Australian Pelican taking flight.

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

An Australian Pelican takes flight near Fremantle, Western Australia.

I created this hexaptych to replay the scene.

Australian Pelican hexaptych #2. Copyright 2014 Andrew McInnes.

Avian assault ;)

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

An Australian Raven pesters an Australian Pelican near Fremantle, Western Australia.

I created this hexaptych to replay the scene.

Australian Pelican 2AM 007525-007530 hexaptych

Posting #12 of my road trip from Fremantle to Kununurra, Western Australia.

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

The 12th and final posting of my trip up to Kununurra and back!
This is a small collection of images from a brief detour to visit the wonderful Tunnel Creek National Park.

The view as you near Tunnel Creek along Leopold Downs Road. This is part of the Napier Range: Devonian reef from 350 – 375 million years ago.

Underneath the bluff in the following picture is ‘Tunnel Creek’ – a 750 meter erosion tunnel through the Napier Range, eroded by a creek. The tunnel is purported to be the oldest cave system in Western Australia!

This is a day-use park only; this is my trusty 1984 Toyota Hilux in the parking area – only a very short hike to the cave entrance.

Along the trail to the cave entrance…

Inside Tunnel Creek, looking back toward the entrance…

Looking deeper into Tunnel Creek – follow it to the right 😉

That’s it for now. Until next time, thanks for visiting.

Avon Descent, 2014 – Paddle craft competitors

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

With good winter rains, the 2014 Avon Descent was a lot of fun to observe. This photo-blog presents some of my images of various paddle craft competitors.

Day 1:

Day 2:
A thick durable fog and rather chilly conditions greeted the competitors…

Hope you enjoyed this post.

Avon Descent, 2014 – Power craft competitors

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

With good winter rains, the 2014 Avon Descent was a lot of fun to observe. This photo-blog presents some of my images of various power craft competitors.

I hope you enjoyed this sampling of power craft competitors; the next post will contain the paddle powered competitors.

Posting #11 of my road trip from Fremantle to Kununurra, Western Australia.

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Near Wyndham, and still proximal to Kununurra, is a world-renowned birding area known as Marlgu Billabong – part of Parry Lagoons Nature Reserve. Dusk and dawn are the best times to visit and observe the varied avifauna, yet anytime is a good time to be outdoors 🙂

The scenery as you enter Parry Lagoons Nature Reserve…

Arriving at Marlgu Billabong…

A sampling of the abundant bird wildlife:

In addition to the wildlife, flora abounds. These water lilies were stunning at dusk…

Dusk over Marlgu Billabong.

Two quick views over nearby Wyndham, including tidal flats.

That’s it for this post; I hope you enjoyed the images.

Posting #10 of my road trip from Fremantle to Kununurra, Western Australia.

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

A collection of images from Lake Kununurra, Lily Creek Lagoon, Ivanhoe Crossing, and the iconic Cockburn Ranges – all proximal to Kununurra, Western Australia.

A delightful boat ride up Lake Kununurra – the dog enjoyed the trip, especially the breeze in its face.

A couple of the numerous and delightful inlets along the way.

The exposed geology is fascinating and stunning.

The Kimberley region has numerous sites with indigenous rock art; this particular location is very near to Kununurra.

The view from the boat ramp on Lily Creek where we began and concluded this trip up Lake Kununurra.

Lily Creek Lagoon with ‘Sleeping Buddha’ in the background.

Off on a road trip now, just outside of Kununurra…

A couple of images of vehicles crossing a small creek on El Questro where we stopped off for a refreshing dip (swim).

Not far past El Questro, on the famed Gibb River Road, is the Cockburn Range which is adjacent to the iconic Pentecost River but the river was flowing too much for us to make a crossing. There was an unfortunate couple stranded during their attempt at crossing – their front axle fell into a deeply eroded hole resulting in a cracked oil-pan or something similar, necessitating a tow out of these croc-infested waters.

Having captured this late-afternoon image of a man fishing for barramundi with a live bait on a hand line at the fast-flowing Ivanhoe Crossing, Kununurra, I moved on to shoot other nearby compositions. This area is accessible for the numerous salties of the Ord River and is also thick with barramundi. Soon after I moved I saw this fisherman in a mighty tug-of-war battle that, with the aid of the deep and rapidly flowing water, soon had him precariously close to taking an involuntary bath! Ultimately he was saved the ignominy as his large gauge hook was straightened, thus losing whatever was on the end of the line!
The Ivanhoe Crossing is no longer open to vehicles.

The next blog posting will contain images from Marlgu Billabong and Wyndham.
Until then, cheers.

Posting #9 of my road trip from Fremantle to Kununurra, Western Australia.

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Other than the first two images, this post contains only aerial views of the Kununurra area, captured from a Robinson R22 helicopter owned and operated by Top End Mustering.

This is the helicopter for the trip, and the pilot – Ty Rankin (of Top End Mustering).

The Kimberley savannah and a portion of the lower Ord River – Ivanhoe Station.

Below the dam of Lake Argyle, the Ord River Diversion Dam holds back Lake Kununurra, which gravity feeds the Ord River Irrigation Area with water via the Main Channel. The Victoria Highway crosses the river here.

Downstream of the Ord River Diversion Dam; the lowest reaches of Lake Kununurra meander to the upper left of the image, then beyond.

River flow below the Diversion Dam.

These next few images capture some of the irrigation ditches and the agriculture that depends on them.

Though a variety of crops are present (and others tried previously), these are Indian Sandalwood.

Great cattle stations abound in the Kimberley, and this savannah, like those throughout the world, look resplendent after the rains.

A pair of graves on a station near Kununurra – DEACON, Thomas, died 28.6.1905 (age 49) & DURACK Neil Joseph, died 28.11.1920 (drowned, age 30).

Gravestones---Ivanhoe-Station-2AM-003608

Bordering the irrigation area are numerous ranges such as this.

Edging and among the ranges there are numerous waterholes such as this, many with waterfalls (during/after the wet).

Back to the immediate vicinity of Kununurra: This is “Sleeping Buddha”/Elephant Rock on the edge of Lake Kununurra.

Two views of Lake Kununurra Golf Club – one of the hosts for famed the Ord Valley Muster.

The next post will feature Lake Kununurra – I hope you enjoyed this post.

Posting #8 of my road trip from Fremantle to Kununurra, Western Australia.

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Mirima/Hidden Valley National Park – Kununurra, Western Australia.
Bungle Bungles in miniature – located just minutes from Kununurra, Mirima/Hidden Valley is a small park with sandstone ranges, cliffs and valleys, similar in appearance (and formed by similar processes) to parts of the Bungle Bungles (Purnululu National Park). The 350 million year old sandstone features within the park are subject to some striking colour changes due to sunlight variances.

Here is the ‘mini Bungle Bungles’ (a portion of Mirima/Hidden Valley), viewed from a helicopter, including the town of Kununurra, Lily Creek, Indian Sandalwood plantations, and a portion of the surrounding ranges.

Kununurra-and-Mini-Bungle-Bungles-2AM-003518

Okay, back on terra firma – time for a wander through Hidden Valley…

Hidden-Valley-National-Park-2AM-003206_crop

Posting #7 of my road trip from Fremantle to Kununurra, Western Australia.

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Andrew McInnes Photography

Ah, I arrived at my destination – Kununurra – after 9 days of driving and bush camping. Here are some images around the greater Kununurra area from the first day or so.

Not far short of Kununurra, and the scenery, topography, and geology changes (after leaving Halls Creek).

Assorted roadside grasses…

The fishing is fantastic in the Kimberley; this is a 1.14 meter Barramundi (released immediately after photo) caught on the lower Ord River.

The ubiquitous estaurine crocodiles (“Saltwater Crocodile”) necessitate care around the water.

Iconic Kimberley vistas…
If you have watched the movie “Australia” then you may recognise this geologic feature, known as ‘House Roof Hill’ – it is the backdrop to the fictional “Faraway Downs” homestead.
This image was captured very early on another glorious Kimberley morning.

The next image is “False House Roof Hill” – neighboring bluffs along the Ord River.

The April 2014 Lunar Eclipse occurred whilst I was in this area. The following image captures part of this eclipse over a Kimberley range.

Lake Argyle is Australia’s largest artificial lake (by volume). It is part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme and is a sight to behold. Unfortunately these “roadside” images are all I managed to capture of this vast and beautiful feature – I must return and spend time above and on the lake!