Sweet Wayfaring

Moss is so lovely and at its best in the rainforest I think.  This is at the Cathedral of Ferns at Mount Wilson. Perhaps this post should have been fireworks given that it is New Year's Eve, but I don't actually have any photos of fireworks. Happy New Year every one!!

Mist is so mysterious.  I have quite a lot of misty shots from mist fingering its way through the mountain valleys to country towns quiet and secret like I showed at number 16.  But mist by the water is perhaps the most charming of all so I chose this one taken at Wentworth Falls lake.

I have just returned from a trip where we camped beside the mighty Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers.  But the one I picked is the Darling at Wilcannia.  I chose it because I have seen it in all moods -- from a mere chain of ponds during the drought, to this flowing river to it being in flood spilling over those high banks.

For want of a one word description I have used "Meadows" but what I really mean are big naturalised wildflower displays.  I have not seen the great wildflower meadows of Western Australia.  This one is from our trip to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.

Given the state of my own wild gardens you would wonder at manicured gardens being among my favourite things.  When it comes to garden displays it is hard to pass by Canberra's Floriade for a colourful photo.

Hey it's boxing day.  How appropriate.

Merry and blessed Christmas everyone.

So many lookouts, so many awesome views but this one in the Flinders Ranges remains etched in my memory.

Leaf litter is always an interesting subject.  Add an old stone wall to get double your money.

Grass trees grow all over Australia and I have taken quite a lot of shots of them, before and after fire, with their flower stalks blooming or just to frame an interesting view.  But they are most often quite a low growing plant or dwarf sized at best. I had no idea giant grass trees like these found at Coolah Tops National Park existed. They were an awesome sight.

Now I don't really like frost but I like photographing it.

Australia is covered in eucalyptus forests but they are not all the same.  The trees have different shapes and sizes, different colours and textures.  These Snow Gums in the mist are typical of high mountain places.

For me ferny places are enchanted.  The hugging cliff walls in this one just add to the mystery.

A rural landscape all plotted and pieced is a very attractive sight to me.  This one has the added bonus of rolling hills and that tiny little abandoned home in the middle.

Crops fascinate me.  I enjoy trying to figure out what they are.  But photographically it is impossible to go past a field of canola in flower.

So what makes a quintessential country town ... old shops with verandahs, lots of empty windows, home grown signs and with the bit of luck a Royal Hotel.

Country people like big hats and country music and make their own entertainment ... and I like that too.

I have sporadically run with the country lines series.  This one wants to take me on an adventure over the hills and far away.

I've taken lots of lonely little country churches but my all time favourite is this little churck nestled among the pretty weeds -- made of corrugated iron too.

Corrugated iron is everywhere in the country -- roofs, sheds, backyard chook houses (chicken coops),  water tanks.

I am not a fine dining person, but I love a cafe, especially an old fashioned gem in a country town. This is the White Rose Cafe at Dunedoo, NSW.

What is it about boats that just demand to be photographed, whether it be a canoe pulled up on the shore, sailing boats bobbing the harbour, tall ships gliding elegantly by, ferries chugging about on their daily duties, fishing boats tied up after a long night at sea, cruise ships with tantalising tales of travel. Among all those, wrecks have a special ethos of their own, though sadly  Pete's blog tells us the one a Dickey Beach is all but gone. ... this the SS Maheno at Fraser Island, Queensland.

Birds are a favourite photo challenge for me.  With so many lovely birds to choose from which one would I pick?  I decided on this one because we don't see them around here.  It's a Gang Gang Cockatoo which I took at Mt Hotham in Victoria.  What a great hairdo.

I love driving through the vast open country of the inland where the sky is big and the raindrops few. This is the Mitchell Grass plains out near Winton which I really enjoyed. While I like visiting these places I am not altogether sure I would like living there however.

I am a fresh water person rather than a salt water so the beach doesn't actually feature highly in my favourite things.  But because we tend to go Wayfaring to the beach it does feature quite often in my blog. I chose this shot because I find many of my beach shots are same-same while this one speaks of children and the exuberance of camping by the sea.

Bark is a fascinating photographic subject -- fibrous textures, insect paths on scribbly gum, colours brought out when the trees are slick with rain, the amazing red of angaphoras when they shed their bark -- to name just a few. Because it is evergreen the Australian bush seems seasonless until you tune into its rhythms. The way many of the trees shed their bark leaving a fresh smooth trunk is one of those rhythms.

I adore Autumn and have lovely shots, including some really quite special ones from my own garden. But for a Wayfarer venturing west of the mountains perhaps the most noticeable are the many polars lining properties and entrances to country towns. They turn so beautifully golden as well as the Autumn light which also seems to take on a golden hue. These poplars are in the town park at Molong, taken in the evening.

There are not a lot of aerial views in my collection - I would like more - because the landscape is so fascinating in high from a small plane.  It was a toss up between the flight over the great salt pan of Lake Eyre in flood or this flight over the Whitsunday Islands. In the end I picked the Whitsundays because of the colour and unexpected swirls in this shot. Taken towards the end of a short exhilarating flight over islands and coral reefs.

While bush fires can be devastating and very frightening, Australian plants have adapted to fire, they regenerate and often use fire to germinate their seed.  I have taken shots soon after fire to watch this miracle of growth go on. This banksia has used a fire to open its little mouths and spit seeds into the nutrient rich ash below.

I have taken lots of photos of abandoned houses but this is the one that pleases me most.  I like the silvery grey tones of the grass and aged timber.

It's been ages since our trusty little caravan last took us wayfaring. So I have decided to fill the gap with a series of posts on the themes that seem to recur in my blogs, my favourite things.  The plan was to run with 50 favourite things to the end of the year.  Narrowing the list down to 50 was hard enough, then trying to choose my favourite in each category from the thousands of photos I have taken was a further challenge.  It has taken me so long there are no longer 50 days left in the year! But we will run the the idea anyway.  Here's what is coming up in alphabetical order.  I hope you enjoy the series. abandoned houses after fire arial views autumn bark beach big sky birds boats cafes Christmas corrugated iron country churches country lines country People country towns crops farmland ferny places forest frost grass trees leaves lichen lookouts mail boxes manicured gardens meadows mighty riv...

Here we are back at Central station.  Just missed the train and another hour to wait, so headed off to the refreshment rooms for yet another cuppa and I spotted my last lines for the day. The end of my big city adventure.

Off to Martin Place to meet hubby.

I've never really noticed this foyer beside Dymock's Bookstore.  It says "Time Conquers All" and at last it is time to go meet hubby.

I'm tired. Time for a little rest.

I quickly tired of the department stores and headed to something more to my taste ... Dymocks bookshop.  I am thinking of starting a series on books and bookshops ... will have more success with that than city lines I reckon.

More lines.  We are at Strand Arcade which runs off the mall.  Nice.

Yep lines EVERYWHERE.

Some time ago I suggested that I might run a city lines series, like my country lines and sea lines.  But after looking around I decided it's impossible.  The built environment is ALL lines.

Pitt Street Mall despite being softened by trees seems desolate to me, even though it is always busy.  I think it needs a few cafes in the middle.

I've still got some time to kill so lets catch the train back to Town Hall and go shopping. This is the view from the other side of Circular Quay railway station.  The city seems to be showcasing weeds in their planter boxes this spring.  They will be pretty when the weeds flower and should have no trouble growing.

On the ferry at last, a catamaran this time.  We're nearly back at Circular Quay.

Here's a view of the beach from the ferry terminal.

It's back to the ferry.  Oh bother I have just missed one now I have to hang around for the best part of an hour again.  I like this little peep at the beach from the shopping centre.

Here is the view from the house ... not bad eh.

Here is the other side of the house.

It is a Mediterranean style home (except for the portico entrance) built in the 1920s so interior is arts and craft.  Unfortunately they would not let me photograph inside.  It has been furnished in the 1920-30s period.

There are lots of posh houses and apartments in Neutral Bay, like the one above.  I am over this way to visit Nutcote the home of May Gibbs, creator of Snugglepot and Cuddle Pie. Her home is somewhat more modest.

Those little people towards the left are bridge climbers.