The second leg of my adventure now comes to an end. To reward myself, my wife Kelly and I will take a couple of weeks off to Hong Kong. This trip is mainly for catching up with our family and friends in Hong Kong and we expect minimal photographic activities although I will still bring a small compact camera with me in case of running into any unforgettable moments. The third leg of my journey will commence in a week after our return from Hong Kong on 1/5/07. We will head off to Hervey Bay, Queensland as there are 20-30 people waiting for another photographic presentation from me. Kelly will join me this time and the final destination is Cairns. She will fly back home from there but I will take my time to explore the inland route to Melbourne. In the meantime, you won't hear much from us. Write to me if you have time.

Just a note, I have another article published by Digital Photography+Design (Apr/May 07). Hope to write and publish more.

I headed off to Orbost again for another photographic presentation. Although it was only a small group this time, the atmosphere was as enjoyable as the larger ones. I would like to thank Gary Green from the Orbost Camera Club for organising this event. The delegates were from the neighbouring regions as far as Cann River which is almost an hour drive from Orbost. Driving in the dark for two hours return to attend a 1.5 hour presentation really required serious passion to the subject. Thank you.

A two-metre long lizard I discovered when climbing Mt Beerburrum, Queensland. Lizards in such a large size are not uncommon in the north as I have seen similar ones a few times in various places.

After travelling almost a month on the road, I was getting tired and my creativity dropped significantly. As a result, I decided to cut off a few days and go home for Easter break. The drive from Brisbane to Melbourne via Newell Highway was quite boring. The road was straight and the scenery along the way was unattractive - dry and featureless. This country is just so huge that there isn't much interesting to be seen between two distant points. Presumably it would be the same in NT and WA so I have to be prepared for this tough situation. All in all, I was glad to be home again!

The Brisbane night light viewed from Mt Coot-tha

My early departure from Rainbow Beach allowed me to stay in Brisbane longer than what I planned. Initially my primary mission to Brisbane was to conduct presentations for two local camera clubs but the extended stay allowed me to do more than photography. Fixing my vehicle was an unplanned event but all activities went well and my time in Brisbane was quite relaxing.

The presentations attracted more than eighty people and many delegates are also passionate to photography as I do. I appreciated their input as well as their support. I would also like to take the opportunity here to thank the organisers Allen and Maureen from the Redlands Camera Club and Tina from the Ipswich Photographic Society for their invitations and support along the way.

Wellington Point, Queensland. A potential photographic spot near the presentation venue for the Redland Camera Club.

A 120 metre high sand dune seems to be a magnificent photographic subject. This was why I headed off to Rainbow Beach and hoped to capture this mighty dune, Carlo Sandblow. Unfortunately the descriptions of this mighty dune in all tourist references I read were quite misleading. If you expect to see a Sahara type sand dune, you will be disappointed as I was. It might be a high sand dune but you won't have that mighty feeling as the dune cannot be viewed from its foot. The track takes you to the dune top and the view from there is more like standing on the top of a sand hill. The sand dune is almost completely embedded in the surrounding vegetation with most of its body hidden from all view points that people can access.

If Carlo Sandblow is a disappointment to photographers, the mosquitos there is a punishment. I was stung with no less than 100 times (by counting the scars afterwards) and all bites probably occurred within 15 minutes. In such a short period of time, the bloody insects beat me completely! Revisiting Rainbow Beach in the future? Sorry, I will have to give it a miss.

A shot taken in Noosa Heads which is a hotspot for tourists. Noosa Heads is about half the way between Brisbane and Rainbow Beach.

The Glass House Mountains are the remnant cores of volcanoes active about 25 million years ago. They were formed as molten rock was forced out of vent within the earth. If the geological formation interests you, the legend of Glass Mountains may amuse you.

It is said that Tibrogargan, the father, and Beerwah, the mother, had many children. Coonowrin was the eldest. One day, Tibrogargan was gazing out to sea and noticed a great rising of the waters. He went back to gather his family to safety. He told his eldest son, Coonowrin to help his mother because she was pregnant. For some reasons, Coonowrin ran off alone and his father was so angry and dislodged his neck. When the flood was over and the family returned to the plains, the other children teased Coonowrin about his crooked neck. Coonowrin went to his father and asked for his forgiveness. Even today Tibrogargan gazes far out to sea and never looks around at Coonowrin, who hangs his head and cries. His mother Beerwah, is still heavy with child as it takes a long, long time to give birth to a mountain.

A panorama of Glass House Mountains. Coonowrin, the mountain in the middle with a "crooked" neck. Beerwah, the largest one on the right and Tibrogargan, the flat top one on the left of Coonowrin.

Mt Coonowrin, Glass House Mountains

My first visit to Gold Coast Hinterland dated back to 1996. The only reason to go there was due to our exhaustiveness of whatever "Worlds" Gold Coast offered. All I can remember now is the bird feeding at O' Relly Mountain House, Lamington NP. The cute birds were brave to give up their natural sense and hope to get return for food from human. After more than ten years, the bird game is still going. Just like human, other living things will do whatever they can to exchange for survival.

Lamington NP would be a potential location for landscape photography if you are prepared to take those long walks from 5 hours to overnight. Unfortunately I wasn't ready. The treetop walk and Morgan's Falls walk were the only short trips I did. I don't want to discount the value of those two walks especially the refreshing shower during the Morgan's Falls walk. In the end, most people retreated back to the cafe for a break and I wasn't an exception. As usual, checking out postcard corner in gift shops is always my favour. Suddenly a familar scene on a postcard came into my sight. Don't tell me that place is somewhere around here! A short description printed in small font indicated that its name is Natural Bridge which is also located in Gold Coast Hinterland. Bingo! How about the walking distance? Don't tell me it is a half a day walk. It isn't. Thank God.

Natural Bridge, Gold Coast Hinterland. This is the only waterfalls plunging down through a hole that I know of.

The sun appeared to be brighter and the buildings suddenly became taller. The changes were most noticeable when I first saw the sign of Gold Coast. All freeway exits were labelled with numbers but I wasn't in America. Nobody seemed to be working except those poor souls servicing tourists. Weekend is meaningless to most people in Gold Coast as every day is holiday!

The road to Tamborine Mt is winding like the one to the Mt Dandenong in Melbourne. You can see the corresponding city from both mountains although the view of Gold Coast looks more interesting due to its long building line. "What would you suggest if I can spend a few hours here?", I asked the lady with a name badge "Wendy" at the Information Centre in Tamborine Mt. She pulled out a leaflet and started to show off her amazing local knowledge. She pointed out at least half a dozen of places of interest with detailed directions. With a local person living there for a few decades, she definitely is an asset to both the local council and visitors. Finally a photo of Gold Coast from Tamborine Mt caught most of my attention. With the detailed instructions from Wendy, I had no difficulty to locate the place.

The view of Gold Coast from Tamborine Mt

There was a large sign outside the caravan park office saying "no cabins and tent sites are available". It was a surprise - who would come here, Lismore for holiday. I understand that Lismore isn't a small town (population 40,000+) but it is still hard to believe how an unattractive caravan park like this one could have a full house. After driving through the park once, I discovered that most on-site vans were hired by permanent residents. Moreover, most of the retired "vehicles" are in quite poor condition.Understandably living in a caravan park would be cheaper than renting a house, especially for the low income group.

When I walked into the office, the owner was talking to a man who appeared to be one of his tenants. After waiting for a little while, he turned to me with an unexpected facial expression as if I was going to ask him for something that he wouldn't be able to offer. "Is the sign outside telling the truth?", I was still hoping it was a mistake. "Yes, it is full", a short and direct answer from the man. "Is there any caravan park nearby?", this time I was hoping for a miracle, not a mistake. "Try Lismore Palm, they have a lot of vacancies", he seemed to know a few dozens of empty cabins were lining up to be rented by his recommended competitor. He was right. After checking-in, I noticed that most cabins were still vacant with empty parking space. Perhaps running caravan park business in Lismore isn't a profit making thing unless the targeted customers are those homeless group.

My choice of Lismore wasn't random as I thought the surrounding NPs would have been nice. Unfortunately the reality was quite different from my imagination. All I found were disappointing farmland and waterfalls with trickle and I found nothing to shoot! The only thing I enjoyed most in Lismore was the Chinese takeaway which tasted great and was huge in portion.

After 4.5 years, I finally returned back to a small coastal town named Nambucca Heads (means many bends). I went back to the same spot where I took my picture last time. I didn't include the bridge this time as my wife always reminds me of this particular distraction everytime when she sees my previous shot. Here is the new version and I hope it is better than the previous cut.

The mud brought down by the Nambucca River formed various elliptical sand pads

Dorrigo and New England tableland are the places if you like waterfalls. There is also a road named Waterfall Way so you can imagine how popular waterfalls are in that region. Driving up the mountain in the mist and drizzle to Dorrigo was an unforgettable experience. I couldn't see a thing beyond ten metres. Although I wasn't comfortable with the weather situation, it also mean there was abundunt water volume for the waterfalls.

Upper Ebor Falls

Crystal Shower, a waterfall on the rainforest walk in Dorrigo NP. The walking track is actually behind the waterfalls.

I was glad that the cabin wasn't tilted but encountered an unexpected visitor in the middle of a night - a cockroach about 2/3 of the size of my thumb walked pass to "protest" as if I was invading its space. I wrapped up all my food immediately but it didn't appear anymore since its first and last protest.

Gloucester is a very English name and I still remember it is also the name of a road in Hong Kong. Here in Australia, Gloucester is a little town in NSW. If it wasn't because of Barrington Top NP, I wouldn't have stayed in this town for two nights. Unfortunately the scenery here didn't excite me much although the tilted cabin I stayed at is always on my mind. I was a bit worried about whether the whole thing would have collapsed in the middle of the night. I breathed and moved cautiously every time when I used the toilet at that unsupported corner of the cabin. Needless to say, sleeping in a tilted bed wasn't enjoyable either.

What is continental breakfast? Cereal, toasts and coffee. They are not bad but just cannot beat full English breakfast, at least in my humble opinion. I stayed at a friend's place and was served like at home. The hospitality from the Lui's family was superb. I was even given a 42" print of my own photo as a gift. Thank you. Now I am back to canned food - what a disaster!

Katoomba Cascades, my first 42" print - never thought this photo could be printed in such a huge size without quality degradation

One of the main reasons to visit Sydney was to conduct a photographic presentation (Fast Track to Landscape Photography) for a local camera club. The response was overwhelming and there was at least 60 people turned up. After the presentation, some people came over and told me they finally "understood" what landscape photography was about and would give it a go. I was pleased my treatment worked for them. Thank you John for organising such an enjoyable night.

When Grand Canyon was still a shallow creek, Blue Mountains had already become what it looks like now.You can imagine how ancient Blue Mountains is. In Blue Mountains, waterfalls and cascades are almost everywhere. Walking tracks are abundant from 15-minutes walks to overnight crossing country hikings. As expected, weather can change rapidly and I have witnessed this while I was there.

Wentworth Falls in the mist

It is a surprise that the natural wonders of Blue Mountains are so close to the civilisation. In some situations, you may find a superb cascades next to a cafe or a resident's house. I was lucky enough to come across two days of "bad" weather - foggy with drizzle. Water was abundant in the sense of current dry climate. While many people are worrying about the water problem in this country, I was enjoying my walk in Blue Mountains in a refreshing atmosphere with abundant H2O in the air. Water is not simply a necessity for our survival but also one of the key elements for successful landscape photos.

Leura Cascades, Leura

When the weather was too "good" - a hot day with cloudless blue sky, I pointed my finger to the Jenolan Caves, located at about 70 kms from Katoomba, the largest town in the Blue Mountains region. Cave photography is one of the landscape subjects I have hardly touched because shooting in low light without using tripod is always a challenge. I was impressed by what I have seen and the caves in Jenolan are simply stunning. The nature has demonstrated its creative talent once again.

A lost wombat ended its life in Lucas Cave, Jenolan Caves

The Horn, Oriental Cave, Jenolan Caves

The Pipes (at least 8 metres tall), Oriental Cave, Jenolan Caves

I spent my last sunset in Blue Mountains at the Echo Point, the best spot of watching the Three Sisters, an local icon. Although the sunset wasn't impressive, my chats with the locals and tourists were enjoyable. We discussed how the light could be changed and also betted on what would happen next. It was also my first time in the last five years of watching a sunset without having a camera next to me. It was quite a different feeling and I guess sometimes it is worth putting my cameras aside and enjoying the scenes and atmosphere.

So far, life is tough but also enjoyable. I guess I just couldn't ask for more.

If you throw a dice with 26 faces labelling from A-Z, in one of a billion chance, you may come up with the name of a town called Tathra. Tathra is the nearest town of Mimosa Rocks NP. With the direction provided by the local, a man in a mini-supermarket which is also responsible as the 'i' centre of Tathra, I headed off to the best beach in Mimosa Rocks, Middle Beach, located north of Tathra. I was told the turn-off to Middle Beach was sign-posted but it still took me a while to locate the sign.Why? The sign was cleverly designed to show the visitors coming down from the north only. That's alright as I still got there.

I must admit that Middle Beach may be a good place for surfers but it didn't impress me much to take even a single shot. The waves were bombarding the coastal rocks hard and it was supposed to be impressive. But it didn't. Perhaps just me. The feeling of an artist (oops, pardon me) is his/her most important guidance. There is no need to give any reason and I left after having my lunch there.

Although my longest driving record in one hit (with regular breaks of course) was fifteen hours, I gradually lose interest in long distance driving, especially for driving a vehicle without cruise control. Without knowing much of the route from Tathra to Blue Mountains, I decided to stay somewhere in between and Batemans Bay seemed to be a good choice at that moment.

Batemans Bay is not a small town although it no longer relies on its traditional fishing industry and gradually becomes one of the largest holiday towns in south coast. Like the master shooting at least a roll of film before breakfast every day, it is important to keep shooting even after a long day. I have studied the town map and located every possible shooting location but it still ended up as an exercise with empty hands. But there was at least one good thing - the caravan park keeper changed her mind and gave me 10% discount. Thank you.

At the time of writing, I am now sitting in a lounge room by myself without any interruption. Although there isn't any important news to report, it is still worth saying a few words. Simple. Just enjoy a surprise pic I took this morning. Thank goodness for digital photography.

A Horse in the Mist

Pambula Bay is another name that is known to NSW coastal people only. In addition to Eden, my clever wife picked this base camp location for me as an option. I have to admit that this huge 250+ site caravan park is the largest and modern one I have ever stayed. It comes with two swimming pools (one outdoor and one indoor), a modern camp kitchen, two large amenities, game rooms, outdoor playgrounds of all sorts for children, a beach view, camp escort guys riding golf cart, and the most amazing facility I have been dreaming of during travelling, wireless internet access. At the rate of $10 for 2 hours (multi-sessions), it is the best deal that I know of.

Pinnacle at Ben Boyd National Park

Wireless internet access is definitely a pleasure. At 9:30pm, I was still communicating with an ex-colleague by emails in my own tent, almost in real time. The first thing she wrote was "I am jealous". Perhaps she only picked up the good part of sleeping next to the beach but without considering others such as 5:00am wake up call and carrying 10 kg for a walk without any rewards of any sorts except back pain.

Ghost Face at Haycock Point, Ben Boyd National Park

When I arrive at a new place, I usually check out three things: locations for photography, a bed for staying overnight and internet access. Orbost is a 'very small' town. How small? After pressing the send button of an email to a camera club guy in Orbost, he came around to shake my hand in five minutes. How cool is this? At this stage, I prefer not to mention his identity but he is organising a photographic gathering for me and the local camera club members in Orbost and surrounding regions. In the end, we have even done sunset together at Cape Conran Coastal Park. Here is a picture in case you need something more than words.

Sunset at Cape Conran Coastal Park

After driving for more than four hours, I finally arrived at Marlo, a new place I haven't visited before even it is in Victoria. Is Marlo in the middle of nowhere? Not quite. To the west, it is just about 14 kms from Orbost (a larger town but at least it is better known by more people) and Cape Conran Coastal Park is on its east. How special is Marlo? According to the advertisment, it is the place where Snowy (river) meets the sea. How important is this to us? None.

In order to handle this longer leg of journey, I have replaced all four tyres just before departure. I was hoping to escape from the same bad experience of what I was told earlier - a family trip in WA got 7 tyres punctured. Sometimes when you keep thinking of something, it may come true. Bingo, I got one at my arrival of Marlo. Can you imagine how your vehicle reacts when an inch of knife pierced into its tyre? Simple. It just likes someone dragging you at the back and my black lady was begging me to stop for an inspection. Replacing a tyre wasn't simple to me as I had to unload a lot of stuff including a 25 kg fridge which requires two people to put it back if I don't want to break my back. The screws were tight and they were unmountable even I had put through all the energy generated by the last 3 meals. Suddenly, a big guy (works for the caravan park) came down from the 'sky' to rescue. Now I am a bit worry about how I can fix this problem in the middle of nowhere in WA. Perhaps my wife can give me a hand as she appears to grow stronger after a year of pilates exercises.

Do I have a picture to publish today? No, I was too tired.