Aboriginal songlines light up the Sydney Opera house during the Vivid festival with a spear wielding hunter taking centre stage. One for NAIDOC week this week! Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Charles Darwin described the Grose Valley as "stupendous… magnificent" when he visited in 1836. The rugged valley started forming about 50 million years ago after the uplift of the Great Dividing Range when the Grose River started flowing gently down towards the sea. The surrounding plateau sits at an elevation between 1000 and 1200m with the river descending 952 metres (3,123 ft) over its 54-kilometre (34 mi) course. The exposed cliffs along its banks range between 200 metres (660 ft) and up to 510 metres (1,670 ft) in height. This shot was taken from Pearces Lookdown slightly west of Anvil Rock. The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area covers 10,300 square kilometres (4,000 sq mi) of wilderness. The area obtained its name from the blue tinge visible in the deep valleys, which is thought to be caused by eucalyptus oil that evaporates and disperse in the air under elevated temperatures. Under these conditions the visible blue spectrum of sunlight propagates more than other colours causing the mountains to seem slightly bluish by human eyes. Blue Mouintains National Park, New South Wales, Australia
The milky way rises out of the dim glow of over 5 million people as a lonely waterfall cascades into the abyss that is the Grose valley. Few people outside of Australia realise that one of the world’s largest temperate forested wilderness areas borders on Sydney's metropolitan area, with its foothills starting less than 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of Sydney Harbour. The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area covers 10,300 square kilometres (4,000 sq mi) of wilderness and sits as a stark contrast to the city just beyond its boarder. After 25 years of settlement in Sydney, and numerous failed attempts, the mountains were first successfully crossed in 1813 by an expedition led by Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth. The ruggedness, isolation and impassability of the terrain held off most development in the region despite the area being suitable for dam construction and rich in coal and shale oil. First proposed as a National Park in 1932 a long fought conservation battle ended in 1959 with the formation of the Blue Mountains National Park. The falls, known as Bridal Veil falls , cascade 180m to the base of the cliff. Mt Banks at the end of the valley sits at an elevation of 1,049 m (3,442 ft) . The shot was taken from Grovetts Leap, Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales, Australia
