Whether it’s a magpie in morning light or a wallaby watching from the scrub, animals have a way of grounding us in the moment.

These photos capture the small encounters — the curious, the cautious, and the quietly beautiful lives that share our wanderings.

• Steam, snow, and stillness — moments with the snow monkeys of Jigokudani.

  March 2025 greeted me with an unexpected gift — a late burst of winter. Overnight, the town transformed under a soft white blanket, only an inch or so, but enough to make it feel like I’d woken up inside a postcard. I layered up and set off through mud, ice, and slush for a 25-minute walk to one of the highlights of my trip: the snow monkeys. The path was slippery, my shoes were soaked (pro tip: if you pass a shop offering snow boot hire at the start — take the offer), and my fingers went numb somewhere along the way. But when I finally saw those monkeys huddled together in the steam, it was pure magic — the kind of scene that makes you forget the cold and remember why you travel.

  

  

  

  

• Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

  Birds from the Free Flight Show

  

  

  

• Birds of Prey Demonstration

  We spent the weekend camped at the Orielly’s Campground at Lamington National Park.

  One of the fantastic and low cost activities is the Birds of Prey , where you get up to face to face with these

  gorgeous creatures.

  

  Reggie the Wedgetail – Amazing free flight show, but clearly the local Currawongs were less than impresse

  

  Wanda the Sea Eagle – though technically she isn’t an eagle, they are more related to a kite.

  Wanda the Sea Kite just doesn’t sound right though

  

  Abbey the Kestrel

  

  Rocky the Barn Owl

• Dingos on K’Gari, Queensland

  

  Sisters in the sand — a fleeting moment of connection on K’Gari’s endless beach.”

• Tent Pegging Demonstration

  

  CelticFest Warwick October 2025

  Not Celtic but a fantastic display of Tent Pegging from the 11th Light Horse Darling Downs Troop.

• Golden Orb Weaver

  

  Nudge Beach Reserve .

  A female Golden Orb Weaver spider and her potential suiter if he can avoid being eaten first

• Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike

  

  Nudgee Beach Reserve

• Flock of Corellas

  

  We had a flyby escort of a flock of corellas as we were travelling back from K’Gari to Hervey Bay on the car ferry,

• Great Eastern Egret

  

  Nudgee Beach Reserve

• Rainbow Bee Eater

  

  Nudgee Beach Reserve