Russell Falls Gondwana

There are some places in this world where you really do feel like you have stepped back into a different epoch. Once a part of the supercontinent Gondwana, the Australian and Antarctic plates were the last of the major Gondwanan continental plates to split, 45 million years ago. The subsequent isolation of Tasmania from the mainland has resulted in the remnant temperate rainforest with an incredibly diverse range of species descended from stock once widespread across Gondwana. Russell Falls, Mount Field National Park. Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Tasmania, Australia

Wombanook Milkyway

Out little ridgetop cabin under the milky way. Laguna, NSW,

Natural Bridge

A three shot panorama of the Natural Bridge. It is a naturally formed rock arch over Cave Creek, a tributary of the Nerang River. It was formed from a waterfall which undercut a cave beneath the waterfall and dug a pothole on top, until the two joined and the creek flowed through the cave, leaving an arch across the front. The bridge is located in Springbrook National Park in the Gold Coast hinterland of Queensland, Australia. The park is situated on the McPherson Range, near Springbrook, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Brisbane. The park is part of the Shield Volcano Group of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.

Watagan Lightning

The storm season is well and truly underway at Wombanook! This shot was taken at dusk last night from our ridgetop property at Laguna looking over the Wollombi valley towards the Watagan mountains. The highest point is Mount Warrawolong at 641 metres (2,103 ft) above sea level, which is taking a direct hit of lightning in this shot. The severe storm season sees an increase in storms due to the increase in energy provided by the sun during the warmer summer months, coupled with weather patterns that are favorable for storm growth. The Watagan Mountains, or Watagans, is a mountain wilderness area that forms part of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia.

Southern Lights

The Aurora Australis or Southern Lights dances over the Great Lake of Tasmania's Central Plateau with individual beams or curtins visible. The phenomenon is sparked by electrically-charged electrons and protons accelerating down the Earth's magnetic field lines and colliding with neutral atoms in the upper atmosphere. The Central Plateau resides at an elevation of 1,036 m (3,398 feet) which provides clear sky's looking south to the pole. Green aurora tend to occur at altitudes from 100 – 250 km by oxygen atoms emitting light at 557.7 nano-metres. Red aurora are less common and form around 200 – 500 km from oxygen atoms emitting light at 630 nm. Tasmania, Australia

Crater Bluff

Soft pre-dawn light bathes Crater Bluff with Tonduron Spire just a distant peak in the background. Taken from the Grand High Tops of the Warrumbungles after night hike to reach this spot. The first European to sight and explore the area was John Oxley in 1818 who named the range the Arbuthnot Range. The Aboriginal name 'Warrumbungles' from the Gamilaroi tribe meaning 'crooked mountains', soon took over as the most frequently used name. Lieben, on Crater Bluff, was the most difficult rock climb in Australia for many years after its first ascent by Bryden Allen and Ted Batty in 1962. Warrumbungle National Park, New South Wales, Australia

The Walls of China

Eroded outcrop on the Lake Mungo lunette colloquially called the Walls of China. Mungo National Park, located in South Western New South Wales, is a part of the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area. The landscape at the Walls of China site is extremely fragile and hold numerous archeologically significant artefacts and so public access is now limited to those accompanied by a parks ranger or approved guide. NSW, Australia

Wombanook Sunrise

Surreal predawn light fills the sky over the Watagan mountains. Mount Warrawolong, the highest peak in the Watagans at 641m, is capped with an orographic cloud. The Watagan Mountains are a wilderness area that forms part of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia.

Russell Falls

Perhaps the best known waterfall in Tasmania, Russell Falls never fails to impress. Now sitting inside Mount Field National Park the Falls Reserve was first established in 1885. Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Tasmania, Australia

Broughton Island

Stopped for lunch to enjoy the crystal clear waters of Esmerelda Cove, Broughton Island. The island is north east of Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia.

Whale Flukes

Humpback Whale tail fin or flukes in blue water offshore from the coast of Port Stephens. If you look closly you can see the fine bits of spray from the flukes. NSW, Australia.

Cape Leveque

Red cliffs, white sand and turquoise water. at Cape Leveque. Cape Laveque is a remote peninsula in the far north of the Kimberley, Western Australia, Australia.

Bathurst Island

Sunset over the red rock, white sand, and blue water at Bathurst Island, Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, Australia. The Tiwi Islands are part of the Northern Territory of Australia, 80 km to the north of Darwin where the Arafura Sea joins the Timor Sea. They are inhabited by the Tiwi people, as they have been since before European settlement in Australia. The Tiwi are an Indigenous Australian people, culturally and linguistically distinct from those of Arnhem Land on the mainland just across the water.

Pasha Bulker Evacuation

This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the grounding and subsequent helicopter evacuation of 22 Filipino and Korean crew members form the Pasha Bulker. The extra-tropical cyclone or east coast low as they are known on the east coast of Australia, was well forecast and the Newcastle port corporation radioed the 56 ships waiting off the coast requesting they move further offshore before the arrival of the approaching storm. Ten of the ships ignored the warning and the Pasha Bulka subsequently became beached with both bow and stern stuck in the sand almost parallel to Nobbys beach in Newcastle. Record ocean swell heights of 14.13m (46ft) were recorded at the deep water buoy 10km (6.2 miles) off Sydney with 296mm (11.6 in) of rain falling in the 24 hour period causing widespread flooding. After two failed attempts the ship itself was eventually salvaged on its third attempt many weeks later at a cost of $1.8 million. The 225 m (738 ft) long, Panamax bulk carrier, was then towed to Japan where the extensive damage to the ship itself was repaired. It was subsequently renamed the MV Drake. New South Wales, Australia. A particularly humbling experience to watch!

Sunrise Mist

Sunrise over the mist in the Wollombi Valley with the Watagan mountains in the background, New South Wales, Australia

Watagan Light

Rainbow over the Watagan mountains. New South Wales, Australia

Wallaman Falls

Wallaman Falls is the largest single drop waterfall in Australia. Stony Creek flows off the escarpment falling 305m (1,001 ft) , with the main single drop tumbling 268 metres (879 ft) through a rainbow-fringed cloud of mist to a large pool. Girringun National Park, Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, Far North Queensland, Australia. Photo taken from a helicopter.

Sunrise Mist

Sunrise over the mist in the Wollombi Valley with the Watagan mountains in the background, New South Wales, Australia

Shipwrecked Bulker

2017 marked the 10th anniversary of the grounding and subsequent helicopter evacuation of 22 Filipino and Korean crew members form the Pasha Bulka. The extra-tropical cyclone or east coast low as they are known on the east coast of Australia, was well forecast and the Newcastle port corporation radioed the 56 ships waiting off the coast requesting they move further offshore before the arrival of the approaching storm. Ten of the ships ignored the warning and the Pasha Bulka subsequently became beached with both bow and stern stuck in the sand almost parallel to Nobbys beach in Newcastle. Record ocean swell heights of 14.13m (46ft) were recorded at the deep water buoy 10km (6.2 miles) off Sydney with 296mm (11.6 in) of rain falling in the 24 hour period causing widespread flooding. After two failed attempts the ship itself was eventually salvaged on its third attempt many weeks later at a cost of $1.8 million. The 225 m (738 ft) long, Panamax bulk carrier, was then towed to Japan where the extensive damage to the ship itself was repaired. It was subsequently renamed the MV Drake. New South Wales, Australia. A particularly humbling experience to watch!

Mt Fox Crater

Mt Fox (801m) taken from a helicopter. A violent, volcanic explosion created Mount Fox about 100,000 years ago. A lava flow 10 metres thick spewed from the southern end of the crater and chunks of molten magma were thrown out of the volcano's vent. Girringun National Park, Far North Queensland, Australia

Glenelg Jetty

Sunset at Glenelg Jetty, Adelade, South Australia, Australia

Glenelg Dusk

Dusk sky at Glenelg Jetty, Adelade, South Australia, Australia

Dry Heartland

Dry scrubland west of Cobar, NSW, Australia

Caves Beach Sunrise

Sunrise from within a cave at Caves Beach, New South Wales, Australia.

Bonfire

Bonfire on a property at Laguna, north of Sydney, Australia