The most unusual place we visited had to be the old Blast Furnace in Lithgow, which was where the first iron and steel in Australia was cast. The furnace was opened in 1886 and closed in 1928 when production was moved to Port Kembla.
The shell of the buildings, along with the dramatic lighting, produced some really striking images.
In the afternoon, we ventured down the stairs to take photos of Leura Cascades.
I had been here before, but it was good to be able to take the time and experiment with apertures and shutter speeds, as well as different angles. It made for a fun time.
Apologies for my absence. I’ve been on holidays for two weeks in the Northern Territory. Consequently I’ve got a ton of photos to organise, which will take time, but I can assure you that the results will be worth it.
In the meantime, I’m going to catch up on my trip to the Blue Mountains only a few days before I departed for NT. I went on a 2 day photo safari with Craig from River Deep Mountain High, and despite the cold and less than ideal light conditions, it was worthwhile.
The first place he took us was to the end of the long Mt Hay Road, to a place called Butterbox Canyon. Its heath country again on the edge of the Grose Valley.
Apart from magnificent views there was also interesting rock formations and flora around.
After we descended Mount Ossa, the finish line, Lake St Clair, didn’t seem too far off.
But first, we passed by a few beautiful water courses. This one we camped by on our final night.
The next day we were off to catch the ferry next day from the north end of the lake. The mountains surrounding it are all from Greek mythology. So when Mt Olympus appeared, we knew that our trek was at an end.
After leaving the Pelion Plains, our next challenge was to climb Mount Ossa, Tasmania’s highest peak 1,617 metres. It wasn’t the easiest task in the world, but I’ve been told it’s easier than climbing its more illustrious cousin, Cradle Mountain.
Nevertheless, the mountain was sizeable.
The lower slopes were a little waterlogged.
Once we reached a good elevation we could even see Cradle Mountain in the distance.
And from the top, we could literally see the whole of Tasmania!
At Pelion Plains, the sun made its first appearance, and it turned out to be the beginning of some good weather.
This place really brings to mind a scene from Lord of the Rings. Yes, I can see Aragorn running across these plains towards the mysterious Mt. Oakleigh, accompanied by the elegant Legolas and assorted other warriors.
The wildflowers at Cradle Mountain were certainly different from the ones around the Sydney area. They would be since it’s an alpine/cool-climate rainforest environment.
We have these berry-like blooms (but they could be berries for all I know).
And these pretty heath flowers near one of the campsites.
But I like these mini waratahs the best – certainly smaller and cuter than the mainland version!
And pretty much all of it drinkable!
Tassie is renowned for its high rainfall, and we got our fair share of rain early on in the week. Thus, the streams and waterfalls were running at full pelt. These were taken in the aptly named, Waterfall Valley.
We visited one sizeable waterfall…
… And slipped behind the curtain of water.
Woke up one morning to find wallabies grazing on the grass. And what do you know, she has her little joey with her.
My next retrospective is still over the sea, but much closer to home – walking along the Overland Track in Tasmania. This track stretched from Lake Dove in the north to Lake St Clair in the south.
I walked it with a guided group, and to this day it is one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. The track was walked over a week, with a few detours along the way.
The weather was very changeable, but that didn’t stop me from snapping some truly special scenes, like this of Artist’s Pool, at the foot of Cradle Mountain.
Static and Silence 