Point Cartwright

Point Cartwright is a beautiful rocky headland at the southern end of Mooloolaba. When the tide is low, you can walk right around the headland without getting wet.
This particular afternoon, I had planned to shoot sunset from the middle of the headland.

The view south from the top of the headland

Walking around the headland from Mooloolaba Beach

It was hard to decide on which direction to shoot from, so here's a few different views..

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Weekly Top Shot: Brisbane City by night

This wasn't taken this week as I am recovering from shoulder surgery. (Yes, another surgery) It's been a huge few months! This one was taken a few weeks ago.
It is my absolute favourite night time long exposure shot of Brisbane. I even managed to get a plane trail.

Holidaying in Northern NSW: Part 7

On the final day of our holiday in Port Macquarie, NSW, we decided to head back down to "Greater Port Macquarie region" and drive up North Brother Mountain to Laurieton Lookout. We had been told the views from the lookout were absolutely beautiful. We weren't disappointed!

Looking north east from Laurieton Lookout, the panoramic view shows Camden Haven Inlet with Gooleys Lagoon on the right. The Camden Haven River winds further inland. The large lake to the left is Queens Lake. It was a little hazy due to some fires burning further inland, however, you can just make out Taking Point in the distance.

Looking south from the second viewing point, you can see Watson Taylor's Lake. Far in the distance, to the left, is Crowdy Head.

That evening, I photographed sunset on the Hastings River.

The following morning we checked out and began our scenic drive back to Brisbane. As I was required to make regular stops due to the DVT in my leg, we had chosen a number of towns along the coast where  we would have our drink/food breaks.

Our first stop was the beautiful South West Rocks; a quaint little seaside town with stunning coastline & mountain views. The next few photos are of Horseshoe Bay.

Little Bay...

Southeast of South West Rocks township is a headland called Smoky Cape.
The view north from Smoky Cape Lighthouse

Looking south from the lighthouse, along the 16km long South Smoky Beach.

We encountered some Kangaroos on our way out of South West Rocks. This was the dominant & very protective male.

More wonderful places here:

                        

Skywatch Friday: Sunset on Hastings

On the final night of our holiday in Port Macquarie, I wanted to photograph sunset further up the Hastings River with some boats in the shot . We spent the afternoon across the other side of the river taking photos on the break wall.  About 45 minutes before sunset, we drove to a spot I thought would be good for sunset but, the angle of the sun wasn't quite right and wouldn't include the boats.

We drove to the car ferry crossing so we could shoot sunset from the opposite side of the river, hoping that a ferry would cross in time. While we were waiting for the ferry to cross the river, I took out my tripod & camera and snapped a couple of shots...

Then we drove onto the ferry to cross back over the river.

And we discovered this little gem... an extremely old and rickety jetty.

There are 1440 minutes in every day... 1440 opportunities to capture a moment of beauty.
What moment of beauty did you capture this week?

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Wild Bird Wednesday: Pacific Golden Plover

A few weeks ago, my husband & I took a drive north of Brisbane to the Redcliffe area. I wanted some shots of Woody Point Jetty and I was also hoping to capture some birds. I wasn't sure what I would find.

I am currently doing a 12 month birding challenge set by one of the bird groups I am a member of on Facebook - "Australian Birds". The challenge is to photograph as many birds as we can between 1 July 2013- 30 June 2014. We aren't allowed to include any images taken outside of those dates. It's been quite a challenge for me, as my shoulder is deteriorating badly and it's been extremely difficult to hold my camera steady to photograph much. My shoulder surgery is scheduled for next Thursday so I will be unable to use my camera at all for 6+ weeks.

So, while out at Redcliffe, we stopped at a park called Pelican Point Park. There on the rocks I noticed a large group of Sooty Oystercatchers and some smaller shorebirds. I climbed the rocks like a ninja, according to my husband. Each time I edged closer, I took another few images. Once I got home, I sought some ID advice from a bunch of pro birders I have met through the photography page as I had no idea what these little birds were... Lifers for me!
The response was unanimous: Pacific Golden Plovers.

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Holidaying in Northern NSW: Part 6

On day 6 of our holiday, we decided to explore the "Greater Port Macquarie" region of  North Haven, Lake Cathie (pronounced Cat-eye) & Camden Haven.

Lake Cathie entrance

And a mandatory low down "Sea Grass" shot taken on the southern most end of Lighthouse Beach, just north of Lake Cathie entrance.

We stopped for lunch at North Haven, a quiet little town, beside Camden Haven Inlet. The mountain in the background is North Brother Mountain (more on this mountain in Part 7).

We then drove through the town of Laurieton and out to Camden Head where we walked in the Kattung Nature Reserve. Perpendicular Point Walk is a beautiful, easy 3.6 km walk, through bushland full of wonderful birdlife and then right out to the point. The stunning panoramic views and spectacular vertical cliffs provided many photographic opportunities.

Looking north to Grants Head, from halfway along Perpendicular Point.

Out on Perpendicular point looking south you can see the rugged vertical cliffs and away in the distance is Crowdy Head. The power of the ocean against the cliffs was magnificent to watch.

Stunning, spectacular, magnificent, wonderful... all words to describe the coastline in this area.

On the way home, we stopped along Camden Haven Inlet to watch the sun set over North Brother Mountain.

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