The Breakaways.

This unique region of ancient Australian outback, dates back over 70 million years ago, and features many flat-topped mesas, that at one stage in time would have been islands in a vast inland sea. ‘The Breakaways’ gets its name because from a distance, the features look like they have ‘broken away’ from the main range - the Stuart Ranges.









The Breakaways is also a major movie filming location including Mad Max III - Beyond Thunderdome (Tina Turner and Mel Gibson), Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Hugo Weaving, Terrance Stamp, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter), Ground Zero, and Pitch Black (Vin Diesel) being filmed in and around this scenic area. From here you can also trek to the ‘Dog Fence’ and then back to Coober Pedy, which is only about 25 km away.

Burra Creek Gorge.

Following on from yesterday's posting, these two photos illustrate the surrounding area of Burra Creek Gorge which is used for camping and daily picnics











There are large open areas for both day and overnight users to take advantage off. The large gum trees offer great shade during those warmer days although we have seen signs of large limbs falling to the ground, something not at all unusual with this type of tree.

Burra Creek Gorge.

This water hole location is at Burra Creek Gorge which is near the township of Burra in South Australia. Camping is permitted in the area along the gorge.











Because of the heavy timber cover in the immediate area, it is not alway easy to get good photos because of the low light. These photos were taken during the winter months with lots of green grass around. The light would be better during the summer, but the landscape isn't as appealing.

Murray River South Australia.

These two photos were taken on the weekend at Mannum which is a small town located on the River Murray in South Australia.

Mannum is approximately an hours drive east of Adelaide.










As you look at the photo to the left, the mud flats that can be seen here now, would normally be covered with water but due to the drought that Australia is experiencing at the moment, the water level is a long way down to where it would normally be.

Whispering Wall.

As we were in the area and the sun was shining, we decided to visit the Barossa Reservoir which is located a short distance from Gawler South Australia towards Mannum. The reservoir was built between 1899 and 1903 to supply the township of Gawler with water.










The wall of the reservoir got it's name of Whispering Wall because of the excellent acoustics that has been created by the construction.

When you stand with one person at each end of the wall on the inside of the curve, you can whisper to each other. This can be heard by the other person as if you are standing along side of each other.

Melrose South Australia Part Two.

As we left Melrose located in South Australia and heading up into the ranges towards the Mount Remarkable National Park, we came across this small creek crossing.













With the gum trees and vegetation in the area, it would make a lovely spot to have a picnic lunch on a nice sunny day.

Green and Gold.

This old farm house is located near Murraytown in the Mid North of South Australia.

The young green wheat crop gives a colourful perspective to the old building standing in the paddock beside the dead tree.












The same old building, only this time taken during the hot summer months when the crop is nothing more than golden wheat stubble.

Melrose South Australia.

Now that I have the computer up and running again after it's upgrade, I can now get back to the daily posting here.

These three images were taken up in the hills behind Melrose, a small farming town in the mid north of South Australia.









The photos were taken during April 2007 which was before the good rains that have now fallen in the area eventuated.

I am sure if we were to go back to the same location today, things would be a lot greener than shown here.









Sheep were casually grazing on what feed they could fins and soon wondered away when we arrived.

When it was time to shear these sheep, one would have to know what he was doing to be able to get them all out of the paddocks.

Postings.

Due to a computer upgrade at the moment, there will be no photo postings until Wednesday 20th June.

Running Water.

Today's three photos were taken of the water running down a creek near Whispering Wall out from Gawler South Australia. A previous posting called Whispering Wall describes this location.













It is a small creek which is only running water due to the recent rain that has fallen in the area.














The amount of water running down the creek in only small with all three photos being close ups.

Gawler Ranges & Beyond - Part Five.

With our three days touring the Gawler Ranges, this allowed us to camp in our tents for two nights. This sunset was during our first night with the second night although not as colourful as the first night, it was still nice to watch the sun setting.












The surrounding colours of the campground and the red dirt made way for great photos as the sun started to shine on our second day.











This was our second night camping under the stars. It was a matter of finding a bush track that took us away from the main road to an isolated location where there was only us and nature to enjoy it. The other requirement of course was fallen timber for our campfire at night.

Gawler Ranges & Beyond - Part Four

Part four of the Gawler Ranges & Beyond will show some of the typical landscapes that can be found in the area.












After the recent rains that have been experienced in the area over the last few months, the red hills blended well in against the green grass which was in abundance during our visit.












The next posting will be the last one in the Series of Gawler Ranges & Beyond. With so many photos taken over our three day visit, there will be so many that will appear here in time to come.

Gawler Ranges & Beyond - Part Three.

The old petrol engine used to run the shearing stands operating in the Siam Station shearing shed. This engine would be able to tell a few stories for sure if only it could talk.












The inside holding yards inside of the shearing shed. Sheep need to be dry when ready for shearing so they are housed inside over night to keep the night dampness off of them as well as any rain during the day.












Looking from inside of the shed through the sheep entrance door back out to the external holding yards. Lots of green grass growing from the recent rains in the area.

Gawler Ranges & Beyond.

This is the second posting in the Gawler Ranges & Beyond series which will continue for a number of postings.












These photos were all taken from inside of the Siam Station woolshed looking out through a none glassed window using the wall of the shed as part of the picture frame.













A drop of water can be seen hanging on to the gutter down pipe seen at the top right corner of this photo.

Gawler Ranges & Beyond.

The Gawler Ranges are a part of South Australia's pastoral country and offer some great colour shots to the photographer. This huge spinifex bush is a great example of what is on offer.












After spending a few days in the area, I will post a series of photos over the next few days.












As a young kid, I grew up in this area until I was ten years old. To go back to the same area to photograph it, was like going down memory lane with my eyes open.

Hot Rods.

This series was taken at the National Hot Rod show near Barmera in the Riverland in South Australia.

With a V8 under the bonnet and the red paint job, one wonders how fast it goes on the road.









Bit like the old saying "boys with their toys". Many hours of work and no doubt a lot of passion and satisfaction would go into creating these machines.









The age and colour combination of some of the vehicles would make them stand out in a crowd.

Coastal Scenery.

For me, South Australia has some very pretty coastal scenes which are great to photograph and some of the best can be found on the West Coast. This one was taken at Locks Well which is a well know fishing location.









Again on the west coast near Elliston, Blue water, white waves and the sand coloured cliffs are great to view when the light is bright.











Surf waves breaking in the water south of Elliston on the west coast.

Botanical Gardens.

The Mount Lofty Botanical Gardens are a short drive from the Adelaide CBD in South Australia.










To view all of the areas within the Botanical Gardens, you would be best to dedicate a full day to it.










As it is in the Adelaide hills with some steep climbs, spring and autumn days are the best days to visit. This isn't to say that the winter months or even summer are not worthy of a visit.

Whalers Way.

This posting is the fourth and final one in the Whalers Way series. As mentioned before, Whalers Way has some spectacular coastal scenery on offer.










The majority of the coast line at Whalers Way is steep rock cliff face as seen here.











This photo was taken at the end of the tourist drive and located on top of the distant hill is a windfarm which doesn't detract from the views of the area.

Birds.

The common Galah is found throughout most areas of Australia. To some they are considered a pest but as you watch them go about there day to day chores, they can be interesting to watch let alone colourful to photograph.









While one sits in the opening to it's nest in the hollow of the tree, the other is seen here chewing off the bark around the tree. It almost looks as if it has chewed the bark to represent a map of Australia.