Category Archives: Photography

SNAKE IN THE GRASS

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ADELAIDE RIVER

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We decided to camp at the Adelaide River Race Track before heading up to Darwin. The sun was setting and a few whispy clouds were catching the last bit of light.

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I climbed the judges tower to take some photographs. When I climbed down there was a snake  at the foot of the tower, arched up and snapping at me. I jumped back and he dissapeared into the grass. I couldn’t believe it – after hours of carefully picking my way through spinifex and speargrass the day before and not seeing a snake, to be bailed up by one here  was amazing.

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I snapped a blurry shot of him in the fading light with a wide angle lens as he slithered into the grass.

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Four furlong bend from the top of the tower.

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Last light as the sun went down

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Next morning I walked over to the railway yard and couldn’t believe my luck. Someone had parked a yellow steam roller next to a purple railway carriage!

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PUBS – 2

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GROVE HILL HOTEL

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Whipping along the Stuart Highway north of Pine Creek, we saw a sign pointing to Grove Hill Hotel. We figured it must be a pretty impressive pub – the sign said “HISTORICAL” so off we went along a twisting dirt road to Grove Hill.

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At first sight the pub didn’t look that impressive. The garden was struggling, paint peeling and “New Ownership” sign, badly faded, but we went in anyway.

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The foyer was an elegant mixture of art deco and Territorian casual. We made our way through to the bar and ordered some drinks before wandering through the rest of the pub.

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The bar served a variety of beers in either cans or stubbies.

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The dining room – simple and tastefully decorated.

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Each table displayed a magnificent arrangement of artifical flowers.

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The bedrooms were comfortable and inviting.

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Keeping everything running smoothly required some fairly sophisticated, high-tech equipment.

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A piano accordian on the sideboard looked to have provided hours and hours years and years of first rate entertainment.

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Out the back, the matinence shed contained all the necessary tools to keep everything in ship shape condition.

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There was even a ride on mower to keep the grounds immaculate.

The car park is always a good indicator of the quality of a hotel. Looking at Grove Hill’s car park, it appears a lot of patrons arrive, park their car and never leave – and who could blame them.

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So next time you happen to be whipping along the Stuart Highway north of  Pine Creek, take the detour to Grove Hill Hotel.

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They even offer camping and budget accommodation.

UMBRAWARRA GORGE

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umbra map

This morning I was up before sunrise to explore the escarpment behind our camp at Umbrawarra Gorge. From the top of the escarpment the view was fantastic as the sun came up.  The country between the escarpment and the gorge is an undulating stretch of spinifex and spear grass, punctuated by amazing outcrops of weathered stone.

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These outcrops vary in size and complexity. Some have large overhangs and cavities and many contain aboriginal paintings, grinding surfaces and flint chippings.

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These outcrops make great photographic subjects in the early morning light. The blue sky and sea of yellow spinifex provide a great colour arrangement.

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Crossing the area of grassland behind the escarpment eventually brings you to the Umbrawarra Gorge. I found more rock paintings along the top of the gorge, also some interesting caves and crevasses.

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There are permanent waterholes at the bottom of the gorge, some with sandy beaches and full of small fish. The water is bloody freezing when you first dive in but after a while numbness sets in and it feels pretty good.

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Many of the rocks along the escarpment and through the gorge have a rippled surface similar to the texture of sand after the tide has gone out. I guess it means this whole area was once under water, or just that it’s covered in ripply rocks.

Dianne and I walked up the gorge and found some weird little red flowers covered with a sticky fluid to trap insects.

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These flowers looked like a type of soft cactus. They grew in clusters near the water and were about 20cm in diameter.

We also found some tiny yellow orchids, about the size of your little fingernail. They grew in shady pockets along the floor of the gorge

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Exploring the gorge and the surrounding country is a fantastic experience. The fascinating geography and interesting aboriginal art sites make you want to just keep on walking and exploring.

MALLAPUNYAH

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MALLAPUNYA
The state of origin football final was on the night we arrived at Cape Crawford. All the stockmen from the surrounding stations were in town for a big night. We met one of the guys that run Mallapunya. He gave us directions in to an escarpment and waterfall on the property. We drove in the following day. The escarpment was spectacular but we couldn’t find the waterfall
Mallapunya Escarpment
A lot of the open country reminded me of Fred Williams paintings. The yellow grass, flowering Kapok trees and skyline saplings looked fantastic against the Ultramarine sky
Mallapunya meat

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The state of origin football final was on the night we arrived at Cape Crawford. All the stock-men from the surrounding stations were in town for a big night. We met one of the guys that run Mallapunyah. He gave us directions in to an escarpment and waterfall on the property. We drove in the following day. The escarpment was spectacular but we couldn’t find the waterfall

Mallapunyah Escarpment

Mallapunyah Escarpment

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A lot of the open country reminded me of Fred Williams paintings. The yellow grass, flowering Kapok trees and skyline saplings looked fantastic against the Ultramarine sky

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Mallapunyah meat

LEICHHARDT FALLS

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Not far from Bourketown are the Leichhardt  Falls. The Leichhardt River spreads out over a series of eroded rock shelves and the wet season piles up banks of sand all over the place.
The falls look amazing just before the sun comes up. Sorry about the clichéd long exposure – couldn’t help it.
Downstream as the sun is about to come up.

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Not far from Bourketown are the Leichhardt  Falls. The Leichhardt River spreads out over a series of eroded rock shelves and the wet season piles up shifting banks of sand.

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The falls spill over a rock shelf into a large basin. They look amazing just before the sun comes up. Sorry about the clichéd long exposure – couldn’t help it.

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Downstream, yellow reflections as the sun comes up.

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The Savannah Way has some beautiful places to camp. Most of the river crossings are really spectacular and, fortunately, not much traffic goes that way, so most of the time you have these places to yourself.

LEICHHARDT LAGOON

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LEICHHARDT LAGOON
Leichhardt Lagoon is a series of waterholes on the Leichhardt river near Normanton. There were plenty of crocodiles in the nearby Leichhardt River, great sunsets and lots of interesting birdlife so we stayed for three days. Did some painting, lots of walking and cycled along some rough old sandy tracks spotting crocs.
Great camp site, right beside the water.
The sunsets across the wetlands were mighty.
Stilts fed in the shallows around our camp
These two cool looking ducks waddled past us one morning
Young Stilt trying to figure out how all these legs work?
Large Egret showing off elaborate plumage.
Attractive looking Egret making herself more attractive.
Important looking Egret walking importantly
Pied Heron circling.
Pied Heron – cruising.
Pair of Curlews – the way they behave is as weird as their mournful cry. They stand dead still and stare at you, then walk a short distance, freeze, and stare again – very strange!
Mobile studio – right on the edge of Leichhardt lagoon.
Cobalt Blue and Permanent Rose are normally used as soft, transparent washes. In this painting, as well as using the colours as transparent washes, I mixed them with white gouache to make the random opaque purple shapes that interrupt the detail.
Surprisingly few insects at night meant we could cook and eat outside and enjoy the view across the wetland.
By now you might be thinking this place is pretty close to perfect, and it was except for this guy…
He owns the station the wetlands are situated on, and thought it a good idea to blast away with a shotgun every once in a while to frighten off all the birds?

Leichhardt Lagoon is a series of waterholes on the Leichhardt river near Normanton. There were plenty of crocodiles in the nearby Leichhardt River, great sunsets and lots of interesting birdlife so we stayed for three days. Did some painting, lots of walking and cycled along some rough old sandy tracks spotting crocs.

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Great camp site, right beside the water.

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The sunsets across the wetlands were mighty.

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Stilts fed in the shallows around our camp

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These two cool looking ducks waddled past us one morning

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Young Stilt trying to figure out how all these legs work?

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Large Egret showing off elaborate plumage.

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Attractive looking Egret making herself more attractive.

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Important looking Egret walking importantly

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Pied Heron circling.

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Pied Heron – cruising.

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Pair of Curlews – the way they behave is as weird as their mournful cry. They stand dead still and stare at you, then walk a short distance, freeze, and stare again – very strange!

painting at leichhardt lagoon

Mobile studio – right on the edge of Leichhardt lagoon.

wetland painting

Cobalt Blue and Permanent Rose are normally used as soft, transparent washes. In this painting, as well as using the colours as transparent washes, I mixed them with white gouache to make the random opaque purple shapes that interrupt the detail.

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Surprisingly few insects at night meant we could cook and eat outside and enjoy the view across the wetland.

By now you might be thinking this place is pretty close to perfect, and it was except for this guy…

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He owns the station the wetlands are situated on, and thought it a good idea to blast away with a shotgun every once in a while to frighten off all the birds?

RAPIDS, RAINFORESTS AND RUBBER BOATS

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Tully River

Tully River

Fifty kilometres inland from Tully are the headwarters of the Tully river. A huge rainfall and a dam feeding a power station ensure a constant flow of water down a long series of rapids – the perfect setting for white water rafting.

The craze was started in the 70’s by a guy taking a few interested adventurers up to the head of the river in an old station wagon.

Tully Gorge Rafting

Tully Gorge Rafting

We drove up to the top of the gorge around 10:00am and saw 4 huge coaches unload a couple of hundred backpackers dressed in life jackets and helmets. The business sure has grown.

Down the Rapids

Down the Rapids

Tully Gorge has some fantastic rainforest. We saw a lot of Ullysis butterflies but were never quick enough to photograph one, so I will paint a word picture for you – They were very blue.

Rainforest Tully Gorge

Rainforest Tully Gorge

Rainforest Undergrowth

Rainforest Undergrowth