Sailors Falling

Once again chasing the waterfalls, on Friday afternoon I made a visit to Sailors Falls, just outside of Daylesford. Last time I was here a few months ago there wasn't a drop in sight....that has totally changed now. I was even able to get a fly in to show the falls from a much higher vantage point. Would you believe as I pulled up I was listening to the theme from Jurassic Park...have a look at the third image here!
Coming home I made a couple of stops...firstly at Newlyn where this drowned crop gave me my first canola image of the new season, and then just out of Creswick this small lake caught my eye with the calm conditions and great reflection.

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Mesmerising

Since I returned from the USA just over a week ago I've had an amazing time locally chasing the abundant water throughout the district. I think it all reached its peak last night...here's one (of many) that I'm really happy with from out on the Mt Emu Creek west of Ballarat, where I arrived just at the right time just before sunset to catch this amazing light on the silt laden water. Something about this image has me mesmerised.......

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The Lake and the Falls

Some early morning colour had me racing up to Lake Wendouree on Wednesday morning where the flooded paths on the west side of the lake are offering something a bit different...no access to this bridge at the moment! Coming back around the Lake I passed the Ballarat Botanical Gadens and was tempted to make another stop as the Statuary Pavilion had some lovely early morning lighting setting the building on fire.
Later in the day I was off again on another waterfall hunt. After my trip down to Lal Lal and Moorabool Falls on Monday, I had noticed a small creek east of the Moorabool River West Branch that was flowing quite well, and I had an inkling that the topography suggested there maybe something worth investigating. Sure enough, after heading into the wild I came across this sight. It's hard to gauge scale here, though I reckon this waterfall was at least 20 feet high. Definitely one of the most inaccessible places I have been to locally, I figure I was lucky to even get this view as I was perched on a small outcrop overlooking the scene that was totally wild with blackberries, no chance of getting any closer. Further back upstream there were a number of nice small cascades as well. After scouring a number of maps I haven't been able to find any names for this very intermittent creek, or the falls themselves, so I'm taking the liberty of naming them...Harris Creek and Falls (the creek cuts underneath Harris Road back where I left the car.) I was thinking of naming them Thomas Falls but thought that was a bit too much!

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Surprise! Surprise!

I was given a unique opportunity on Tuesday. As you all know I'm always on the search for new waterfalls in the Ballarat district and this has to be one of the best I have ever found. As you travel down to Melbourne, I'm sure most of you know Pykes Creek Reservoir. What you probably didn't know is that below the spillway off to the right hand side of the freeway (as you are travelling to Melbourne) is this magnificent sight. I have known about this waterfall for a few years, however it only flows very rarely when there has been huge rainfall and I was excited after getting back from the USA to see what was happening. Sunday nights huge downpour has created an amazing vista and as access to this spot is almost impossible to  obtain, however with a few contacts I was thrilled when Southern Rural Water let me through the gates with my camera. In between downpours and constant cleaning of the lens as the mist from the spray was intense, I was thrilled to be here. I'm estimating the whole falls must be close to 100 feet...the spillway area above this scene is spectacular as well. I'll post some more later of the spillway, however I wanted this one to stand on its own. 
Wow!

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Spectacular x 3!

I've been back almost a week from the USA, and I've held off visiting Lal Lal Falls. With the huge dump of rain on Sunday night I figured I was due to make the falls a visit...and I was in awe at the volume of water and power of it all. I had a range of conditions from dark and ominous to sunny and bright and from the north side of the falls you get quite a different viewpoint. 
Whilst down this way I decided to make a visit to Granite Falls and Moorabool Falls, and I have never seen so much water going over these falls. To top it all off I was able to capture a rainbow at Moorabool Falls, similar to the rainbow I captured a few weeks ago in California! Who needs to travel that far! The last image here is looking back up the Moorabool River from the falls with the mist catching the light....you can see in this one the viewing platform that most people visit here.

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Water, Sand, Mountain

On a very windy Sunday morning at Lake Wendouree there was brief burst of colour that soon faded. With some big rainfall to come later in the day and night, there should be plenty of action around the district to look out for today........
I've also added in a couple of USA images...the first here is from my first morning on the recent trip atop the Olancha Dunes in California, a location I only discovered once we got into the very small town. And from last August, one of those memorable mornings I had at Ox Bow Bend on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. I have so many unseen images from past trips it's time to start and get them out....!

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Geelong Gems

On Saturday I was down in Geelong, and this always gives me a chance to visit the Old Paper Mill on the Moorabool River. I have never seen the river this full across this section of rocks just below the mill, and though access onto the rocks was very limited I still managed to find some nice compositions......and a monotonal sepia feel to the image really enhances the drama of this fantastic old building.
As I was getting to leave I noticed this white faced heron sitting on the rocks and managed to capture a few images as he moved from rock to rock, occasionally grabbing small fish out of the raging water. Strangely he wasn't too fussed by my close proximity as I didn't have my big lens on the camera at the time...usually the birds fly off into the distance when they become aware of your presence.
I've gotta admit I'm pretty happy with this pair of images from what was a very quick visit to this spot!

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