Author Topic: Revisiting Australia  (Read 13020 times)

Jan Anne

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #30 on: August 04, 2018, 18:11:20 »
Melbourne is about 900klms south of Sydney(about 10 hrs drive .. and I don't fly! :p) .. and I'm always trying to find any half decent excuse to go for a drive.
My major issue is I'm not a big fan of 'big smokes' .. and the bigger, the less enjoyable I find them.
I've done Sydney a few times now .. caught up with my main man Mongo a few years back to finalise a short deal I couldn't pass up on too.

But if you had the time to head west, into the nicer, less populated, areas I'm more interested in, I'd try harder to take the time off work.

So you're in Sydney between 4/8 and 17/8, but busy between 13-17th.

So does that leave you with 5-12th as free time to yourself?
if so, unfortunately I'm now all tied up with commitments with work and kids. 18th and beyond is where I could manage to take some time.
Hi, having a beer now on my hotel rooms balcony wearing a downjacket, a very nice change from the overheated summer in Europe :)

I'll stay in Sydney for a few days and I'll leave on Tuesday for a short trip with a camper for 5 days, still have to figure out whether I drive up North or down South but I do know I wanna see some whales and explore some of the coastline as I've somehow skipped both the last time I was here (besides the mandatory trip along Great Ocean Road). On Saturday two colleagues arrive to spend a weekend together in and around Sydney before we go to work on the 13th.

Sorry the timing doesn't match up, probably should have announced my trip to Australia a bit sooner ;)
Cheers,
Jan Anne

Jan Anne

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #31 on: August 05, 2018, 03:19:16 »
The mandatory wing at sunset shot  ;)

Shot with an iPhone 7 Plus.
Cheers,
Jan Anne

Jan Anne

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #32 on: August 05, 2018, 03:21:30 »
Good morning Coogee Beach!!!!!

A quick pano with the iPhone of the amazing view from the hotel balcony.
Cheers,
Jan Anne

Jan Anne

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #33 on: August 05, 2018, 03:40:56 »
And the day started great image wise and I didn't have to leave the balcony for it  ;D

All three images taken with the D500 and 200-500VR, really starting to like this set.
Cheers,
Jan Anne

Anthony

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #34 on: August 05, 2018, 08:55:40 »
Thanks, Jan Anne, keep them coming.
Anthony Macaulay

Jan Anne

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #35 on: August 05, 2018, 11:40:17 »
Had a chillex day at Coogee Beach today, such a lovely place to be.

Surprise Wave, a7RII and Zeiss 35/1.4 FE.
Cheers,
Jan Anne

Jan Anne

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #36 on: August 05, 2018, 12:06:51 »
Winter in Coogee, Sony a7RII with Zeiss 35/1.4 FE.
Cheers,
Jan Anne

arthurking83

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #37 on: August 06, 2018, 01:30:40 »
Good to hear you made it.

....  still have to figure out whether I drive up North or down South but I do know I wanna see some whales and explore some of the coastline as I've somehow skipped both the last time I was here (besides the mandatory trip along Great Ocean Road).....

Either way is worth the effort.
GOR isn't one of my favourite areas(I'm only an hour or two from it's start point). Some nice places .. wayyyy too much traffic(for my likes).
The further end is OK tho.
I have to say tho that I'm more of a desert traveller(I may have been a Bedouin in a previous life!  :P) I prefer the interior of the country.

Whale watching (I think!!) is more along the south of the coast from Sydney. Jervis Bay/Batemans Bay and further south.
There's some nice coast(about the only coast area I actually enjoy visiting) between Mallacoota(far east of Victoria) and approximately Bairnsdale(east Vic). A small town named Marlo is a nice visit. A small, quite hamlet I like to visit sometimes.
My personal preference of the interior includes mountain areas.
As an alternative to the coast route for the entire trip, I think one of country's best drives(actual physical road) is the Snowy Highway across the roof of Great Dividing Range.
Obviously winter here now, and this trip is best done at about Spring time tho. It's still a nice drive in winter too tho.

Victorian weather at the moment is just windy, more than anything else. Not unusual, but there's been more of it this year than I remember recently.
Average temps seem to be in the 13-16°C range.

ps. if you do come close to Melbourne over the next few days, let me know. I work Mon-Wed regularly, Thu/Fri are my 'days off'.

As for the GOR, like I said earlier I avoid it. It's very slow, we recently had it shut down due to a landslide. It's been a constant issue for the past few years(due to the parade of buses) and recent fires, etc.
ATM tho(according to the VicRoads website, it looks fully open) To do most of it's length you may need about 6+ hrs(with a few short rest breaks).
If you're like me and spend an hour or more any any particular site for photography, then it'll be a 10-12 hr journey.
The only section of the GOR that I enjoy is the section west of a town called Apollo Bay. Nice enough town, very touristy, and subsequently very expensive!
From there is an inland section. Nice waterfalls, some temperate rainforest.

The specific area of the GOR I do like tho is from Port Cambell, where the road finally opens up(and you can pass the 20km/h tourist buses).
This is quite the popular area due to the actual coastline with the sanstone formations and coves and suchlike.
Warnambool/Portland is where the really popular whale watching operators run out of. 3-4hrs west of Melb along the inland drive.
I'd estimate that if you took the inland route to a town called Colac(or Camperdown) then south(ish) to the GOR where it meets up with the coast again and on to Warnambool, this would take about 5 hrs with a rest break, but not including any photo time.
And this is where the real photo opportunities slow you down with the coastal formations. 

Hope that helps, and again if you do decide the cooler south is more to your liking and you pass through Melbourne, give me a holler.


Arthur

Akira

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #38 on: August 06, 2018, 03:42:12 »
Jan, you seem to be using your luck in Australia a bit too quickly.  :D  This is already a great collection!
"The eye is blind if the mind is absent." - Confucius

"Limitation is inspiration." - Akira

Erik Lund

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #39 on: August 06, 2018, 08:04:00 »
Super images! I love the parrot twins and the two beach images, so well framed and PP'ed.


Back on the roll  8)  Enjoy
Erik Lund

David Paterson

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #40 on: August 06, 2018, 09:54:11 »
I hope you have a great time, JA, and post some great images.

will

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #41 on: August 06, 2018, 15:51:39 »
Great photos JA. I hope the rest of the trip goes well.

Bent Hjarbo

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #42 on: August 06, 2018, 23:05:47 »
I hope you have a great time, JA, and post some great images.
+1

Lance B

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #43 on: August 07, 2018, 09:07:50 »
Jan, Sorry I couldn't get to meet up with you yesterday along with Mongo, Sue, Sar, Darryl and Rob and apparently a young English backpacker! You were in great hands with that crew. I would still love to catch up, but it seems as though it will be a forlorn task as I am also away next week and I think you leave for home on the 17th. Anyway, good luck with the rest of your trip and hopefully we can meet up another time.

Jan Anne

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Re: Revisiting Australia
« Reply #44 on: August 08, 2018, 04:58:41 »
You Sydney fellas travel way too much ;)

Sorry you couldn't make it last Monday but as you say I was in very good hands, though fully outgunned by the locals I was able to squeeze out a few acceptable images myself because Mongo and Sar knew exactly where to go which made it a lot easier to get close to these amazing birds of prey.

Attached is the osprey we captured just after sunset, what an amazing encounter that was and the D500 with 200-500VR did what it had to do :)
Cheers,
Jan Anne