Tag:roadtrips
Day 3 of our outback adventure
Our plans for today were Silverton and the Daydream Mine. While I slept through the sunrise, some of the group went out hunting down a good sunrise spot. Elsewhere, two of the group went out tracking down the Indian Pacific as it stopped in town. The morning skies were sunny, blue with a light breeze, but the afternoon forecast the cloud. So it was a free morning for all. Some went to Bells Milkbar, and some checked out the Palace Hotel. Others roamed the galleries. We met up for lunch with part of the crew, and then everyone met at Bells Milkbar to head out to Silverton.
Daydream Mine
The historic Daydream Mine lay between us and our destination, just out from Silverton and 20kms from Broken Hill. Established in the 1880s the mine, and the town surrounding it were once home to around 500 workers, wives, and children. It closed a few years later when the ore ran out—the NSW government heritage listed the site in 1999. Today, above ground, only the foundations of the old town and part of the smelter remain. The road in was around 10km of uphill and down dale, winding dirt roads and through two gates.
Below Ground
After the above-ground tour, we had to gear up with hard hats and lights for the underground section. Three levels underground, down narrow steps (and I do use the term loosely) cut into the rock underground. The entrance tunnel was just a tad bigger than our bodies. If I hadn’t been in the lead behind the guide, I would have turned back with everyone else behind me. But I couldn’t get past them!
It did get taller in parts (small parts) where we could stand upright. But most of the time, the tunnels were about 4ft high. It was built for short people!
Silverton
Back up top, we got our heart rate down and air intake back to normal. Then we headed 6kms down the road to the Silverton Pub. we plopped ourselves in the beer garden, downed a couple of quick drinks, and declined to move. Until tomorrow.
Mundi Mundi Plains
While the others who could all walk (because they hadn’t done the mine either through farsightedness or cowardice) headed off for the Mundi Mundi Plains lookout and the sunset. We stayed put. We were drinking and groaning. Until Bill announced, the sunset was starting to look good. Photographic OCD got us up moving. Just as far as next door where we had a clear view. an off some shots and limped, hobbled back to the pub
Lightpainting
After dinner at the pub the entire group relocated to across the road for some more light painting…no steel wool as Bill was reluctant to start a fire and burn the town down…. but we had fun with LEDs
At the end of the night we took a careful drive back into BH, dodging a few roo’s, rabbits and goats making it safely to our motel. The next morning was to be an early start as we had to be on the road by 7.30am and heading to Mungo……
Coming Up Next Day: Mungo NP and Great Walls of China
Tuesday morning, as pre-arranged the night before, everyone was up in the dark, out the door by 6 am and heading down to the Mildura Wharf for sunrise.
Sunrise On The River
The river was still and quiet, save for the morning bird calls and the odd early morning jogger going past. We were set up on a lovely wooden walkway that gave a good view down (up?) the river to the bridge over the Murray. But, even at that hour, there was a constant stream of traffic across the bridge.
By 6.45 am, the sun was coming up, more joggers and walkers were going past, and traffic was picking up… the river and the houseboats all remained quiet, though.
Back On The Road
Once the sun was up, we headed back to the motel for breakfast and showers, then booked out and headed to Broken Hill, 296kms up the Silver City Highway. The road is well-maintained bitumen but long, with the occasional bend to keep you on your toes. Between Mildura and Broken Hill, reception drops off quickly once out of Mildura, and you don’t get it back till about 20kms out of BH. There is only one little general store between Mildura and BH and three unattended rest stops. Apart from that, it’s just you and the goats..lots and lots of wild goats beside the road and the emus.
Broken Hill
We made it to BH by around 1 pm – where the group met up again at the Demo Club. The club began life as the Barrier Democratic Social Club, a working man’s club similar to the RSLs, but it has evolved into a curious cross between a pub and an RSL. There are no half-full wine glasses here.. every glass was a millimetre from the top and half the price of the victorian pubs. We booked into our rooms at the motel from the demo club, unpacked, and took a brief rest before heading off again. This time we were off to the Line Of The Load, a miner’s memorial overlooking BH. It has the name and cause of death of every miner who has worked the mine in BH… and there was a lot. No such thing as OH & S a hundred years ago.
Sculptures In the Desert
From the memorial, we headed just outside Broken Hill to Sculptures in the Desert – 12 sandstone sculptures on a hilltop. With Bill and Deanne Holmer from Melbourne Light Painting, we would shoot the sunset and then do a little bit of light painting before the ranger kicked us out at 7 pm to lock the gates.
Right on clockwork, the Ranger turned up at 7 pm and dispersed the party…then it was back to BH for dinner at Mario’s Palace Hotel…made famous from the movie Priscilla Queen Of The Desert.
Crystal Ball photography has become extremely popular, but how do you do it, or where to start? Due to the shape of the ball, it’s refractive—meaning anything viewed through it is reversed—and it gives you a fish-eye effect without a fish-eye lens.
Crystal balls come in several sizes from 40mm to 110mm and are readily and cheaply available on eBay (though I have seen a 200mm!) While they are referred to as crystal balls, most are glass. The ball in these images is a glass 80mm. While the bigger sizes are more straightforward to photograph and fill more of the scene, their weight is considerable. I have a 40mm on the way… it will be much lighter, but the trade-off is what I can shoot. I’ve also dropped my 100mm or had it roll off a surface a couple of times, so it now has a couple of tiny dings in it, so I also have a 110mm on the way.
Photographing the Ball
To have your crystal ball stand out from the background, you need a wide aperture – F4 or lower. Stand back from it and zoom in to get the soft, blurred-out background. The image above was shot at F4, 105mm, and about 4 feet away. Duck down so you are looking straight onto it or lower. Don’t shoot from above, as you will only get what it’s sitting on. Instead, focus on the main point of interest in the ball and shoot your image. Out of direct sunlight is best to avoid reflection (see the top right where the sun hit it on the ball above).
Positioning the Ball
To place the ball, you can either put it on a pole, a flat surface, in a shot glass, or water. (I’m going to try a golf tee next!). Location-wise, you need something interesting behind it. Place the ball and move your feet until you have a pleasing composition. It all depends on the angle. Keep a lint-free cloth handy to clean it between shots, or wear cotton gloves to keep the fingerprints off. Then shoot and have fun.
Rightside Up or Upside Down?
Because of the refractive aspect, your images are always upside down when shot… but you can flip them right side up using your editing program. For example, to get the shot of the wetlands below, we wedged the ball into the fork of a tree. Then, I flipped the image in Photoshop so it was right side up.
Floating?
I wanted to get a shot that looked like the ball was floating/hovering in the air, so I placed it on a post and then removed the post in Photoshop. To do this, you can either go around the pole with the polygon lasso or use the elliptical marquee tool. It’s a bit fiddly using the elliptical tool, but I found it worked better as it was round like the ball. The polygon tool, however, is great for objects with irregular edges.
The first step is to drag the elliptical tool over your ball to fit. This may take a couple of goes till you get the size right. The marching ants around the ball mean that it only affects the ball, whatever you do.
However, we need to invert the selection so the area outside the ball is selected and the ball is protected. The keyboard shortcut on a PC is ‘Ctrl + Shift + I’ or on a Mac, it’s Cmd + Shift + I
Now, the marching ants are around the edge of the image and the ball. The ‘active’ area now includes everything except the ball, so you can safely clone out the post using your clone tool.
Now, all you need to do is ‘Ctrl + D’ on a PC or Cmd + D on a Mac to deselect the selection, close the marching ants, and make final adjustments or crop to your liking.
A word of warning
These balls can be dangerous in the sun! They concentrate the sun’s rays into an intense, direct beam of heat and light… I had seen a tripod begin smoking after just a few minutes when a ball was placed on one… and when I drove around all day with my 80mm crystal ball sitting in the console between the front seats, it melted the plastic underneath! So always keep your ball in a cloth bag when not in use, never leave it in the sun unattended, and if you are shooting it in dry grass… work quickly!
One of my favourite places on earth is Tropical North Qld.
Correction, it’s my most favourite place. It’s warm, usually sunny, the people are beyond anyone’s yardstick for friendly, and the lifestyle is so laid back you don’t need yoga or massages. I visited here in 2012, came back in 2014 and returned in 2016. This trip was impromptu – I usually don’t travel in the high season, but I wasn’t turning up the chance to go again.
Flights
We flew Jetstar, and apart from the struggle with cabin baggage restrictions, it was problem-free. I would guess 7kg as carry-on is acceptable for the regular holiday traveller. However, it is a challenge for someone who travels with a DSLR and several lenses. Fortunately, hubby was travelling with me this time, so I could span my gear across our cabin bags and the clothing was checked in.
A Pillow To Lie My Head On
We stayed in Trinity Beach this time rather than Cairns central, which turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Unlike Cairns, there were no parking problems or wall-to-wall people. Cairns is fabulous. But parking is problematic, and it’s becoming crowded.
Hopefully, it takes a while for people to catch on that Trinity Beach is only 25 mins from Cairns and awesome 🙂 (shhh, you didn’t hear it from me ). Our rooms at the Trinity Beach Club Apartments were fabulous. Comfy, well-appointed, reasonably priced, and only 5 mins walk from the beach. We made good use of the saltwater pool and spa too 🙂
Getting Around
You can use the ‘Sunbus’. I saw many of them around, and it seems an easy way of getting around. Each time I have been to Cairns, we have hired a car. Mainly because of the gear I lug around. And I hate waiting for public transport. As usual, we opted for an economy class car which before has served well. However, there was no cruise control, and the vehicle, a Hyundai Accent, struggled on hills with inferior pickup, Something I will be aware of next time when I book.
What To Do
Hubby is happy to just veg on holiday while I look for photographic locations when we are away. One given, when in Cairns, is we have to go to Hartley’s.
Hartleys Crocodile Adventures
I have been there every trip up North and never tire of it. It’s the best place to get croc pics and see them up close They also have excellent wildlife areas that cover lots of other Australian animals and reptiles Last time, I sat in on the Croc attack show. This time we were there in the morning, so we took in the Croc Feeding OMG, awesome, doesn’t cover it, And Ryan really needs a pay rise No way would I hand feed the beasts!
Cape Tribulation
Apart from Hartley’s, we finally drove to Cape Tribulation. I had wanted to go here for ages but never got there till this visit. The drive up from Cairns is about 2.5 hours, including crossing the Daintree on the car ferry. There is no bridge, so it’s the ferry or swim. And with about 60 crocs in the river, that’s not advisable. The ferry is a reasonable $26 return. It takes about 10 min Peak hour can see quite a lot of cars queued up, but if you avoid 10 am-12 pm or 3 pm-6 pm, it’s good. Once off the ferry, we drove to Cape Tribulation beach. It’s pristine, clean and quiet. Even though there were about ten other people there, it felt like you were the only ones on earth. The rainforest reaches right down to the sand. Idyllic doesn’t begin to cover it.
Kuranda
We took the Skyrail up and back to Kuranda to visit the market on Saturday. Another of my favourite things to do is the Kuranda Market. The heritage markets aren’t large but worth the visit. Loads of other shops, the traditional markets, cafe’s, Birdworld, Butterfly World, and Venom World are all within an easy walk. Being smart and too lazy to walk uphill, we took the courtesy bus up to the markets and then strolled back downhill when we were ready to return to the Skyrail.
Hubby also went out on a morning fishing charter with Paradise Sports Fishing and had a ball. While he was doing that, I chilled at the Esplanade Lagoon with my book.
Eating…..
We just about camped at the Trinity Beach Bar and Grill. Sprawling across the corner opposite the beach, it seemed a favourite of both locals and tourists. The food was great, portions large and reasonably priced. We tried the Trinity Beach Tavern one night, and the seafood was superb. Likewise, for the Blue Moon Bar and Grill. Both provided excellent food and good service. Our biggest disappointment was Chiantti’s Pizzeria. The pizza was ok, pasta less so.
Sunrises
One of the things I always try for and rarely get while on holiday is a decent sunrise. Out of the five days we were there, we went out twice. The best one of the lot was in the middle of our stay. With a huge rising red sun and a deep red, Of course, that day, I was driving into Cairns to take the man to his fishing charter and missed it 😐 On the days I did go out, I shot bracketed shots, combined them into HDR, and came home happy with the two I managed to get.
We have already promised a return in 2018. So if you are looking for heaven on a stick, Tropical North Queensland is the only contender in my book.
Photography on Kangaroo Island had been on my bucket list for some time. Its part of South Australia is 155 km long and lies just off the coast of Adelaide. You either take the Sealink Ferry or fly via Rex Airlines to get there.
The Carry-On Dilemma
Travelling with a friend and fellow photographer, we chose to fly, which turned into quite a challenge with all our camera gear that we didn’t want to check the equipment in. We were allowed 15kg at check-in but only 7kg in cabin baggage. Handbags included. We’re lucky they don’t weigh passengers with the gear we secreted in pockets.
Kingscote
Landing at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, we collected our hire car from Hertz and were armed with loads of info from the very helpful chap at the counter. So we headed off to our first stop. Karrata via the Playford Highway. We had booked in at Western Kangaroo Island Caravan Park and Wildlife Reserve to use as our base while exploring Flinders Chase National Park. Cabins were roomy, clean, and handy to the national park. The wildlife roaming around ‘our’ park was a bonus.
We visited Hanson Bay Wildlife Reserve, but I feared all the animals were on holiday. Saw a few birds, one koala waaaaay up the top of a tree. The staff assured us that other visitors who had seen several koalas and one chap counted 15. For me, ‘seeing’ a koala is not the same as photographing it. Up the top of a tree, bum nestled in a fork, yep, saw it. It wasn’t a Kodak moment. We did enjoy their scones with jam and cream, though.
With nothing to show for our Hanson Bay trip, we returned to our cabin and decided to take a walk on their wildlife trail. Saw a kangaroo, a few wallabies, and one koala ambling through the bush, changing trees for dinner.
Flinders Chase National Park
Remarkable Rocks
The following day we headed into Flinders Chase and made for Remarkable Rocks. From a distance, they look attractive but not remarkable. Up close, the sheer size of them is, well, remarkable. That you can still walk up to and around them is fantastic. Parks Victoria would have fenced it off by now and have you viewing from a ‘safe’, bland distance.
Cape du Couedic Lighthouse
Leaving Remarkable Rocks, we headed to Cape du Couedic Lighthouse. This would have to be the prettiest lighthouse I have seen. Pristine Sandstone and a white double door entry with a red hat, she’s just gorgeous.
Admirals Arch
From Cape du Couedic, we headed to Admirals Arch. We had been told NZ fur seals lived around the arch’s base and were looking forward to seeing them and the arch. Nature didn’t disappoint. Access to the arch is via a long descending boardwalk which becomes stairs once you reach the arch. Photography at the arch is a challenge. The arch entrance is dark, the sun bright on the other side, and lots of mist drizzling down from the wave sprays. I took two photos, exposing one for the rocks and the other for the ocean and blending in PS. Coming back up was much slower, and I think I availed myself of every rest stop along the way. Lunch was at the Flinders Chase Cafe. Delicious burger and superb coffee.
Vivonne Bay
After lunch, we headed to Vivonne Bay. Vivonne Bay was voted one of Australia’s top beaches by the University of Sydney (because of its clear water, cleanliness, and privacy). And yes, the water is that blue.
Seal Bay
The following day we headed to Bales Beach for a brief stop before going to Seal Bay for a guided tour. Stunning pristine white sand and blue water. Does Kangaroo Island know any other kind?
We had decided on the guided tour at Seal Bay to get closer to them, but because big fat Sea Lion Bulls can still move fast and pack a wallop, we still had to stay 10 metres from them. Lolling and relaxing on the beach were a hundred or so seals, including a few mothers still nursing babies.
Stokes Bay
From Seal Bay, we headed to Stokes Bay. Stokes Bay is known for its ‘secret’ bay (that everyone knows about). You walk across the beach from the carpark towards the enormous boulders and see a small sign on the rocks with an arrow “to the beach”. You enter the gap in the rocks, duck, and weave and come out the other side on another beach. Heading and weaving around boulders in the narrow passage, I felt like Indiana Jones on a voyage of discovery. Thankfully no sword-wielding black warriors awaited me on the other side.
Heading back to our accommodation, we took another walk through the grounds. This time the lagoon rewarded us with Spoonbills, Kangaroos and an Echidna.
Cape Willoughby Lighthouse
The following day we packed up and headed back to Kingscote for the last two nights of our stay. We took in the Dudley Peninsula, Cape Willoughby Lighthouse, Antechamber Bay, American River, and Pennington Bay.
Kingscote Pelican Feeding
That evening we headed down to Kingscote Wharf for the nightly pelican feeding. At $5 per head, it’s a great show.
After the show, we hung around the harbour, and suddenly the sunset took off. We weren’t prepared for it with tripods and such, so we only managed a few shots, but what a sunset it was.
Raptor Domain
The following day we had our Raptor Domain Booking, A private 2-hour session with the keeper, five owls, five eagles, kookaburra, Kestrels, Sea Eagle, Red-Winged Black Cockatoo, and Crimson Rosella. After our private session, we stayed for the flight show before heading off for lunch and Emu Bay.
Flying Home
The following day we packed up again, loaded the bags and ourselves ‘strategically’ to pass Rex’s weight rules and headed for the airport. Fabulous trip and lots of great memories, And way too many images for one post. To see all the photos from the trip, go to Gallery.
Footnote: while most roads were great (a lot are dirt), we only once travelled at dusk. And significantly, very slowly Driving early before 8 am. After 5 pm meant dodging all manner of wildlife Every morning, we saw LOTS of roadkill.. one day alone was 25 in about 100 kms. We had to stop for roos and echidnas crossing the road during the day. When driving on KI, you need to stay alert!
If you are looking for a holiday were you can give the camera a good workout – you can go past Photography on Kangaroo Island
I spent the weekend at Apollo Bay & Otway Ranges in late February with the MPE family of addicted photographers. We started our weekend with Hopetoun Falls. Then a picnic lunch at the Redwood Forest and afternoon tea in town at Cafe 153 before dinner at the Brewhouse. That night we did some light painting at the Breakwater with Deanne and Bill Holmer from Melbourne LightPainting.
Midway along the Great Ocean Road is the seaside town of Apollo Bay. With the lush green slopes of the Otway Ranges at her back and the blue seas of Cape Otway at her feet, Apollo Bay is a great staging point to visit the valleys, rainforests, rivers and streams, waterfalls and light station.
Sunday was an early start for a 6 am sunrise that never eventuated. Cafe 153 for breakfast, then off to the light station. It was a quick 36-hour visit, but my exhaustion when I got home was a testament to how much we crammed into it 🙂
Hopetoun Falls
Getting here is easy. If you come through Colac or the Great Ocean Road, head to Binns Road, and it’s well signposted. Once at the carpark, you have a one-way in and one-way out downhill walk.
Hopetoun Falls has a good flow for just about all year. Even though it was February, we still found a good flow coming over the top and into the Aire River below. The walk from the carpark to the first lookout is an effortless downhill walk of about 20 metres. The one-kilometre return trip of 200 plus steps to the bottom lookout (and 200 back UP) is a test of endurance for my old legs. It’s definitely worth the walk down, though. You can’t see a lot from the top lookout, and the walk through the ferns along the boardwalk to the base of the falls is impressive.
Redwood Forest
Just a few minutes away from Hopetoun Falls in the Otway Ranges is the Redwood Forest. I hadn’t been here before, didn’t even know it was there until recently, but what a fabulous find it is. Heading towards Apollo Bay from the carpark to the forest is on your right-hand side, just before a little single-lane bridge. There are picnic tables and chairs and a long drop toilet on the other side of the road. We stopped and had our picnic here before spending an hour wandering through the forest.
Running along the back of the forest is the beautiful fern-lined Aire River. The forest itself has a fantastic atmosphere.. you feel the quiet and serenity as soon as you step off the path into the trees. While I didn’t see them, others found some fabulous pagan? Stuff down back, twisted vines and things hanging from trees. The mind boggles as to what goes on in there.
Sundown
We hoped to get a sunset at the Apollo Bay Boat Harbour before light painting started. But it fizzled out on us. However, I did manage to get a pinkish sky using a 0.9 ND Grad.
Light Painting
We held our light painting session down at the Breakwater Led lights, steel wool spinning pixel sticks fabulous night.
Sunday Morning – Sunrise Failure
Sunday morning, despite getting up in the dark and heading down to the breakwater full of enthusiasm, it fizzled out on us again.
Cape Otway Lightstation
It sometimes gets sunny at the light station, but I seem to bring clouds. I have been there a few times, and getting a photo of the lighthouse in full sunshine against a blue sky is very hit-and-miss. It was a patchy cloud, then a full cloud for a quick, brief bit of sun and back to clouds when we headed there.
We came across two french girls guarding an injured Koala and reported it to the conservation centre for pickup (rang the next day, and the koala is doing fine). So down to the lighthouse for some shots and a walk around before heading back to the car for the 3-hour drive home. Fabulous weekend and we are already planning the next one.
The Grampians (Gariwerd) is a series of rugged sandstone mountain ranges and forests rich in wildlife. One of Victoria’s most popular holiday destinations, the Grampians are the destination of day-trippers and campers. They all come for rock climbing, scenic drives, bushwalks, and nature. The tiny and bustling yet laid-back town of Halls Gap is at the heart of Grampians. Its popularity is evident in many accommodation options, from backpackers to luxurious resorts and its many dining options.
Bushfires
On 15 January 2014, a bushfire which was sparked by a lightning strike started in the Grampians National Park. It was one of 68 fires burning across Victoria during this time.
The fire coincided with a heatwave across Victoria with temperatures reaching over 40 C in the Grampians region from 15 – 20 January. The fire eventually burnt 52,000 hectares including bushland and farms and was declared contained on 21 January 2014. Many residents from Dadswell’s Gap, Wartook, Brimpean, St Helen’s Plain, Roses Gap Pomonal, Bellfield, Lake Fyans, Lake Lonsdale, Heatherlie and Ledcourt were affected by the fires. Halls Gap was threatened by the fire front and ember attack and most of the town evacuated. Relief centres were set up in Horsham, Stawell and Ararat for the hundreds of people who were evacuated from their homes. Farmers lost large numbers of sheep that were either killed by the fire or later culled. At least 7000 sheep in total were lost.
A 12 km wide pyro cumulus cloud column of smoke and fire was created by the fire, generating its own weather pattern including lightning and thunder. This cloud gathered burning embers into the sky, which then scattered for many kilometres beyond the fire front, potentially starting new fires .
Australian Emergency Management
Halls Gap
In January 2015, and stayed in a fabulous little house near town that backed onto the National Park. We had a constant stream of wildlife visitors from when we arrived until we left three days later. Kangaroos, Cockatoos, Finches, Emus, and Crimson Rosellas were always nearby.
Break it up, kids
Boroka Lookout
We saw many of the lookouts had been rebuilt due to the last bushfire. Unfortunately, gone were the old wooden railings lost in the fires. In their place, however, were lovely new stainless steel railings at Boroka Lookout. The lookouts at McKenzie Falls have also been rebuilt, along with new amenities blocks. However, the kiosk that stood there is gone and hasn’t been rebuilt. Just the chimney remains.
The Great Alpine Road (also known as The Great Alpine Way) is a road stretching from Wangaratta in the North-East to the Gippsland Lakes at Metung. It’s Australia’s highest, all-year-round road-sealed road (with chains required in the winter months). It’s a road to rival the Great Ocean Road with cliff-hugging bends, stunning scenery of deep valleys, lush green forests, magnificent views, rivers, and lakes.
Bright
I travelled the Great Alpine Way with my friend and fellow wanderer Lucy. Going from Bright to Metung and then to Lakes Entrance in late spring. While most wildflowers were gone and Bright was heading towards summer, it was still beautiful. We stayed overnight in Bright at the start of our drive in a lovely accommodation house on the banks of the Ovens River. The weather was a warm 35c when we arrived in Bright and having more enthusiasm than brains, we decided to take the Canyon Walk at our back door. The walk is very popular and not particularly challenging unless you attempt it in 35-degree heat.
“The Canyon walk takes you past a small canyon carved by the Ovens River and amazing water races carved by the hands of early miners. Enjoy the ever-changing river in all seasons and watch for bird life and wildflowers especially in spring. Interpretive signs explain the history of the gold mining along the river”
Bright to Lakes Entrance
The following day, we woke to cloudy skies with rain predicted. However, we decided to head up the road through Harrietville and Mount Hotham. At 1861 metres, Mount Hotham is Victoria’s highest alpine village. I would have loved to take the Razorback Trail to Mount Feathertop. but we were in a 2wd car and not that brave 😉 If you are in a 4wd, it’s highly recommended. We continued to Dinner Plain and enjoyed a delicious late breakfast at the cafe before heading towards Omeo.
Omeo
Arriving in Omeo, we stopped off at the Cuckoo Clock Shop. Then, on the recommendation of a local in Bright, we called in at the Bakery for Coffee and Cake (he must have been related because the coffee was lukewarm and the cake average). Finding almost nothing to do or photograph in Omeo, we ditched our original plans and continued to drive on to Lakes Entrance, with a stop in Bruthen at the Blue Bee Cafe for a decent coffee.
Lakes Entrance
We arrived at Lakes Entrance mid-afternoon just as the rain started, booked in Bellvue Lakes Motel and dashed to our room in the rain. Unfortunately, the rain kept up most of the night. The Bellvue is a very nice motel with lovely staff, but I wished I remembered to bring my pillow. Pillows on the bed are nothing short of dreadful. The Rudder and Fin are attached to the motel but run separately. The food was delicious and reasonably priced.
The following day after a losing battle and a broken night’s sleep with crappy pillows, we went in search of breakfast. As the sun was trying the break through the clouds, we thought the day would improve. With this in mind, we booked an afternoon eco-cruise on the lakes and then jumped in the car to explore the area. We headed up the road to Lake Tyers Beach as our first stop. Lake Tyres is close to the sea, with the sandbar blocking the entrance. It’s only occasionally open to the sea, the last time being 2007 for six months before it closed again.
We drove to the Nowa Nowa Wetlands from Lake Tyers; not many birds there, but I was lucky enough to catch one pelican cruising for a takeoff. We headed back to Lakes Entrance from Nowa Nowa and stopped off at the Stony Creek Railway Trestle Bridge. The bridge was built in the early 1900s and is 276 long and 19m high. The bridge is fenced off and in poor condition though you can get to the trail by heading down the steep slopes of the Stony Creek Valley. (We didn’t)
Back in Lakes Entrance, we boarded The Lonsdale for our 3-hour cruise around the lakes. The skipper (Tony) was very knowledgeable about the lakes, and the scones provided by the ‘skippers’ were fantastic. I should have taken a photo! Big fluffy scones topped with lashings of strawberry cream with a strawberry on top. Delicious! The sun had made an appearance, but the wind off the lakes was bitterly cold. We started out sitting up top, came to our senses pretty quickly, and moved to the downstairs area out of the wind. We didn’t see any dolphins, but we did spot a couple of seals sunbaking at the entrance and quite a few birds.
Our last day was the leg home—Lakes Entrance to Melbourne via the long, boring Princes Hwy. As is ALWAYS the way, the day we were leaving was the nicest weather-wise. I think we could hire ourselves out as drought breakers!
It was our second and last morning in Eden, and we were on our way back up the coast on the return journey to Sydney. This time we headed to Quarantine Bay, not far from where we were staying. Our route would take us from Quarantine Bay to Kiama, but we planned to get another sunrise in first and hopefully spot more pelicans.
Quarantine Bay
Yet again, we were blessed with a beautiful sunrise. The weather gods were being genuinely kind to us.
Desperate times
Driving from Quarantine Bay to Kiama, we headed off in search of coffee. Desperately in search of coffee. Heads up, in Eden on a Sunday, NO coffee shops, cafes, bakeries, or anything remotely similar to coffee sellers are open before 9 am. It was only 7.30 am. So we started heading out of Eden with the naive hope of something open in the next town. No. Nor the next one, nor the one after that. It wasn’t until we went through Cobargo around 8.30 am that we found a little bakery that sold coffee and cakes. To this day, the baker remains blissfully unaware of the role she played in our survival.
Fortified and revived, we stopped at Corunna Lake and Tuross River before reaching the Ulladulla Lighthouse’s first planned photo stop.
Warden Head Light, a.k.a Ulladulla Lighthouse
The Warden Head lighthouse is an active lighthouse on a headland south of Ulladulla. Constructed in 1873, the original oil lamp was replaced in 1920 with a flashing light powered by acetylene gas for automatic operation, before being converted to electricity. in 1964 The light is now battery operated. It is also one of the only two lighthouses in NSW made from iron plates.
Point Perpendicular
From Ulladulla, we headed to our next lighthouse stop – the Point Perpendicular Lightstation. Point Perpendicular is still an operating military base, and we were required to show ID to enter, along with a headcount of the car. I was waiting for them to get out the mirrors on long poles to check under the car 😉
The travel brochures promised, “Drive through natural scrub and beautiful spring wildflowers to Point Perpendicular Lighthouse, and the spectacular escarpment at Jervis Bay”. Unfortunately, we saw no wildflowers and no escarpment. Did do another few km’s on NSW Parks favourite surface, though. The rutted, potholed, gravel and dirt roads. And while this lighthouse didn’t reward us with snakes, we did see a wallaby and a rabbit.
Kiama
We finally arrived in Kiama late afternoon and, with fading light, headed for the Kiama Lighthouse (we were on for a hat trick) and the Kiama Blowhole.
The Kiama Lighthouse was erected in 1887 with an oil burner light visible for nine miles. It was subsequently upgraded to gas in 1920 and decommissioned. In 1969 it was connected to mains electricity.
The Kiama Blowhole
The Kiama Blowhole was discovered by George Bass in 1797 and sits alongside the Kiama Lighthouse. Huge, spectacular plumes of water shoot up from the blowhole every few seconds. We spent a pleasant hour at the blowhole and lighthouse before heading into town for dinner and then to our B’n’B for the night.
Today our plans were for Kiama and Cathedral Rocks. We were halfway through our trip along the south coast and chose Kiama for an overnight stop as Kiama and Bombo are only a few minutes apart. So, after a night at a B & B in Kiama, we headed down to Cathedral Rocks, Bombo, to set up at the ungodly hour of 5.30. With excellent hindsight, we had scouted the location the day before to find it in the dark, so getting there and setting up was problem-free. Cathedral Rocks are 10m high basalt columns, sea stacks, and a 20m high cliff that forms a 1km headland.
It was a gorgeous sunrise, and we were working on getting the sun – and slow exposures on the rocks. I had an ND1000 on and couldn’t work out why it was coming out so dark until I realised I still had the CPL on from the day before. Once I took that off and just used the ND, things started to come together.
We stayed there till about 8 am with the sun fully up… it was just a fabulous place. I would have liked to go to the Bombo Quarry or Boneyard after that, but we couldn’t find them the day before, so we just settled for the entire shoot at Cathedral Rocks. Which wasn’t a bad thing 🙂
Bombo is a must-do place for anyone who loves landscape photography… for me, it’s also a ‘must go back. However, I definitely still want to get the Boneyard and the Quarry.
Cathedral Rocks is located off Cliff Drive, take the Kiama Downs to turn off from the Princess Highway, and cross under the railway bridge at Bombo Beach.
After our whale cruise and lunch at the pier, we drove to the Green Cape Lightstation and Ben Boyd National Park. Our goal was the Green Cape Lightstation at the end of the park on the tip of the peninsula. The roads are listed as 2wd dirt roads?… NSW Parks is very impressed with the capabilities of 2wd cars. While not as bone-shaking as our trip to Kichega National Park, it was still a bumpy, potholed, rutted dirt road for 21 km.
Green Cape Lighthouse
At the end of the road, the Green Cape Lighthouse rises 29ft overlooking the peninsula. The Green Cape Lighthouse was the first cast concrete lighthouse built in Australia. It also distinguishes it as NSW’s second tallest and most southernmost lighthouse.
A fence surrounds the lighthouse, so it’s impossible to get into the light station grounds (rented out as holiday rentals), but we found that heading down towards the cliffs gave us a good viewpoint.
The Pinnacles
Once on our way again and still within Ben Boyd National Park, we drove to the Pinnacles. Once you park the car, it’s an easy 1.1km loop to the pinnacles and back. The Pinnacles were formed due to erosion of the cliffs. They formed about 65 million years ago and are made of soft white sands and red gravel clay. When part of the cliff fell away, it exposed the red clay and white sands. Fortunately, we didn’t see any more snakes. But we kept a good eye out and thanked our forethought for wearing leather hiking boots!
Davison Whaling Station
Our final stop at Ben Boyd National Park was pretty underwhelming. The lady at the Information Center recommend that the Davison Whaling Station was well worth a visit. It may have been once. But there is a quaint little shack, but there isn’t much else. The whaling station itself was a couple of signs and an old tin pot.
Day Three of our South Coast road trip brought us to the highlight (for me) of our journey. And the main reason we were in Eden – the Eden Whale Watching cruise on Twofold Bay.
Whale Watching Cruise
Cat Balou run cruises all year round from a 72 seat vessel, but September to November is whale watching time during the Humpback Whale southern migration. Whales travel a distance of around 10,000km on their migration. While the whales pass Eden on both the southern and northern migration, it’s only on the southern migration that they are close enough to shore to see. Most are only seen further out to sea on the northern migration. And only a very few venture into Twofold Bay.
Twofold Bay
Leaving Snug Cove at Eden Wharf, we cruised around the Bay for three and half hours. We sighted pods of dolphins, a few seals and three whales. Twofold Bay is one of the deepest natural harbours globally. It is also the only port on the Sapphire Coast with direct ocean access and no sand bars to negotiate.
Ben Boyd Tower
From the 1820s until 1930, men in open wooden boats hunted whales in Twofold Bay. A pack of killer whales assisted them. Ben Boyd Tower was initially planned as a lighthouse but was used as a whale spotting tower. After being hunted close to extinction, the population was estimated at 200 in 1962. In 2013 the whale population was estimated at 14,000 and increased by 11% a year.
I had been hoping to get a whale leaping out of the water, but they weren’t cooperating that day. We had to settle for several ‘breachings’ where the whale generates enough upward force with its powerful tail flukes to lift two-thirds of its body out of the water before coming down in a thunderous splash.
The underpart of each tail fluke is like a ‘fingerprint’ with no two tails having the same markings. Whale Facts