April 25th - Grampians to Tassie (Tasmania)

It's been a long day of travel.  The alarm went off at 6:20 am.  Showered, up and on the road with no coffee as nothing opens that early.  We were rewarded with a treasure hunt as fog began to burn off and the sun streamed through unabated.  We drove through pastoral lands filled with sheep, cows and little horses.  It was magical; again reminding me of Narnia.  The fields are all yellowish to time of year, a pastel yellow, and with the frost they looked soft.

3 hours later we were in Melbourne and we stopped at the hotel we stayed at the first night and will be staying at again on Monday night to leave a bag, then onto the airport. 

The flight to Tassie was short, 43 minutes.  Got our car and started to Cradle Mountain.  Lots of clouds, but breaks of sun and a hope of clearing tonight!

We arrived just about 5PM with sunset scheduled for 5:30 and last light at 6.  We checked in, asked where we could for for a quick look at the mountain and off we zoomed.  Wow!!  What treats we encountered.  They sent us to Cradle Mountain Lodge where they have some walks.  First thing we saw were people in the field across from the lodge.  We mounted up the big lens and headed over to see what they were seeing. 

Wombats!!  Jackpot!  Shoot away!

We chatted with some people who told us we might like the Enchanted Walk right near the lodge.  It is a 20 minute loop through some very old forest. Also, supposedly there is a platypus in the lake.  We looked, but didn't see the platypus.

The Enchanted Walk was just that!  Again, feeling like we were in a movie....Lord of the Rings, Narnia, or Harry Potter.  We met a woman who reminded me so much of Luna Lovegood, she could have been her!

The forest was beyond any that we've ever walked through before.  Serious rain comes to this area and the moss and the lichen was top notch.  The feeling within the trees was magical; as if elves or fairies might appear at any moment.  What did appear was a blacks stripped wallaby and rock wallabies as well as a pademelon.  The darn pademelon was too quick and we missed the shot.  Never-the-less, the walk was extraordinary and we were out until all the light had vanished!!

Enjoy!

Cheri and John

Black Striped Wallaby

Cradle Mountain

Wombat

Wombat

Wombat

April 24th - The Milky Way

In the US we've got so much light pollution that most under the age of 40 have never see the Milky Way with the naked eye.  In fact, today,  it's only visible in remote areas like Natural Bridges, UT, which very few of us venture to see.

Things are different in Australia.  Get outside of a city and you can see it.  Many people grew up seeing it.  Whilst we were here we were lucky because there was no moon and we got some clear nights. 

We had scoped out Reid Lookout in the Grampians during the day and decided it was the place to be!  After dinner we put on everything we owned and headed slowly up to the look out.  Slowly, because night time is when most of the animals are really awake and running around.  A wallaby hopped out right next to the car and thanks to Johns quick reflexes, we missed him!

To shoot the Milky Way you need tripods, cameras with really high ISO, patience, and lots of practice!  Fast, wide lens also make a difference!  We both had our Canon 5d Mark iii cameras.  John has a 20mm f1.8 and Cheri has a 24mm f4.  A shutter release cable can be helpful too.

This particular night was spectacular!!  It was the biggest, most spectacular viewing either of us had ever experienced.  It was like looking into God's eye as you peered into light from extinct galaxies!  Spiritual experience for sure and one you didn't tire of seeing! 

We shot for about an hour and a half, trying our best to capture the beauty to share with all of you.  Cheri took multiple shots so she could get a wider view.  It's one of the images below.  She stitched them together in Photoshop.

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

Multiple Frames

April 24 – Hamilton to Halls Gap – The Grampians!

It rained and blew like crazy all through the night.  It sounded as if there was a hurricane outside our hotel.  Hopes were low until we opened the curtains and lo and behold – sun and blue sky were making their way into view!  The day was fresh as the Aussies say.  Clear, blue sky and about 15 deg C.

We had a quick bite at McCafe for breakfast, the fastest thing we could find and then hit the trail for Halls Gap and some hiking.  It took about an hour from Denkeld and the scenery was great.  Once we got to Halls Gap we stopped at the visitor’s center to get the lay of the land.  We were quickly informed that if we wanted to see wildlife, the best bet was to walk the 2.5 km loop right there at the visitor’s center.  We had already picked out some hikes for later in the day and they showed us where to start.

That loop around the visitor’s center was a jackpot!  Kangaroos resting and willing to let us walk up close.  Parrots were in the trees and on the ground.  Two Kookabara’s in trees and again willing to let us come close.  A nice little wallaby hanging around!  Jackpot!

We grabbed a meaty pie for lunch and then headed to hike the sundial.  This was a nice meandering walk that had a steep part at the end with superior scenery.  The woods were alive!

Do you remember when you were a kid and you got your first box of 64 color crayons?  I remember there being many shades of green and at the time wondering what they were for.  Today, if I had any doubt, I know what they are for because every color green was in the rain forest we walked through.  The ferns were healthy and a main part of the forest.  The smells were amazing!  There was eucalyptus at one point and it made my nose tingle.  The sky was blue, blue.  The trees ranged from white to brown to burnt black from previous fires.  The rocks were all bumpy and interesting;  some grey, white, red, orange and more.

After we hiked the Sundial pinnacle we drove to the Reed lookout and hiked to the Balconies.  Stunning views.  In fact, we plan to head back there tonight to capture the Milky Way!

Enjoy!

Cheri & John

Red Kangaroo

Kangaroo

Grey Kangaroo

Kookabara

Pied Crow

View from Sundial

View from Sundial

The Balconies

April 23. Mt Gambier to Hamilton and the foothills of the Grampians

The Barn was spectacular. We were sorry to leave such a fabulous place and sent some extra time there in the morning downloading images, blogging and just relaxing.  The food was all locally sourced and oh so delicious. That included the wind. 

Now on the road again, it feels and looks fall like as we see giant sheep, elk, and cattle  ranches.  It's lonely, but beautiful country.  The light makes everything look like its a water color painting. 

We finally made if to Hamilton around 2 PM and checked Into our hotel.  Quickly we threw our hiking and camera gear into the car and headed to the base of the southern Grampians.  There was a very helpful woman at the info station who helped us with choices of which hike to make. 

We headed off for Picciny and ended up doing Mt. Sturgeon. It was a beautiful hike with ups and downs and ups and downs.  As we got to the steeper final section we were hiking quietly along and Cheri looked up into the eyes of a Wallaby!!  Holy cow...there she was....right in the path watching us intently chewing on a piece of grass.  She looked as if she was a toll collector and had her hand out for a $1 coin!  Cheri had her small lens on and she shot so as not to miss her.  John quickly changed out his lens to the 100-400 mm while Cheri kept her focus.  John shot away!  Cheri changed lens, but she hopped off into the brush.

We kept hiking and before we knew it we had found another smaller one.  This time we were both loaded for bear and got some great shots!!how exciting!!

The hike was about 8 km and took about 2.5 hours.  Glorious!  When we got back to the car and headed off and quickly found a large group of kangaroo in the fields.  We stopped for some picies.  Next thing we saw was a goshawk all lit up by the sun.  Cheri grabbed him in the air!  Next the sunset was spectacular!  What an end to the day light hours!

Off to dinner now!

Plover

Goshawk

Enjoy!
Cheri & John

April 22nd - Warrnambool to Mt. Gambier

With the skies breaking into blue in patches we elected to back track to the Bay of Islands and the Bay of Martrys. Oh what a good decision!  The sun came out in earnest and we were treated to spectacular views with virtually no tourists in sight!  We got to go down on the beaches in between the spectacular lime stone formations.  It felt like you were in Narnia when they came back the second time.  I swear Asland was in the bush whispering to me!  We hung out in the By of Islands until about 11:45 then shot for Warrnambool for lunch. 

After lunch we headed to Tower Hill to see what typically Australian animals including emu and koala bears.  We walked and were rewarded with emu, little birds, and butterflies.

Traveling from Tower Hill to Mount Gambier is filled with green rolling hills, cows, sheep, wind turbines...it's very peaceful. It like I think Montana is...big skies and long distances.  Oddly, the ocean is just over the ridge. 

The light is beautiful today.  At 4 PM we left the ocean and headed into the hills toward Mount Gambier.  Sad to leave the ocean, but the adventure must continue.  

We've been trying to catch the parrots since we got here.  We've seen many blue and reds as well as green and reds.  Finally scored them!  Then 5 o'clock came...the golden hour and when all the nocturnal animals start coming out.  It's like being on an African safari. Kangaroos on the left, emus on the right!  Spot, spot, spot!

Dinner was divine!!!  Local cows, local farm, local wine - yahoo!

The milky way was bright and we shot it!

Emu

Enjoy! John & Cheri