3 long days of driving took me through the “Never Never”. A local name for a vast interior plain of Australia. It is a transition from desert to the tropics.

An Aussie along the way said: ” you must stop at this place”, so I did. Daly Waters is a pub. The look says it all. How could I resist a Barramundi fish burger at a place that has everything no one wanted and everything to bring people from around the world to see.

I almost forgot to mention road trains, tractor trailers pulling up to 4 full sized trailers. How to pass one; (1) a view to the horizon (2) see through mirages (3) boot it!!!. Just think, the closing speed with you and an opposing rig hauling propane is about 220kmh; the explosion would be seen from space. By the way the advised posted speed is 130kmh.

Litchfield National Park is a place I really wanted to see. Good news: Kakadu Park is underwater which gave me an extra day to see Litchfield. Here are the words that come to mind: hot, humid, stunningly beautiful, it is the tropics. The “no swimming” signs are everywhere; crocodiles!!

The owner of the Litchfield Safari Camp told me: “the freshies are everywhere, the rogue saltie is the one we don’t know where it is”. In other words loner salt water crocodiles find there way into swimming holes; obey the signs!!! For those that haven’t heard, the saltie is huge and always hungry. The land is 1 meter below sea level and an easy passage way for the reptiles. Daly Waters Litchfield National Park

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My son David and I spent a week together hiking and photographing Uluru and Kings Canyon. We just finished exploring, or better said getting an overview of the MacDonnell Range on the way to Alice Spring. David leaves me to return to Melbourne. We had an awesome time and fortunately he took some grab shots of the two of us. Thanks David for a wonderful time!

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The MacDonnell Range runs east west and the drive took us through a valley between seams in the rock. There are many photographic opportunities. An interesting spot is a seam of ochre rock with several dominant colours; red, yellow, white. It is a special spot for Aboriginals to collect and crush ochre for their art.

I’m on the way to Katherine and the “top end”. A great spot to stop is at the Devil’s Marbles which is a surreal formation of geometric rock shapes. Onward.

MacDonnell Range Devils Marbles

Kings Canyon lies about 200km northeast of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and is part of rugged ranges of steep sided red rock, bluffs and canyons. White gum trees seem to find cracks in the rock, find water, and survive formidable conditions.

We stayed two nights at Kings Canyon Station, a working cattle and camel ranch. Yes camels, and they are somewhat tamed for tourist rides. Yet, by far the camel population is wild and apparently number in the hundreds of thousands with an estimate of 1.2 million running freely. The BBC just completed filming a documentary on the camels. One camel shot expresses the look I give accountants when asked about accounting matters.

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The opportunity for red rock photography is everywhere and saturation changes moment by moment like Uluru. We took a helicopter ride and saw the vastness of the Middle Ranges and valleys upon valleys of “beehive” rock structures and rugged landscapes. David’s first ride in a chopper will be memorable as he took about 600 images and a couple of videos. He also caught a shot of myself on an overlook of Kings Canyon. Steep cliffs!

We are currently staying at the Kings Canyon Resort and doing day and evening hikes. It is hard to pull away as the sun sets.

Our Location

 

My son David and I explored both Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the Olgas. Uluru is as I remembered: “overwhelmingly beautiful”. The colour changes moment by moment and the views both closeup and from a distance beg the questions: “where did this come from, what caused this monolith”.

The interesting thing about this visit and last visit three years ago with Jill is our arrival followed heavy rainstorms and rain pours down its face and collects at the base. Very unusual to see this in a climate that barely gets 12 inches of rain a year. The Olgas are west of Uluru and are quite different in makeup from Uluru. Uluru gives the impression the rock is a single entity, a monolith and the Olgas are clearly a composite of gravel and bolders formed into huge bulbous masses. We hiked the Valley of the Winds trail and saw amazing sights. We have moved onto Kings Canyon for several days of exploring red rock.

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The small community of Coober Pedy is about one thing: the mining and selling of opals. Main and side streets are lined with shops selling the colourful gem and the surrounding landscape is mining in progress or mounds of left overs. If you do a Google on the town it will give the details. From my point of view; if you want to see what mining and a community around mining might look like on another planet, go to Coober Pedy.

I took a few shots of one of many subterranean shops, an old mine with a home and retail space. Another shot is a left over space ship prop from the movie: “Pitch Black”. Apparently the other worldly look of the area has attracted film makers.

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A set of landscapes shots are taken in the group of hills called: “Breakouts”. A truly beautiful place. It was a cool (32C) day with wind and rain and a huge contrast from yesterdays hot 39C and strong wind. Im off to Uluru tomorrow, a 750km drive up the Stuart Highway to meet my son David for a week of life in the “centre”.

This is my location:   http://goo.gl/ItAA0

 

William Creek: the real outback!!

I just got to Coober Pedy from a stay a William Creek and it is 39C and windy.

William Creek is the outback as most North Americans would imagine: rough, dry, hospitable people, and everyone pitches in to get something done. I was even enlisted and it got me a complimentary beer at the hotel. Speaking of the hotel, I’m not sure whether there are upgrades to suites, but I will say this: “the bar is the priority and the beer is ice cold”. I walked in after a 10 hour dirt road drive and was welcomed as one of the family. Yes, I had a beer or two.

It is a tiny community of mainly pilots. In fact Trevor, (owner, pilot, and all things outback) has some 15 aircraft and it seems they are in the air more than they are on the ground. I met some very interesting people. People that looked like they are growing on a bar stool. Wrong, that is where I met them and not what they do most of all. One guy brokers aircraft around the world, one guy was a champion bull rider, one guy flies grid patterns at 60 meters above ground for a mining company,  and all the young females in town are pilots.

Tay, chief pilot took me on a plane tour of the painted hills region. It is desert with vivid colour and I could have spent all day photographing the colour, texture, and pattern. This is one of the reasons I came to William Creek: people and photo opps.

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I got a couple of grab shots of the hotel at dawn as I was leaving, an intercontinental missile (crashed in the desert), and a few desert scenes. A couple of the scenes are of the “mounds”, artesian springs. Williams Creek is on the Oodnadatta Track, a route used by the camel train and later the “old Ghan” railroad. It was a vital north/south route from Adelaide to Darwin and followed the “mounds” for water. There are vestiges of both camel train and the old Ghan along the way. There are a couple of shots showing a hut for the camel drivers. In fact it is considered a Mosque. One of the shots shows an old “Ghan” locomotive showing through a window.

…and for the golfers: no problem as the terrain is perfect as there are no end of rabbit holes and sand traps. All you need is a piece of astro turf and you are away!!

Got to go back! Here is the location: http://goo.gl/TbX73

Friends in Melbourne said: “you must visit Arkaroola”. I’m glad I took their advice as the place is packed with extraordinary scenery and geological interest. A geologist, Reg Spriggs discovered one of the oldest fossils of a living organism and gained international fame. One shot is of the actual fossil. The family continues the research started by Reg and are the most welcoming hosts.

What a place: rugged steep hillsides, layers of red rock standing vertical in layers, and wild creek beds with an abundance of flora around waterholes. A 4X4 vehicle is a requirement if you want to do your own exploring. I was given a short list of short drives to remarkable locations and I only saw a few.

By the way, to get there is a long dusty drive from anywhere!!

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Flinders Range is a rugged, steep, set of hills emitting outrageous reds at sunrise and sunset. Sadly, the Park was closed and restricted access to many spots limiting opportunities for shots. The Parks officials suddenly decided to cull the goat population by helicopter over a vast range of the Park. That did not limit all options and I got out to several great spots.

I stayed at Wilpena Pound camp which is a oasis in the middle of rugged hills and desert. No surprise, it is a sacred spot for aboriginals and they left many marks on landmarks.

One morning in an effort to improve upon sunrise shots I set out in wind and rain. The bad news is that it developed into a full on lightening and thunderstorm and forced me back to camp. Exciting knowing how easy it is to get cut off from flash floods.

I’m off to Arkaroola, which is a tiny community in the North Flinders: the outback. Very limited resources, no internet; perfect. It will be several days before I get a chance to update the blog.

This is where I am:

http://goo.gl/S232p

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Just before I left Melbourne to start my trip up the center of Australia to Darwin I took in the F1 qualifying round the day before the race. Hard to describe the atmosphere other than sheer adrenaline delivered by extreme noise and speed. The event opened with the Roulette flying team. I started shooting with a shot of the Roulette’s in the Melbourne skyline. Next I tried taking shots of the F1 cars, a blank shot and first of many, followed by pieces of cars and spectators. Hats off to those that know how to shoot a F1 race. By the way, one the the shots is of the big screen directly across from our grandstand seats showing the bad weather about to descend on the track. The rain and wind did not slow down the party!!

I’m on the road on the way up the center of Australia to Darwin. My current location is: http://fms.ws/BRG39/31.96030S/141.46146E

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When I first saw the Melbourne skyline I remarked that there is something different compared to other cities. Today I think I have an idea of what that might be. Clean sharp lines against a clear sky, add a some bold colour and unique shapes and there lies the difference.

It is interesting, all around the city from the freeways to public parks there are unique architectural features with a dash of bold colour. Someone says it helps keep drivers awake!!

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