hectic, me with camera poised "where are they?" Everyone else "Over there, to the left, to the right, up river, down river, near that seagull!" etc.

Tasman Bridge and Selfs Point jetty in background.





































Old boiler




Old boiler detail




Unopened Puffball

Cheers
Jon TBT

[Mystic]

Some great shots there Jon, really like the pano Well done.

[Shane V]

Very nice shots there Jon. Love the pano and the one where Mt Wellington and the bird are framed by the smoke/steam stack.

[Team Bubble Tea]

Week 11: 3D printing and Shag Bay Walk.

Like many others, back in the olden days I used to develop and mount my own slides, today I can have my images printed in three-dimensions!

3D printing is simply amazing and new to us, so apologies if we are a bit "over-enthusiastic". There's a company in the EU that will accept your designs and print them in 3D and post them back to you. We used the most basic form of 3D printing and I designed the Kangaroo in MS Paint. That's easy!

This is the result printed in stainless steel. It measures about 9cm high, and 3mm thick.

Kangaroo.



Kangaroo (the rough edges are deliberate , the final firing process of the "green" image uses bronze and you can see some remnants).

We used the "3D popper" that accepts a B/W jpeg image and prints it out. You select the size, depth, if you want a base and the material. If your image meets the designs rules it can be printed in many materials. Sandstone, coloured Sandstone, Glass, Stainless Steel, Ceramic, Nylon, coloured Nylon, Silver, other plastics and you can choose several platings. Cost is based on cm3 of material so small is better. Hollow "prints" are the way to go.

They also have easy to use ear-ring and ring "design-it-yourself" forms. The ring form is interesting, you print out the design sheet, and draw your design on it, then scan it and send it back. The darker the area the more height it is printed with.

This isn't the best example of 3D printing, they can literally print an object like an apple in 3D. If you're curious, a google search for "3D popper" will find them.


Amazing as that is, it's still a long way to duplicating nature.

Cheers Jon TBT

[Shane V]

Love the 3d Kangaroo Jon. Will check them out definitely Very nice series of shots as well. Is that first flower and Iris or an orchid of some description. Gorgeous scene of the river as well.

[Team Bubble Tea]

Hi Shane, the wife reckons the white flowers are flag irises.

And yes to 3D printing, it's great fun and a great business opportunity. I'm doing a run of 100 key-ring logos for a local company all from my home computer. And 'cause the wife got me the deal I'm doing a gold-plated version for her

[Shane V]

Thanks Jon's wife Sounds and looks like a great opportunity...hmmmmm...so many possibilities......

[Mystic]

Technology never ceases to amaze me. Love the kangaroos. Something worth exploring for sure.

[Cascade]

Nice set from the Bedlam Walls walk TBT. I think there are some Aboriginal caves around there somewhere, are there not? Love the old boiler shots and puff ball close up.

The 3D project looks interesting. After looking on the net I found the Shapeways site, there are some extremely creative designs viewable. Would be interesting to see some of them actually produced from start to finish. The possibilities for a small business venture just around wedding guest take home gifts alone are radical especially using the text ones. One that comes to mind could be a napkin ring with the bride and grooms names and date of wedding.

Personally, as for your wifes reward, I think you should get her one done in solid silver, you'll even get a velvet bag to go with it. I'm sure she deserves it after showing you how to become a millionaire. Although there is a quicker way, change $50.00 into Vietnamese Dong.

The wife is spot on with the Flag Lily also known as a White Lily or Butterfly Lily and if your curious about the other one I believe it's a "Grey Parrot Pea"

[Shane V]

Thanks for the info on the other flower Cascade

[Team Bubble Tea]

Hi Cascade, Mystic and Shane, thanks for the name of that other flower Cascade, "Grey Parrot Pea" sounds like a very nice name.

And yes, there is an Aboriginal shelter and midden there. The shell midden was mostly dug up by enthusiatic but misguided gardeners back in the old days. You can still see a quite large depression where it was. The shelter hasn't been used for about 5000 years, possibly due to falling sea-levels(?), it's now on the side of a cliff overlooking the river. We didn't include photos because the walkway down to it is closed due to "Danger of rock-falls". But it might look much the same as it did a few years ago (). Not particulary big and with a western exposure it was bound to be cold and wet.

Re 3D printing it solved the Christmas gifts for the parents (at least for this year!) I'm considering a Tasmanian Tiger, Echidna and Devil in Aboriginal-Style design as a tourist knick-knack, especially for the American cruise ship market. There's tonnes of wood and turned wood products down Salamanca market but not so much other Tasmaniania. And (when?) if they don't sell I'll have sorted out next years, and the years after Parents Christmas presents too!

Week 12: Warm weather at last.

Sunset clouds (the lower dark cloud is in the shade of Mt Wellington)



UFO from that pic (sure, it may look like a bird...)



Orchids



Orchid flower



Rear corner of Bakery and Cafe in Battery Point (see in Ghosts Signs too)



Real guerilla gardening?

Cheers
Jon

[Mystic]

Falling rocks scares you???? oi da boi . Good luck with the markets and love the UFO cloud shape, well captured

[Shane V]

Gorgeous flowers and clouds Jon...very nice shots.

[Cascade]

Thanks for the info on the Aborigini shelter. Sounds like you have Xmas wrapped up for the next five years.
More nice shots TBT, love the sunset and shadow cloud. The bad news, your orchids are actually a white freesia, (Freesia alba), very common in some of the older gardens as border plants. But I must say are nicely photographed. For future reference on orchids have a look at a collaborative website by three Tasmanians, Peter Fehre, Malcolm Wells and the other one who is Peter Tonelli' who happens to be a good mate of mine and is an absolute mine of information as far as orchids go. Orchid Database

[Team Bubble Tea]

Hi Mystic, Shane and Cascade,

Wasn't so scared about the falling rocks as being trapped squeezing under the fence to continue down the walkway Mystic, could have been very embarrassing! Thanks for the info re that not-orchid Cascade, we live in a 1950's era street and I reckon it's an escapee from the olden days. And thanks for the link to the Orchid site, we know the location of some nice Dipodium-roseum so I'll venture there with the kids and see if they're up and flowering yet.

[Cascade]

Your welcome TBT, you might be interested in this PDF download. Flowering Times of Tasmanian Orchids Page 16