Very slack!

Okay.. so we're still alive. But I must apologise for being so slack in updating my Blog!
I have been pretty busy with everything BUT photography. I will put up some images I have recently taken (the first ones in quite some time), of a little trip we made to the Derwent Valley area of Tasmania.

Also - I keep a LOT of images on my Red Bubble portfolio - the link to which is on the right hand side of this page - so if you are interested you can definately see more of my work by following that link. It also provides the opportunity to purchase any of my work also. The quality of the products from Red Bubble is fantastic!

Okay - so here's the pictures I promised ..

MT WELLINGTON - WINTER WONDERLAND!

At this time of the year - I go nuts over two things; snow and Mt Wellington.
Today we went up to the summit, along with every other man and his dog (seriously, there were dogs on the mountain!!) to check out the huge dump of snow we received during the week. What an amazing sight.. just when I think I've seen the best of Mt Wellington she throws me a new view..

Have a look for yourself.. it was truly magic.

WELDBOROUGH HOTEL

Andrew and I had the pleasure of visiting the Weldborough Hotel in North-East Tasmania recently. The hotel offers accommodation both inside and also camping and powered caravan sites with an amenities block on-site.

The heritage listed Weldborough Hotel, originally built in 1886 and previously known as the All Nations Hotel, is situated in the picturesque rainforest of the northeast of Tasmania.

The hotel was mostly burnt down in 1928 and rebuilt by the then owner Maurice Russell. The area is perfect for bushwalking, fishing, mountain cycling, off road biking and driving.

This tiny settlement which is located 124 km north-east of Launceston is notable, more than anything else, for the exceptional pub - the Weldborough Hotel - and the Weldborough Pass where huge tree ferns grow on either side of the road.

Weldborough was first known as Thomas Plains. It was named after an early surveyor. The original plan was to open the area to rural development but the discovery of tin resulted in a sustained mining boom.

The mining boom saw a service town of pubs, general stores, butcher's shops and the like. Later a hotel (with good accommodation) and a racecourse were built.

'The Centenary of Portland' describes the town in the 1880s as 'The Chinamen came and set up a local Chinatown, carrying on as tin scratchers everywhere. All tin and goods went and came from Georges Bay by pack track and slab roads ... crops were put in, with good results, as Christmas time, while a few cows arrived upon the scene. This marks the earliest decade ... In the roaring days of the Weldborough Mine the lights were never dimmed, and with three shafts to every bed the trade 'roared on' continuously, and every prospect bore a pleasant smile. Having exhausted its importance as a going concern, the Weldborough petered out.'

It is widely recognised that this was the largest Chinese community on any tin field in Australia. They are said to have outnumbered the Europeans.

source: SMH Online

We can highly recommend taking the Mt Paris Dam Road and visiting Ma Mon Chin Dam, which is pictured below.

CRADLE MOUNTAIN - LAKE ST CLAIR NATIONAL PARK

We took a quick run out to Lake St Clair today - we had been past previously on a trip from Burnie via Queenstown to Hobart, but today got to spend some time bushwalking through the park.

The road was pretty icy on the way up (about 160km past New Norfolk) and below is an image of the frost on the side of the highway at one stage. This was about 11am in the morning, and it was still 1° outside! We also stopped off briefly at Tarraleah, where there is a Hydro Electric Station, as you can also see in the images below. A quick detour off the highway to visit Lake Binney resulted in our first platypus sighting of the day! We also stopped at Bradys Lake and saw another platypus!

We did the Platypus Bay (how apt) walk (which is divine and incorporates part of the Overland Track) and again, spotted another THREE platypus! Not bad when you consider they are supposed to be pretty elusive. To top off a great day for wildlife, we got to experience close-up a magnificent Tasmanian Wedge-Tailed Eagle eating carrion on the side of the road.

We hope you enjoy the images!

COLES BAY, THE HAZARDS, ST HELENS, FRIENDLY BEACHES, BINALONG BAY

I FINALLY got around to taking Andrew to Freycinet National Park and Coles Bay this weekend!!
There were some fires around, so the sky was a bit yuck to take any photos during the day but I knew the residual smoke would make for an interesting sunrise and sunset.
We also travelled up to St Helens to check out the town itself and the famous Binalong Bay/Bay of Fires area. Wow is all I can say, that is a truly beautiful spot.

Here's a few pictures I took over the course of the weekend.. enjoy!

SOUTH WEST NATIONAL PARK

Over Easter Andrew and I decided to visit the South West National Park. It takes about 3 hours from Hobart to get out there, but it's well worth the trip.

Here are a couple of shots, but we will definately be going back - hopefully to stay a few nights at the Lake Pedder Chalet.. during winter! I can only imagine how glorious the scenery becomes once there's a bit of snow around!!!

Enjoy ..

Gordon Dam

Lake Pedder

Sentinel Range

The Thumbs


~EXTERNAL LINK ::: PARKS TASMANIA PDF - SOUTHWEST NATIONAL PARK ~

FREYCINET NATIONAL PARK & BICHENO BLOWHOLE

This weekend saw a National Meet of an online photography club I belong to!
Finally I got to go to Freycinet National Park, somewhere I had been really looking forward to exploring. We stayed in Coles Bay overnight, which is an absolutely wonderful spot to stay, and with magnificent views of the Hazards, it also provides a brilliant place to base yourself to visit Freycinet.

Here are just a few of the MANY photos I took over 2 days..

Bicheno Blowhole

Friendly Beaches

The Hazards - Coles Bay

View to Carp Bay

Sleepy Bay

BUSY AT THE DOCKS!

As you can see it was a tad busy down at the Docks this afternoon in Hobart. All 3 vessels below were in dock!

Starting with the MV Orion, who usually travels from Hobart to Antartica. This voyage is 5-star and exclusive, only carrying roughly 100 guests and a crew of 75 - not a bad ratio!

The second image is the HMAS Ballarat who was docked in front of MV Orion. We don't get too many Navy ships here, so they are always interesting to me.

Finally, a regular visitor during summer, the Sapphire Princess. At 952 feet long, she's hard to miss! She can carry up to 2,670 passengers and 1,100 crew!! A beautiful sight to see.

HOBART REGATTA

Yesterday was a public holiday here in Hobart for the annual Hobart Regatta. Last night the finale included a fireworks display and then a dump and burn from an F1-11 that had made the trek from Amberley Airforce Base in SE Queensland (note - don't try and take photos through the fence at this base - I went to and noticed the signs, it's a HUGE no-no!).

The F1-11 took a southerly approach and flew low across the city before ascending into the sky after passing over the Tasman Bridge. It was an unbelievable site and I'm sure there are many Tasmanians who might have never seen one of these before!

** EDIT **
This picture was also used by The Mercury, on their website!
http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,21217449-3462,00.html

RECHERCHE BAY

On Saturday we decided to get in the car and drive! Drive as far south as we could go ..

Nearly 2 hours later we arrived at Cockle Creek at Recherche Bay. As you can see it's absolutely well worth the drive. Camping here is extremely popular, with pit toilets available and the sites are free.

Well worth the drive!

Cockle Creek, Recherche Bay

FORTESCUE BAY & PIRATES BAY

Andrew and I went for a drive down the Tasman Peninsula and found what has now become one of my absolute favourite spots in Tasmania. Fortescue Bay!

I had read that it resembles Wineglass Bay in beauty and what appealed to us was the ease of access. There's a brilliant campsite right beside the beach, with all the facilities you need - needless to say we will be spending many nights camped here for sure!

For a moment I nearly felt like I was back home in Queensland at Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays except I was wearing a jacket and it was 12 degrees!!

Oh and what you can't see in this picture is the front coming from behind me - a few minutes later it absolutely poured with rain and hail and we made a mad dash for the car .. Haha!

Fortescue Bay

We also found a brilliant lookout that provides this spectacular view over Eaglehawk Neck and Pirates Bay. What a GREAT day we had today, without a doubt the Tasman Peninsula is one of the best spots in Tassie to explore, I love it!

Pirates Bay

AUSTRALIA DAY SUNRISE

Happy Australia Day for 2007! I got up nice and early today and went down to the waterfront areas to grab a few sunrise shots. It had been a while since I had been out and about taking photos, and I was desperately in need of the sanctity of being out with my camera experiencing the breaking of a new day.

CRICKET!

I am so chuffed - have a look who myself and my friend Maggie got our photos taken with this morning! What a buzz - especially seeing as I am off to the cricket tomorrow, Australia V New Zealand in a One dayer at Bellerive! Whoohoo!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Grabbed a few quick pics of the fireworks over the Docks last night. Beautiful display but hard to enjoy with one eye up against a viewfinder - but still lovely nonetheless! Hope everyone has a wonderful 2007!