I recently attempted to photograph the moon during a total lunar eclipse. Unfortunately, here in Sydney, we had a fairly cloudy night. I went outside a number of times to see what conditions were like. At one time a few small breaks in the clouds seemed to be coming over – so I tried taking a few photographs.
Here is one of the moon during the total part of the eclipse on 8 October 2014 –
A large group of friends headed up to Deep Pass. We had three birthdays to celebrate – and Deep Pass is not only a great campsite – it has many interesting places nearby to visit. Wildflowers, birds, canyons, cracks and aboriginal art caves. It requires a walk (only a short walk) – so it is usually not crowded.
After walking down and setting up camp, a group of us headed up nearby Deep Pass Canyon. This is easy and very beautiful. It contains many deep crystal clear pools. Too cold for swimming however for most of us. Continue reading
A group of us were heading up to the mountains for a birthday celebration weekend at Deep Pass. Some of us went up on Friday afternoon to photograph the sunset at Katoomba. We camped the night on Narrow Neck, so we could also photograph the sunrise.
Four of us headed to Boars Head for the sunset – Digi Dave, Don, Elata and myself. It was a cloudy day – so the prospects were not that good for a nice sunset. But a thin strip of clear sky near the western horizon had some promise. Continue reading
One hundred years ago, in 1914, a classic bushwalk took place. Myles Dunphy and Herbert “Bert” Gallop set off from Katoomba for an adventure along the Kowmung River. This walk, in many ways marked the beginning of both the sport of bushwalking and also the conservation of wild places in Australia.
In the 1960’s, Myles’ son, Milo Dunphy was one of the founders of the Colong Committee and became its first Director. They battled to save Colong Caves, one of the areas visited by Myles and Herb on their pioneering walk, from limestone mining. Their battle was successful, and so was a later battle to prevent the nearby Boyd Plateau from becoming a pine plantation. The Colong Committee is now the Colong Foundation for Wilderness.
Myles and Bert were out for about 22 days. A long time in what was mostly wilderness. The walk tested them both mentally and physically. They carried swags, but also carried a newly designed and home made japara tent. They needed a good tent. They had to endure a lot of rain and flooded rivers. The country they travelled through was very rugged and then only carried a few parish maps to aid their navigation. It was a real adventure. Myles was a master mapmaker. All the areas they travelled through – he mapped in extraordinary detail. He later produced large scale maps that benefitted many later generations of bushwalkers. Many of these maps are still available and are treasured by bushwalkers. They seem to show the bush so well. Many of the names given to features by Myles and Bert have made there way to current official maps. Continue reading
Here are a few pictures from my latest attempt to photograph some of the bird life of the Cooks River.
This was a lovely day out in the bush. Jinki Ridge is high above the Grose Valley. It is the usual exit path for visitors to Dalpurra Canyon – and it is also one of the best places in the Upper Blue Mountain to see wildflowers.
In the party were Rik, Digi Dave, Don and Elata as well as myself. Continue reading
It was time to head out to Newnes and walk up to the Red Rocks for a high camp.
In the party, as well as myself, were John, Chuin Nee and Jasper, and also Digi Dave, Stacey and Rik. We arrived at Newnes about lunchtime and walked straight up Little Capertee Creek and then up a side creek to the Wolgan/Capertee Divide. From there it was only a 15 minute walk to our campsite. We set up our tents and flys and then we could spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing, enjoying the magnificent views and taking the odd photo. Continue reading
It had been a while since I had been down to the Cooks River to photograph the birdlife. I wandered down today with my camera to see what birds were around.
It was the middle of the day, and most birds seemed to be resting. The ducks were very quiet in the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands. So were the Ibis. There were couple of pelicans at the Boat Harbour – again resting. Continue reading
Ian Brown, not long returned from a climbing trip to Greenland, has again produced his excellent Wild Blue Mountains Calendar. This is the 5th edition. Ian has a great love for the splendour and beauty of the Greater Blue Mountains and this love shines through in his photos. Each image has been obtained with painstaking attention to location, mood and lighting. and the results are a credit to Ian’s talent as a photographer.
Copies can be obtained for $30 from selected Blue Mountains outlets and online from his website – Windy Cliff Press.
My friends, David and Melissa, from Hobart were in town. A nice day was forecast and I suggested some coastal walking. They decided to walk out and around North Head and invited me to join them. This was my first visit to North Head.
The walk we completed is part of the Sydney Coastal Walk. This website has maps and notes. Continue reading
