Scarborough Camera Club

When:  Sunday Nov 29.  From what I understand, there will be a crocodile feeding at the    beginning of the day. Meet @ the admissions desk @ 1000 hours. 

Where: 2501 Rutherford Road in Vaughan.

Attractions

Reptilia is a 15,000 square foot haven for reptiles and reptile-lovers. A veritable menagerie of snakes, turtles, tortoises, frogs, and lizards of every shape and size, Reptilia combines education and entertainment to produce a memorable interactive experience for visitors of all ages.

The displays are designed to simulate the animals’ natural environments, and keepers are always on hand to answer questions.

Reptilia is an extremely popular field trip destination for school, scout and guide groups. The educational programs are designed to complement topics covered in the classroom. At Reptilia, though, students will have the opportunity to touch many of the reptiles, and to observe feedings.

The live feedings are one of Reptilia’s most exciting events. Several animals are fed each day. Most of the reptiles are fed thawed frozen rodents instead of live prey. This practice, in addition to making the demonstration more family-friendly, also serves to eliminate any risk of injury to the reptile.

The most entertaining feeding event at Reptilia is certainly the feeding of Induna the Nile Crocodile. He and his companion, who both hail from South Africa, are fed about once every two weeks. Induna is Canada’s largest crocodile, measuring 4 metres in length and weighing in at approximately 1000 pounds. No visit to Reptilia is complete without taking a look at this massive predator.

Admission to Reptilia is $8 for children over four and $12 for adults.

On weekends, holidays, and during the summer, Reptilia also holds interactive demonstrations every hour in its intimate theatre. For those who are willing to stay out a little later, Reptilia’s flashlight tours are a real treat. This gives visitors to the opportunity to observe the animals as they behave at night. Since many reptiles are nocturnal, this means that visitors can see some of the animals being much more active than they are during the day. The flashlight tours also include a private show featuring Reptilia’s most interesting nocturnal creatures, followed by pizza.

Reptilia is located at 2501 Rutherford Road in Vaughan. For more information, call 1-888-REPTILIA or visit www.reptilia.org. The Spitting Cobra, Gila Monster, Sailfin Lizard, and many more magnificent creatures await.

When:  Sunday, Oct 25.  Meet @ 1100 @ the admissions desk.  (David Shawn will not be able to attend.)

 

Where:  Blackcreek Pioneer Village

http://www.blackcreek.ca/whatson

Description:

The Canadian Gourd Society presents Gourdfest, a celebration, showcase and competition of beautifully carved gourds.  You’ll never look at a gourd the same way again.

For further information, visit http://www.blackcreek.
ca/whatson, e-mail bcpvinfo@trca.on.ca or
call (416) 736-1733.

Links:
www.canadiangourdsociety.org

#1 Fall weekend outing to Muskoka Wildlife Centre. Muskoka, and Algonquin

 

When: Friday Oct 2 to Sunday October 4, 2009                                         

 

                                                      ITINERARY

 

Friday October 2 – meet at the Muskoka Wildlife Centre at 1100 hours

Leave Toronto early Friday morning and drive north up the 400 Hwy to the Muskoka Wildlife Center which is north of Orillia. It will probably take 1-1.5 hours to get to the Muskoka Wildlife Centre from the 401/400 and then it will be another 1.5 hours to Huntsville.  There we will have the opportunity to shoot a number of wild animal and bird species. The range of species available can be found on their web site at http://www.muskokawildlifecentre.com/  .

 

After leaving the Muskoka Wildlife Center we will continue north and on to Hwy 169 passing Gravenhurst and Bracebridge to the Huntsville/Algonquin Area where some of us will check into our Deerhurst accommodation for the weekend and arrange to meet for dinner. Others have arranged alternative accommodation. (David Shawn, John Cameron, and Peter Dawson will be staying at Deerhurst in a large unit and have room for two more people at a cost of $160 for the two nights combined.  Please contact David Shawn if you are interested.)  The rest of the day will be at your leisure to explore the area and back roads and to photograph the fall colors, etc. While the 1^st week in October is early for fall color in Toronto the leaves historically reach their peak around that time in the Huntsville/Algonquin area.  

 

Saturday October 3 – meet at the village of Dwight at 0730 hours

The group at Deerhurst will leave early Saturday morning and meet any others at 7:30 am in the village of Dwight about 30 min east of Huntsville. Dwight is approximately at the intersection of Hwys 35 & 60 and sits on “The Lake of Bays”. Contingent on climatic and weather conditions we may have an opportunity to shoot the mist rising off the lake at that time of the morning.

 

We will then leave Dwight as a group and continue east on Hwy 60 to Ragged Falls Provincial Park.  Ragged Falls are quite dramatic and typical of a rugged northern landscape, but requires a short 10 min up-hill hike along a boulder strewn path to reach the best vantage points.

  

Once everyone has had their fill at Ragged Falls, we will drive back towards Dwight to take a side road that will lead us ultimately to the Oxtongue Rapids. These are a set of wild rapids set in the woods along the Oxtongue River and are quite picturesque.  There we can again arrange to meet for dinner and members can spend the remainder of the day at their leisure exploring the numerous back roads, lakes, ponds and swamps etc. in the area. Alternately, we could drive into Algonquin Park about 30 - 40 min away from the rapids.  It requires an $18.00 per vehicle fee if you want to stop in the park itself.

 

Sunday October 4 – meet in Dwight, time to be assigned  

After packing up and checking out of our Deerhurst accommodation we can again meet in Dwight at a preset time and head back to Toronto following Hwy 35 south. It runs thorough Dorset, Minden etc. At Dorset there’s a fire observation tower that’s no longer used but offers a good vantage point from which to shoot unobstructed panoramas of the surrounding area and hills in their fall colors. There is also a further falls a short distance away that’s worth shooting.

 

In Dorset itself there are a couple of small restaurants where we can stop for lunch together before everyone makes their own way home from there. The shortest route will be to continue south down Hwy 35 which will bring you out onto the 401 just east of Oshawa.

 

Options:

There are a few possible options for members to consider:

 

1.      You could stay at Deerhurst Friday and Saturday night and do the Muskoka Wildlife Centre on Friday.

2.      You could stay at Deerhurst Friday and Saturday night but not do the Muskoka Wildlife Centre.

3.     You could arrange your own accommodation but meet at the Muskoka Wildlife Centre on Friday @ 1100 hours and/or at the village of Dwight on Saturday at 0730 hours.

4.      You could arrange your own accommodation but meet at the village of Dwight on Saturday at 0730 hours.