Ad Konnings Visit

Ad Konings visit :

Ad Konings (the handsome one on the left of the photo) visited Australia in late February, 1999. He spent some time in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. From the 19th to 23rd he was the guest of the Queensland Cichlid Group, in Brisbane. It was my pleasure and privilege to have him visit my fishroom and inspect my fish during his stay in Brisbane.

Ad is a real gentleman in every respect, from his gentle spoken words of encouragement, his genuine words of praise and his indisputable expertise on the rift lake cichlids.

Ad was kind enough to autograph for me his newly released book "Tanganyikan Cichlids in their Natural Habitat". He added "the most 'organised' fishroom I've seen! Happy fishkeeping!".

At this point in his trip, he had been in Australia for approximately two weeks, so I suggested to him that he should have picked up the Aussie accent by now. To that he replied "You bet, mate". We had already converted him. All that was left to conquer now was the local brew, and that was guaranteed to put hair on your chest!

Listening to his talk on his safari trips to Lake Malawi, and looking at his photos, gives one a thirst for travel to this unique area and to experience diving amongst its aquatic inhabitants. It was a really enjoyable evening. Its little wonder that Ad enjoys his work so much, having regard to the surroundings of the lakes, and the abundance of fish species to be experienced and recorded.

As well as fish, Ad has a passion for birds, and the abundance of beautiful birds unique to Australia, and so close to urban areas, was pleasing him greatly. As a special treat some members of the Cichlid Club took Ad to a spot in the Lamington National Park, just south of Brisbane, called O'Reilleys. O'Reilley's is famous for its wildlife and walking tracks in the local rain forest. What Ad was to learn was that the wild life was friendly, very friendly. The birds will eat out of your hand. Gorgeous parrots and lorikeets in abundance. I know that this was a highlight of his visit to Australia.

Ad wrote about his Australia '99 tour in Cichlid News Vol 8 No 3 (pp. 20-25). On page 25, there is a photo (bottom left) of part of my fish-room. Unfortunately Ad misquoted my name as Rodney Thompson, but then with all that travelling perhaps it was jetlag or perhaps it was the local language or perhaps it was the local beer. ........