Aerial images of Windang and the mouth of Lake Illawarra, NSW.
Cheers.
A short series of images from Wombarra in the Illawarra, NSW.
Wombarra Headland 2AM-002847
Cheers.
Aerial and terrestrial images of Cabarita Beach, Norries Head, Hastings Point, and Cudgera Creek – on the Tweed Coast of NSW.
Hastings Point, NSW – where Cudgera Creek enters the sea after it’s sinuous meander.
A recent overnight visit to Iluka and we were presented with a considerable storm system and some fantastic, and rapidly changing, light.
Cheers 🙂
A very powerful weather system is impacting a considerable portion of the east coast of Australia this weekend. Here is the Bureau of Meteorology link and the ABC link.
Here are three images: the first is an aerial image (drone) at Scarborough showing clear weather conditions before the system began to directly impact this section of the Illawarra Coast, and the remaining two images from Bald Hill show the first wave of weather making its way to the coast.
Scarborough-2AM-0014. ©Andrew McInnes. All Rights Reserved.
Bald Hill 2AM 2771-2772 Panorama. ©Andrew McInnes. All Rights Reserved.
Here’s to hoping the farmers and graziers get good rain where needed.
Day 7 – The spectacular Catlins area, South Island – New Zealand.
Spectacular, diverse, ever-changing – we drove through beautiful rural scenes, along a rugged coast, saw a few more yellow-eyed penguins, sea lions, a couple of lighthouses, and low tide allowed us to walk among a 180 million year old petrified Jurassic forest – one of only three such accessible fossil forests in the world! All this and so much more we couldn’t fit in 😦
Nugget Point Lighthouse, built in 1869-70. A place of spectacular views, many rocky islets (The Nuggets), and much wildlife.
Nugget Point Lighthouse 2AM-0379-0744 panorama. ©Andrew McInnes
Nugget Point Lighthouse 2AM-000749. ©Andrew McInnes
Nugget Point Lighthouse 2AM-000754. ©Andrew McInnes
Nugget Point Lighthouse 2AM-000775. ©Andrew McInnes
To be able to view, and even walk among a petrified forest in the intertidal zone at low tide was remarkable. There are both stumps and fallen trees, petrified, with some growth rings plainly visible. This is but a sampling of the numerous specimens at Curio Bay.
Curio Bay is of international significance for its fossilised forest dating back to the Jurassic period. The tree fossils you see here are 160 million years old and the forest was alive when New Zealand was part of Gondwanaland. (source: The Catlins New Zealand website).
Petrified Forest – Curio Bay 2AM-000635. ©Andrew McInnes
Petrified Forest – Curio Bay 2AM-000631. ©Andrew McInnes
Petrified Forest – Curio Bay 2AM-000634. ©Andrew McInnes
Petrified Forest – Curio Bay 2AM-000665. ©Andrew McInnes
Petrified Forest – Curio Bay 2AM-000656. ©Andrew McInnes
Four images of the Waipapa Point Lighthouse. This is the site of New Zealand’s worst civilian shipwreck. In 1881 the SS Tararua ran aground on Waipapa Reef and 131 of 151 passengers and crew died. The lighthouse, built after the disaster, stands as a poignant reminder. (source: Southern Scenic Route website).
Waipapa Point Lighthouse 2AM-000600. ©Andrew McInnes
Waipapa Point Lighthouse 2AM-000611. ©Andrew McInnes
Waipapa Point Lighthouse 2AM-000622. ©Andrew McInnes
Waipapa Point Lighthouse 2AM-000616. ©Andrew McInnes
I hope you enjoyed these images from a fascinating region of New Zealand.
Cheers 🙂
Days 5 and 6 – Moeraki and Dunedin.
Just outside the coastal town of Moeraki there are numerous large concretions, exposed and highly visible, lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach. I thoroughly recommend reading more about them (here is a Wikipedia link).
Here are a series of images captured during our brief visit.
Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000526. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000500. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000496. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000517. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000533. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000549. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Boulders 2AM-000538. ©Andrew McInnes
After a thoroughly enjoyable dinner washed down with a local amber ale at the Moeraki Tavern, I took these shots of the nearby harbour. We had hoped to also eat at the famed Fleurs Place restaurant another night but, alas, it was closed for a while over the Christmas break.
Fleurs Place – Restaurant 2AM-000598. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Bay 2AM-000599. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Bay 2AM-000593. ©Andrew McInnes
Moeraki Bay 2AM-000595. ©Andrew McInnes
A little further south is the city of Dunedin, where I have family heritage. We had a joyous visit with a cousin and her family, and she accompanied us on a lovely hike to see the Organ Pipes. “The Otago peninsula was formed entirely by volcanic activity and the tall polygonal columns featured on this walk are remnants of this past. As molten lava cooled slowly beneath the hardened crust, it contracted and formed geometrical cracks which propagated downwards as the mass cooled.” (source: NZ Tramper website).
The Organ Pipes 2AM-000567. ©Andrew McInnes
The Organ Pipes 2AM-000576. ©Andrew McInnes
The Organ Pipes 2AM-000577. ©Andrew McInnes
The Organ Pipes 2AM-000578. ©Andrew McInnes
After the organ pipes we wanted to visit the world’s only mainland breeding colony of Royal Albatross so we ventured out to Taiaroa Head on the Otago Peninsula. Unfortunately we did not see any albatross, but there was a rather active colony of gulls. Whilst wandering along an observation path, we heard, then saw, quite an aerial commotion… upon further observation we saw a Black-backed Gull being harassed by several smaller gulls – the larger gull had apparently “kidnapped” a chick and was heading off with it. For those who may be a bit squeamish about natural history, the following two images may concern you.
Black-backed Gull 2AM-004861. ©Andrew McInnes
Black-backed Gull 2AM-004882. ©Andrew McInnes
Looking down the steep cliffs of Taiaroa Head I was entranced by bull kelp (Durvillaea species) as it seemingly twirled and shimmied in a whimsical tango with the ocean.
Overlooking the spit within Otago Harbour – our lunch spot on our way back to Moeraki.
Harrington Point 2AM-000580. ©Andrew McInnes
Back to Mouraki, we were thrilled and fortunate to observe, up close, a few Yellow-eyed Penguins (Megadyptes antipodes)! These New Zealand endemics (native) are purported to be among the worlds rarest penguin species.
Yellow-eyed Penguin 2AM-004739. ©Andrew McInnes
Yellow-eyed Penguin 2AM-004780. ©Andrew McInnes
Thanks for visiting – I hope you enjoyed these images.
Cheers 🙂
Last week (early December, 2015) we witnessed a wonderful series of lightning storms in the northern Illawarra area of New South Wales, Australia. Surrounded, but not underneath any particular cell, the light and drama at Austinmer and Wombarra was spectacular!
Here is a panorama of one of the lightning storm cells bathing Austinmer Beach in amazing light.
Stormy light over the Pacific, incorporating a little of Keswick House.
Just a little further north is the village of Wombarra, from where the following three images were captured.
The final two images include the Wombarra rock pool.
’twas a wonderfully dramatic sky, with quite the lightning show that was ongoing for quite some time. I hope you enjoyed these images.
Cheers 🙂