Irene Isaacson

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Lionfish hunting on a coral reef in Papua New Guinea

Mothar Mountain waterfall: Gympie Australia

Close up of the face of a pensive dominant male orangutan - Samboja Lestari, Borneo

Mirrored reflections of the Floating Mosque, Kota Kinabalu: Sabah, Malaysia

Pensive Tamarin monkey at Sao Paolo Zoo: Brazil

Sunrise At The Treasury Petra: Jordan

Quiver tree in the Namibia desert

Sunset At Cape Du Couedic Lighthouse: Kangaroo Island, Australia

Sunset at Seaview Lodge Penneshaw: Kangaroo Island, Australia

Stunning close up of a rare Southern ground hornbill in South Africa

Soft coral feeding on a coral reef

Yellow Tube Sponge on a coral reef

A stunning close up of a white tiger - South Africa

Turtle Dreaming on a coral reef in Papua New Guinea

WildArt - White Tiger - South Africa

shy-galapagos-tortoise-south-america

dominant-male-orangutan-rainforest-borneo

lion-kevin-richardson-wildlife-sanctuary-south-africa

Elephants in Zambezi River at sunset

Photo Artworks, Videos, and Blogs from Irene Isaacson Photography

Sharing exciting travel and wildlife experiences to raise global awareness and appreciation

for the beauty of our natural world

One Planet, Our Planet, YOUR Planet…

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Tony is very spontaneous when it comes to adventur

Tony is very spontaneous when it comes to adventures. This day, we set off for a half day trip to Lily Beach on Christmas Island. The beach was beautiful and rugged, but whilst there we met a local who told us of a 'secret' track.

If we went down this track it opens out on the cliffs where we could find some nesting brown booby birds with chicks. Well! What a tempting carrot stick THAT was!

So off we went, well he went, at full speed into the bushes and rainforest, leaving me to try to catch up. Classic! Unfortunately the path was severely overgrown and the wind was very strong, that Tony couldn't hear my calling out.

I was not appropriately dressed. It was very hot and humid, drippy in fact, and I was beginning to panic as the forest began to close in on me.

And then, voila! The shrubbery cleared and....WOW! What a stunning landscape, not that I could walk very far in my loose slippy sweaty thongs, but OMG!

The volcanic basalt clifftops had blowholes throughout them so you could hear the thundering noise of the waves crashing below. And there were boobies everywhere, on nests, with and without chicks. Yay! Success! What a side trip and a lesson learned - whenever you travel, ALWAYS talk to the locals. You never know where that one tip may lead you - ha ha!

#60plus #travelat60 #travelat60plus #activelife #ageingwell #christmasisland #brownbooby #boobybird #wildlifephotography #wildlifeplanet

South Point is a rather magical place on Christmas

South Point is a rather magical place on Christmas Island. Full of history about the migrant workers in days gone by how lived in this area and traveled by train to the phosphate mines at Drumsite.

But those buildings are all in ruins now as the rainforest has reclaimed the land and the wildlife has moved back in. We went to take a look around sunset and came across these gorgeous red-footed boobies looking for nesting material as it was springtime!

They awkwardly land in the trees, shrubs or on the roadside, break off the nearest leafy branch with their beaks, then fly off back home. Its a lovely sight to witness.

And they don't seem that phased by humans being around, that's the beauty of CI. It reminded us so much of the Galapagos, which is probably why some call it Australia's Galapagos. Magical!

#60plus #60plusplayground #livinglife #islandlife #christmasisland #boobybird #ageingwell #retirementliving #travelat60plus #travelat60

By now you will know we are in LOVE with robber cr

By now you will know we are in LOVE with robber crabs!

So on our very last day, on the way to the airport, we set off to see if we could find the elusive Abbot's booby bird. Whilst heading along Murray Rd to LRB4 Lookout, we came across...you guessed it. A ROBBER CRAB, trying to cross the road!

As our friend #NigelMarsh had not seen one this close up before, we stopped to take photos, as three wildlife passionate people do!

Well, the road was 'busier' than we expected (its all relative on Christmas Island!), so we ended up saving this fortunate crab to live another day (there's nothing slower than watching a robber crab cross the road, except for maybe a sloth!). 🦀😍😄

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #activeliving #retirementlife #christmasisland #robbercrabs #wildlifeadventure #islandliving

Whilst Christmas Island is said to have one of the

Whilst Christmas Island is said to have one of the larget populations of robber or coconut crabs, they really weren't that easy to find.

So when driving along a dirt track heading to a remote beach on the island, we pulled up as we saw a rather large one by the roadside. Gingerly approaching it as it was the largest we had seen, I managed to get close enough to video it.

Its front claw was at least a foot long! Not the biggest they can grow to, but big enough for me, especially as I was wearing some flimsy thongs at the time!

FUN FACTS:
The robber crab is the largest land crab in the world. It can measure 150cm (60in) long including outstretched legs. They are so well adapted to life on land that they may actually drown in the sea. They live in burrows, on islands from the Indian Ocean to the central Pacific.

They get their common name of robber crab as they often like to steal things, so be warned, NEVER leave your wallet or car keys on the ground...!

Plus, they are also known as coconut crabs and will often run up coconut trees if threatened! So make sure you give them leeway to go up one if you get close!

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #activelife #ageingwell #liveyourbestlife #crabs #robbercrabs

Christmas Island just teems with wildlife. Amongst

Christmas Island just teems with wildlife. Amongst so many endemic species on the island, it is particularly a bird watchers paradise.

Whilst I am definetly NOT a passionate birder, getting this close to some amazing and rare birds is an awesome experience.

Meet two of my favorites. The booby birds and tropic birds. We visited the island in April/May so spring had sprung and many birds were on nests or protecting their chicks.

The cutest were these. Who would figure that a gawky brown booby bird has a fluffy white chick which at times can almost be the size of its parent!

And isnt the little white chick of the red-tailed tropic bird just the cutest 'mini-me' you can imagine?

Both birds are found around the cliff tops of the island. They seem to prefer the rugged volcanic decor, so the noise you can hear in the background is actually the roaring seas smashing against the cliffs. Yes, looking for these birds means proper shoes and a steady foot - not thongs!

#60plus #60plusadventures #60plusinfluencers #christmasisland #ActiveLiving #wildlifeonearth #wildlifeconservation #tropicbirds #boobybirds

Don't you just love boobies?? Ha ha, no, booby bir

Don't you just love boobies?? Ha ha, no, booby birds! We first saw blue-footed boobies on the Galapagos Islands but they are also abundant on Christmas Island. Not the blue-footed kind, but brown boobies, red-footed boobies and the rare and endangered Abbot's booby.

This rather curious bird is a brown footed booby. He was perched high up on the cliff right next to a viewing platform that reaches out over Flying Fish Cove. If you looked down, it was a sheer drop and he was happily perched, checking us out, whilst balancing on some very rough sharp volcanic limestone!

If you see how un-gamely and awkward they are when walking on land, you would have held your breath like we were!

Wildlife at its most wonderous! Gorgeous eh?

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #christmasisland #boobybirds #brownfootedbooby

The red crabs of Christmas Island are pretty amazi

The red crabs of Christmas Island are pretty amazing, in so many ways. Whilst being natural forest foragers, cleaning the forest floor clean of litter, every now and then you get one oddball amongst the troop.

One day whilst visiting Hugh's Dale Waterfall, we approached the elevated boardwalk at the start of the trail into the rainforest. Lo and behold, there was a red crab on the board walk. Yes, ON it, not under it on the forest floor were he should have been. He was trying to awkwardly manoevre the open grid pattern of the man-made path.

So we watched him, in awe and amazement, as he tried to make his way back to the floor. Cute! 😍🦀

#60plus #60plusadventures #60plusinfluencers #christmasisland #ActiveLiving #wildlifeonearth #wildlifeconservation #redcrabs #hughsdalewaterfall

Just to give you some relative size difference bet

Just to give you some relative size difference between these two land crabs on Christmas Island. Here is short video of a robber crab who is about to take on a red crab.

Check out the little guy, how he bravely stands his ground and calls the bluff of the bigger cousin! What kutzpah! Don't you just love this crabbies?

We absolutely fell in love with them on the island. What an experience to be amongst such amazing wildlife, Christmas Island was just full of widlife adventures.

#60plus #60plusadventures #60plusinfluencers #christmasisland #robbercrab #ActiveLiving #robbercrabs #wildlifeonearth #wildlifeconservation #redcrabs

Anyone who knows me well would know that one of my

Anyone who knows me well would know that one of my favorite animals is the fruitbat or flying fox.

So what better way to celebrate valentine's Day is by sharing this short video with you of one of the world's most amazing flying foxes, the endangered Christmas Island flying fox.

These little guys look similar to the black eared flying fox that we see elsewhere in Australia but they are smaller and more chubby, weighing in at around 500gm max. One of their unique points is that they are diurnal. Yes, they fly during the DAY not just at night. Wow!

We located these guys in a native fruit tree outside the heritage official residence house of Tai Jin. They were flying around the cliffs in broad daylight, at Flying Fish Cove, along with the Christmas Island frigate birds, another endemic species only found on this island, and with numerous brown booby birds too.

When you watch them up close, you can see how they can hang from one leg, whilst twisting around 360 degrees almost! And how they use their thumbs to crawl along the branches often using 4 points of attachment. Nifty, huh? 😄🦇

#60plus #60plusadventures #60plusinfluencers #christmasisland #flyingfox #ActiveLiving #robbercrabs #fruitbats #wildlifeonearth #wildlifeconservation

One of my favorite places on Christmas Island ende

One of my favorite places on Christmas Island ended up being the car park near the Chinese Cemetery. Not for any historic value, which was of course part of the very interesting history of the island, but for the wild chickens by the roadside. On close inspection though, it wasn't just inhabited by these beautiful colorful chickens, the crabs were also in residence (of course!).

But check out this particular red crab (with an amazing resemblance to Betty Boop) who was in the act of performing it's own island clean up, and in the act, demonstrating why we humans need to think twice of our throw away attitude to disposing of our 'trash'...

#60plus #60plusadventures #60plusinfluencers #christmasisland #redcrabs #ActiveLiving

Whilst Christmas Island may be famous for its red

Whilst Christmas Island may be famous for its red crab migration, it also has a large population of the world's largest land crab, aka the robber, or coconut, crab. These guys can grow to 4-5kg and measure a metre across! Yikes!

Well we soon became totally fascinated by the robbers. Not too easy to find on the island, not like the reds which were everywhere. But they were a stunning sight and often with very multicolored carapaces.

And an interesting fact was that on the island when driving around, you are instructed not to go over the top of robbers, like you would with the red crabs on the road, but to go around them, and preferably in front of them too, as they tend to go backwards when retreating!

I found this one whilst driving around the island with fellow traveler Mark. This was one of our first spottings in the week of our stay there, so we were totally engrossed in watching the robber on the roadside...Watch what happens...hilarious!

#60plus #60plusadventures #60plusinfluencers #christmasisland #redcrabs #ActiveLiving #robbercrabs #robbercrabsofchristmasisland

Let the fun begin…Finally off to Aspen, despite

Let the fun begin…Finally off to Aspen, despite the false start of having to go back for Tony’s toiletry bag (sigh…🥴).

So here we are, at the overnight hotel stop before our 7am flight out of BNE. Nice! Luxury budget style for a 5-6 hr sleep before a 5 am check in at the airport. Beats spending a hot steamy night in the campervan parked in a dark corner of the DFO…

Onward and upward we go!

#60plusplaygroup #60plus #ireneisaacsonphotography #tonyisaacson

Christmas Island is probably most reknown for its

Christmas Island is probably most reknown for its red crab migration, one of the most incredible natural processes on Earth.

Every year, millions of these large crabs in synchrony emerge from the forest and make their way to the ocean to breed, swarming across roads, streams, rocks and beaches...

But when not migrating, these land crabs make the forest and rocky hillsides their home. One particular beautiful spot to visit where you may especially see the lesser known cousin, the blue crab, is Hugh's Dale Waterfall, where fresh inland waters cascade over the rocky cliff into the rainforest below, before reaching the nearby Indian ocean.

What an awesome spot to spend some time and just contemplate the beauty of nature...before the mozzies drive you away heading back to the safety of your cloed up car!

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #activelife #ActiveLiving #christmasisland #hughsdalewaterfall #redcrabs

One of the perils kayaking adventures for the 60 P

One of the perils kayaking adventures for the 60 Plus!...

Whilst on Cocos Island, we thought we would join Cocos Adventure Tours and do one of their day trips on motorised kayaks. This would take us further than what we had been able to do in our own double kayak a few days before.

Well after all the kayaks were divided out amongst everyone, we ended up missing out so we had to go on the skipper Ash's dinghy, which in itself ended up being a lot of fun in his wonderful company.

As he had so many guests that day, he had also enlisted the company of two mates, Michael and Kevin, who were visiting the island at that time.

Do you know the phrase "you just can't good help anywhere?", mmmm. Maybe Ash should have thought that one through a bit more...

On the way over to the furthest island Pulu Blan Madar, the kayak with both mates and their single tourist guest on board, got into strife. Yes, whilst merrily videoing the guest for her, they hadn't realised they were taking on water, and the next minute? You guessed it!!

All hands to the rescue! Just as well the water wasn't too deep, eh?!! 😝

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #islandlife #islandliving #ageingwell #cocosisland #retirementlife #retirementliving #seniorstravel

When you travel, wildlife is all around you. You d

When you travel, wildlife is all around you. You don't have to go to a zoo, or do a safari. Just look around. You don't know what you may meet...

And so it is often for Tony and I. So coming across Patricia on the exotic tropical Cocos Keeling Island was of no surprise to us!

Of course, you could expect a pink chicken to welcome its new neighbours to see if they were a soft touch. And of course, chickens aren't as stupid as people may make them out to be. No, not this one.

She cracked on to me very quickly in our week's stay on the island and cost us a local fortune in biscuits and other nibbles! Between her and the local resident crab, we always had to make sure our sliding door was well closed!

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #cocosisland #ActiveLiving #retirementlife #ageingwell #funnywildlifevideo

Have you ever seen a blue tailed skink? These litt

Have you ever seen a blue tailed skink? These little guys are endemic to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean but in recent years their numbers have become decimated.

So to improve their survival, 300 were translocated to Pulu Blan, a small island in the Cocos Keeling archipelago, as part of a successful captive breeding program started in 2009.

And, we were lucky enough to find them in abundance on that island when we did our own kayak exploration adventure! Cool, eh? You never know what you might find when you go exploring the world around you...🦎

FUN FACTS:
The blue tailed skink is an active lizard that enjoys climbing and basking in its habitat. Captive-bred blue tailed skinks are docile and calm, while wild-caught skinks are more likely to be skittish and aggressive. The lizards prefer not to be handled, so they’re best as a display-only species.

Blue-tailed skinks are a sociable species, so you can house several skinks in the same enclosure. Male blue-tailed skinks are known for displaying aggressive behavior toward one another. Prevent fighting and biting by housing one male with three or four females, rather than multiple males.ecies.

As a diurnal species, the blue tailed skink is most active during the day, and sleeps during the night. In the wild, the skink spends most of its time hunting for food and hiding from predators.

Blue tailed skinks are a sociable species, so you can house several skinks in the same enclosure. Male blue tailed skinks are known for displaying aggressive behavior toward one another. Prevent fighting and biting by housing one male with three or four females, rather than multiple males.

#60plus #wildlifeonearth #cocosisland #bluetailedskink #wildlifevideos #healthyageing

If you have been following our posts, you know we

If you have been following our posts, you know we are not totally obsessed with hermies. But check out this beauty! What a big boy!

See what happens when you get a bunch of kayaking tourists who've had a little bit too much beer and champagne in the hot afternoon sun!

Our crab did feature in the Hermit Crab Stakes, held by Ash of Cocos Adventure Tours, on the remote island of Pulu Blan. We didn't win, but a lot of fun was had by all! 😆😝

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #cocosisland #islandfun #hermitcrab #activelife

As you already know, we LOVE hermies, aka hermit c

As you already know, we LOVE hermies, aka hermit crabs. They are so full of character and personalities.

But what we didn't know is how much they love to scavenge, especially when there is any food left out. So here is a big warning for you if you have any thoughts of retiring to a tropical island... Watch out, watch out, there are thieves about!

We actually discovered after videoing these guys hoeing into their newly found banquet, that the food had been temporarily left on a picnic table by some island workers who had to go off to attend to something urgent.

Boy, did they get a big surprise to see all their food had gone and the crabs had even knocked over their drinks. Whoops! Lesson learned the hard way...ha ha!😝😆

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #cocosisland #retirementlife #ageingwell #activelifestyle #retirementliving

More fun from Cocos Keeling Islands. There's somet

More fun from Cocos Keeling Islands. There's something we find particularly fascinating about hermit crabs, and boy, were there thousands of these gorgeous little guys in the Cocos Islands - see for yourself!

Did you know that hermit crabs are famous for carrying their homes around on their backs until they outgrow them and move into new ones (they actually can't grow their own shell)?

And they actually breathe using gills, whether they are the aquatic or the terrestial ones. Awesome, eh? 😄

#60plus #60pluslifestyle #retirementlife #ageingwell #cocosisland

This was our second go at videoing our adventures

This was our second go at videoing our adventures for the 60 Plus PlayGroup - yes yes, more practice still needed, I agree!

Welcome to Pulu Maraya, a small island off the main island in Cocos Keeling. It was hot and very humid that day, but a lot of fun exploring the waters around the main island. This small island was home to a pondong or pondak, which is malay for roof or shelter. Many locals built these 'shacks' in the past years on the numerous small isalnds in the Cocos Island group. But many are now derelict, as you will see in the video.

The island was full of hermit crabs, and the surrounding shallow waters a nursery to numerous small baby sharks as well as a number of turtles and colourful reef fish.

Island living at its best!

#60plus #60plusinfluencers #agingwell #ireneisaacson #cocosisland

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© 2022 Irene Isaacson Photography acknowledges the Sunshine Coast Country, home of the Kabi Kabi and Jinibara peoples, the Traditional Custodians whose lands and waters we all now share. We wish to pay respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging, and acknowledge the important role of First Nations people continue to play in the Sunshine Coast community.