Images by Christine Walsh: 2009-06-28

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Australian Scenery

This series of images are scenery shots from various places around Australia.

Sorrento back beach, Vic.

This is a shot of the Great Ocean Road near Lorne, Vic.

Apollo Bay, Vic.

This shot and the one below are taken at Maits Rest in the Otways.

This moon shot was taken from the desert in SA. The night sky is a lot clearer and brighter looking when there are no city lights or smog.

Lake Wallace in NW Vic is one of many lakes that have dried out in recent years from the ongoing drought.

Much of SA is desert. This area is known as the Breakaways.

near Venus Bay, SA.

near Coober Pedy.

The Southern Ocean taken from the Nullabor NP, SA. The word Nullabor simply means no trees.

Broome is a place visited by most people for its beaches but just south of Broome there is a bird observatory where many different types of water birds can be seen. Many birds migrate here from other parts of the world each year. People are not allowed on the beach at all here- it has been set aside for the birds so they can feed and rest for their long flights home without being disturbed.

In NW Western Australia there is a little known area called the Burup Peninsula where aboriginal people have be visiting for thousands and thousands of years. They have engraved thousands of rocks with animals and symbols and have done so up until comparatively modern times. This must rate as one of the worlds most ancient and largest art galleries. The engraving above is of a bandicoot. It is a site that seems to be begging for study and regulations to protect it from being mined now or in the future.

Boab trees are found in NT and WA. This one is at Mulligans Lagoon, WA.

Although outback Australia is mostly desert there are some rivers that run all or most of the time. This at Mataranka where there is not only permanent water in the Roper River but also thermal springs in the area.

When we visited Darwin we were there on Territory Day and they have spectacular fireworks displays to celebrate. It is one of the few places in the country where people can still buy fireworks and let them off themselves. Hopefully this wont be the case for much longer as there were quite a few people who took delight in throwing lit penny bangers into the crowd of thousands of people. One person was killed by fireworks night we were there. I almost felt like I was in a war zone after having to step on one that landed in front of me. Loved the fireworks, hated the huge crowd.

Fogg Dam, NT.

Kakadu NP, NT.

Yellow Water, Kakadu NP, NT.

Kakadu NP, NT.

There are a number of places suitable for swimming in the NT, where there are no crocodiles. This is one of them. The water is very cold but it is worth swimming over to the waterfall. If you put a mask and snorkel on you can see a variety of small freshwater fish as well as larger baramundi and turtles.

Mount Connor, Central Australia, NT.

The Olgas, Uluru NP, Central Australia, NT.

Uluru NP.

The Olgas, Uluru NP, NT.

Ayers Rock, Central Australia, Uluru NP, NT. (above and below)

There are a number of rock art sites around the rock which were originally painted thousands of years ago by the aboriginal people of the surrounding area. They have been added to and painted over many times throughout the years. Symbols depict animals they hunt as well as spirit beings, stories and show features like waterholes and other significant landmarks.

There are regions of the Ayers rock that have eroded over the eons and left patterns. To me this looks like the profile of an aboriginal man engraved into the rock for eternity and it seems fitting as our indigenous Australians have been here for tens of thousands of years.

Kings Canyon, NT.

There are many wetlands around the Darwin area some are covered with waterlilies.

Berry Springs, near Darwin, NT.

After sunset at Karumba at the base of Gulf of Carpentaria, Qld.

Karumba, Gulf of Carpentaria, Qld.

Barcaldine, Qld. The grassy mounds are spinifex grass and has more sharp spikes than cactus.

This is a photo of tidal flats at Tincan Bay, Qld. The holes are made by fish so that they have their own private pool to wait in till the tide comes back in.

Fraser Island, off Queenslands coast is a sand island. It has many inland lakes filled with really clean fresh water. It is relatively unspoilt and has no made roads. They are at most sandy tracks like the one in the picture below. A 4wd vehicle is needed to get around the island and even then getting bogged in sand happens regularly.

Rock art at a water hole near Mount Isa, Qld.

Queenslands Great Barrier Reef is a wondreful place to dive. This photo was taken on a dive off Lowe Isles.

Lowe Isles is typical of the small coral atols found along the length of the reef.

near Cania Gorge, Qld.

This is a sculpture on the top of a resturaunt boat at Port Douglas, Qld.

Mareeba, Qld.

Daintree NP, Qld. The river in the distance is the Daintree.

This is the beach at Cape Tribulation. Beautiful beach but swimming is not recomended as there are dangerous sea jellies and esturine crocodiles in the water. Walking in the rainforrest is not without risks either. The endangered cassowary can injure or even kill a person if surprised or cornered and there are snakes, insects and even plants to be very wary of.

Rainforrest near Cooktown, Qld.

Wetland near Cooktown, Qld.

The two above photos are taken from a board walk that goes through this wetland swamp near Cape Tribulation. It had a timeless feel about and is a place that you can almost imagine primitive creatures like dinosaurs appearing in front of you.