Oatlands: Population 540

At first glance the town of Oatlands can look like a sleepy little place with not much going on.  That is until you find there is a great little camp spot which places you in close walking distance to everything such as:

• Dulverton Lake is full of bird life and stocked with Trout.
• Callington Mill (1836) is a gorgeous working mill where you can take a tour - It has been fully restored after it was gutted by fire in the early 1900s and now makes organic flour the traditional way.
• Visitor and information centre (handy if you want to get some info about the old buildings, there is also a Historical Walk)
• Town and the local IGA.
• TKO Bakery at the Kentish Hotel where you can get the best Scallop Pies ever made.

This is one of Tassie's hidden gems with many convict-built buildings in town and it is just loaded with atmosphere and history.

Gardens & Callington Mill

Callington Mill & other convict built buildings

Inside the Grainary

Lake Dulverton

Kayaking on the Lake

Confused local caterpillar trying to eat Trent's arm hairs

Richmond - Historic Town

I have just post-edited some photos from the historic town of Richmond, Tasmania.  An easy drive from Hobart, this gorgeous little town is full of the most stunning old buildings.  It was really worth seeing. 

"The foundation stone for the Richmond Bridge was laid on 11 December 1823 and construction continued using convict labour until completion in 1825. The bridge was originally named Bigge's Bridge after Royal Commissioner, John Thomas Bigge, who recognised the need for the bridge in 1820.  In 1832 an employee of the Richmond Gaol was murdered at Richmond bridge. George Grover was employed as a gaoler whose duties including flogging the prisoners. He was unpopular due to his ferocity and was pushed off the edge of Richmond Bridge after drunkenly falling asleep. No one was convicted of his murder." - Wikipedia

Richmond bridge

Cute puppy - I couldn't resist

Girls eating their lunch under the bridge

Very old!

So polite - Skysie & Oscar waiting outside the old church

Convicts Kids?

Here I sit in the old tatty 1987 annex of the camper using my iPhone as a modem for internet on my iMac via bluetooth.  It has a very odd feeling about it.

We have just left the town of Nubeena where we were camped nice and close to Port Arthur.  The best thing about staying locally over a couple of days is you get a second day free at Port Arthur so we were able to cover half on the first day and then the rest on day 2.  Included was a boat trip around the islands & out to the sea port, a very informative guided tour, plays depicting the life of a convict and craft for the kids.  My kids got to make their own convict brick and a peg doll each - they were thrilled!  They also have a little hunt where the kids have to find certain animals around the place and tick them off a map.

It gave you an idea of what convict life must have been like and I was mortified to hear that from the age of 7 a child could be tried as an adult and sent to be a convict.  Before laws were put in place if you were from a poor family your child would be sent to work from the age of 5.  My Charli is almost 6!  Of course there were some great photo ops but I mainly did close ups due to the very overcast skies on both days we were there.

My kids doing their best convict poses 

Old fire place

Bumble Bee!

Triabunna

We found ourselves overnighting in the little town of Triabunna on our way to Hobart. The town gets its name from an aboriginal word meaning "Tasmanian Native Hen" which are found around Tassie but now extinct on the mainland. There are a couple of great free camps there, one by the pub, one by the river. The thing that struck me about this charming little place were all the old buildings. We camped behind the pub and there were some gorgeous abandoned buildings right next door. I believe these used to be the old mill. We saw bumble bees and the kids picked mulberries & plums off the trees. They had a ball! You can get the boat to Maria Island which we have been told was worth seeing as well, but we were keen to hit the road again & head for Hobart.


My image of the old mill: Converted to black & white then overlaid with a texture of the stonework on the building itself. I thought getting down low so the grass was visibly long enhanced the abandoned look.

Almost time to say goodbye...

Well it's nearly time to leave The Bay of Fires, we have been here a month and loved (almost) every moment of it excluding a couple of crazy days over the silly season!  Photography-wise this is one of the most beautiful places on earth.  I can see why the Lonely Planet and National Geographic credit it wuth having some of the best beaches in the world.  It's still so natural without a high-rise building in sight.

Here are the rest of my bird images from the area, it was exciting to capture the babies and also a thrill to see the "Turbo Chook/Native Hen" as these are a flightless bird which is now extinct on the mainland of Australia due to Foxes, Dingoes & Wild Dogs.

This place will be forever etched in my memory as one of the most special places to stay.  Such great memories and photo ops at every turn.

Pacific Gull, top left shows the Juvenile 

Tasmanias Endemic "Native Hen" or "Turbo Chook" as the locals call it

Splendid Fairy-Wren - the male on right, female shown top left.

I believe this is a young Black-Faced Cormorant

Hooded Plover chick playing dead, adult top left

HAPPY NEW YEAR

A bird on the beach

I have been getting back to nature in Tassie lately and have been dished out some great wildlife photo ops. The shore birds fascinate me as they nest on the ground in the dunes. They seem so fragile there!

I visited my beautiful Oystercatcher who had laid eggs again to find the eggs had hatched into 2 beautiful chicks! Of course I had to do one more blog to share the images with you.

Note the difference where I never used a pl filter in bottom image as a test. I much prefer the top image without the shine on the black feathers.

A Merry Tassie Christmas...

I have to put up this little post to say Merry Christmas to all my followers, family and friends!  We will have Christmas in Tasmania this year at The Bay of Fires.  There is no "Shopping mall" here so I found myself doing Christmas present shopping at this great little place called "The Shop in the Bush"  where they have loads of souvenirs, old & rare books and collectables.  I have to say if there were a shopping centre I may not have found this charming little place so I am very glad there isn't!

The Shop in the Bush - St Helens

After wandering around the saturday markets we also stumbled on a santa at the IGA who was very patient being bombarded with my kids numerous Christmas wishes.  Merry Christmas everyone!

From the "Kellybillies"  xx

Kids with the IGA Santa

Summer landscapes in Tasmania

Tasmania is amazing.  I am still blown away by the abundance of wildlife and constantly changing weather!  I am presented with fantastic photography opportunities wherever I look.  So far we have traveled from Devonport - Launceston - East coast and the Bay of Fires.  I like Devonport, really like Launceston but LOVE the Bay of Fires.  Apart from the abundance of free camps here there are so many unspoilt beaches and plenty of birds and other animals around.  The weather is great, the temperatures are even better, I can see why all the grey nomads migrate here every year.

Here are a few of my fave landscape images of Tassie so far…

Mersey Bluff Lighthouse, Devonport 

Shelly Beach, Scamander

Swimcart Beach, Bay of Fires

The Gardens, Bay of fires

Bush Rangers & Benalla

Benalla seemed like a great little stop over on the way from Bright to Melbourne and we weren't disappointed.  Benalla is widely regarded as the 'Home of Ned Kelly'  so we had to go and visit the museum which also happens to be the information centre.  We just wouldn't be Kelly's if we didn't!  We also visited nearby Glenrowan where you can see the 'Big Ned Kelly'.

Wanted poster at Benalla Museum - vintage action with vignette added

We were really lucky to be in town the weekend of the "Benalla Festival" with fireworks and live music on Saturday night.  The kids loved it and we had a blast there.   I got to play with some night shots (always a favorite for me) and a few different perspectives.

Bridge at Benalla lit up for festival

Fireworks!

A different focal point made this image interesting I thought

Bright Shop Owner

We stayed 5 days at Bright, a gorgeous place with heaps of character.  My fave thing was this sign for Husband Parking.  I had a joke around with the 'lucky' husbands who were parked at the time I walked past.  "Work it boys!"  I love that they actually use the chair (and yep they were still sitting there when we had finished browsing with wives inside happily shopping).  Fantastic!

A Pony called Prada...

It looks like we will be saying farewell to Sydney today as we make our way south towards Melbourne so I thought I would put up one last Sydney blog before we hit the road again.  Yesterday we had an interesting day surrounded by horses at a horse show, the kids loved it and we got to meet the cutest pony foal "Prada".  The family were getting ready for their first Pony Showing.

My Kids "Helping" to get Prada ready for showing

Pony cuddles...

Street Photography…?

I seem to have covered a few k's since the last blog & now find myself in Sydney.  Blogging while on the road can be challenging especially when at unpowered sites & free camps!

I decided to try my hand at street photography as the busy streets of Sydney seemed perfect.  I think a smaller camera would have been a better idea as I ended up mostly getting pics of people looking stunned that I may have just taken their pic.  There were a couple of gems in there but overall I think you would at least need a more discreet camera and a lot of practise/patience.

Street Photography pic

Tourist shot of the Opera House

The station

Bluewater

About 30km north of Townsville is a great free camp at Bluewater where we stayed a few nights.  On arriving we were informed by one of our fellow campers that there was a snake guarding the wheelie bin and so of course I had to go and have a look with my camera.  One thing to be careful of when photographing a snake?  Other people who decide it would be a good idea to "Nudge" the snake with their foot while your head is inches away from it.  I kid you not. We also found a pretty Blue-Winged Kookaburra and a bunch of cheeky Possums. 

Mum & Dad arrived for a visit the night after we got there and Mum was a bit nervous to hear of the Snake visiting.  The backpackers who slept overnight in the open swag just metres away obviously weren't too worried though!

Cheeky little Possums trying to get into the annex

The wheelie bins were empty…wonder why?

Close up of Snake - anyone know what type of Snake it is?

Ash taking an "ankle dip"  in the fresh water

Paronella Park - An amazing place to photograph!

"Paronella Park was built in the 1930s by José Paronella, a Spanish immigrant.[1] José Paronella built facilities, including tennis courts and a cinema and a ballroom inspired by Spanish castles, to provide entertainment for the public. Since his death, a fire, a cyclone and several floods have badly damaged the park and the buildings. The park changed owners several times until, in 1993, it was bought by the present owners." - Wikipedia

When I arrived at Paronella the place was buzzing with excitement as a Sydney film crew was half an hour away.  The nice man at the door waiting for the film crew who I presume is the owner said he has turned away American TV shows as the place has become so busy in recent times.  He informed me that magazines such as Vogue have done photo shoots in the park.  He spoke with such enthusiasm about the place that made you want to share the Paronella dream.

Camera in hand I went down the grand staircase covered in moss and deep into the park.  I explored alone and found the tunnel of love, the old ice cream parlour and the theatre.  It takes quite a bit of imagination to picture it with red velvet curtains lining the walls which have since crumbled.  The concrete stage still remains in tact, also covered in bright green moss. I am told some of the elderly folk that used to come here in its heyday are saddened by the current state of the once picture perfect Paronella, while this generation seem to embrace the mossy walls as part of the parks enchantment. 

There is something really magical about this place, it has it all - beauty, love, loss, triumph, tragedy, and overcoming against all odds.  If you are travelling between Townsville & Cairns it is well worth a look.

Waterfall by Day

Castle lights up on "Darkness Falls" tour

Waterfall by Night

This place is full of nature and although the guided walks are great for the story of the park I really loved the quiet times exploring old castles and watching the turtles.

The Dream Continues tour - a 45 minute guided walk, departing every half-hour from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., highlighting features of the park and telling the story of José Paronella’s ideas for the site.

The Darkness Falls tour - a one hour night tour of the site at 6:20 p.m., with an additional tour at 8:30 p.m. during peak season.

Self-guided Botanical Walk - a self-guided tour, with the aid of a 16-page booklet containing details of the Park's flora, with various tree species identified throughout the Park.

My photography tips for Paronella:  Bring your tripiod, PL filter and stay the night in the caravan park (included in admission) so you can go into the park early in the morning before it opens.  This way you can get great shots without tour groups in your way.  Also do the darkness falls tour as this is the only way to see the park with the lights on, & when doing the darkness falls you will need a tripod.

A fusion of culture

We have been in Townsville 3 weeks now and haven't had a chance to get bored with so much going on.

We have been to Magnetic Island (beautiful), Townsville cultural fest, the strand, riverway pools and a couple of cafes & museums. Loads of photo ops here and heaps to do in winter. Oh & did I mention it's warm?




Magnetic Island was bliss! (don't forget your pl filter)




Charli got to drive the vehicle ferry & honk the horn



The Maritime museum was full of history



The cultural fest was heaps of fun and great for kids (not to mention photos) here are some more fave pics.














It was really interesting using whatever lighting I found on the night.

If you go to a Festival try playing with motion blurring as well as motion freezing. Also play with white balance as different lights give off different hues.

I like my 18-200mm lens for festivals as you often have difficulty getting close to a subject.

Location:Townsville