Freezing cold nights, icy water and plenty of sunlight….the perfect recipe for brilliant colours in an Outback stream.
Alga in the Big Moro Creek between Balcanoona and Nepubunna, northern Flinders Ranges.
Sometimes the beauty is in the small things.
Like toys in the sandbox….but this was the scene on the rail line between Leigh Creek and Port Augusta a couple of weeks ago.
23 cars carrying thousands of tons of coal from the Leigh Creek mine derailed.
The train and its cargo destined for the power station at Port Augusta is getting through again but the repairs go on.
Two special vehicles which check the rails and the sleepers using laser technology, have been lifted onto the line and are working along the section damaged by the derailment.
These two vehicles weigh around 34 tons each, requiring a bit of heavy lifting to get them into position.
Here’s the link to the earlier pictures of the derailment.
All the signs are indicating there will be a spectacular burst of wildflowers in the Flinders Ranges within a few weeks.
The good rainfall over summer has just about guaranteed a good season with the first of the winter bloomers already starting in the northern section of the ranges.
This is the lilac darling pea – a dazzling little number which will soon be out in very large patches.
There’s mistletoe ( seen here) along with all the acacias, the eremophila and a host of others already starting to show flowers.
One that will be a little harder to find, the small but beautiful HIlls Hibiscus hasn’t been seen around in the northern Flinders Ranges much for years. However the extra moisture in the ground at the moment is making them quite widespread.
Not far behind will be the gorgeous blossom of the native orange tree.
Of course all this show of colour won’t just be confined to the Flinders Ranges – the outback deserts promise to have a bumper season too.
Thanks to all those people around Adelaide who emailed or commented on the Postcards segment on Channel 9 last night.
If other followers of the Sentimental Bloke would like to see the segment you can view the episode by clicking on this link or the preview image below:
Thanks too, to the Postcards producers for making the filming of the segment a fairly painless process.
This image was taken two nights ago along the Arkaroola creek, still flowing gently from rains months ago.
So calm. Just a hint of a breeze, squadrons of insects hovering about, spider webs drifting lazily by.
A perfect winter’s dusk in the Flinders Ranges.
The usual Canon 5D Mk II with 28-300mm L series lens. Shot at f22, 1/15th sec ISO 200. No filters. The setting sun is hiding behind the river red gum in the foreground.
Overshadowed by the vastness of Lake Eyre, Goyder Lagoon, south of Birdsville misses some of the attention it richly deserves.
Goyder Lagoon, wedged between the formidable Simpson and Sturt Stony deserts, is the catchment area for the Diamantina and Georgina Rivers when they bring floodwaters from western Queensland.
When this happens it becomes a vast plain of vibrant green and a myriad of water channels.
Eventually, as they are doing now, the waters flow into Lake Eyre.
The Lagoon is quite full at the moment but the levels are beginning to drop.
The TV Programme “Postcards” might be familiar to people living in parts of Australia.
On the Adelaide edition of Postcards next Sunday night the show is featuring the Sentimental Bloke.
Postcards reporter Lisa McAskill and producer Allen Hickey spent a morning with me a while back shooting the segment which goes to air at 5.30 on Channel 9.
There’s a new segment that’s been added the the Sentimental Bloke website.
Its called ‘The Overflow” and it can be accessed on the heading line above.
‘I’ll be posting photographs in the “The Overflow” on all sorts of subjects that might not make it to the home page.
That might might be faces of people in the Flinders Ranges or Outback, whether they be locals’s or visitors, or the pictures could be about anything that comes along.
To start the ball rolling there’s about 40 photographs in “The Overflow” taken at the Marree bronco branding championships a couple of weeks ago.
Here are some of the other images of both the action and the faces at the Australian Bronco Branding Championships on June 12 and 13.
The event was held in Marree in far north South Australia.
Marree is the beginning of both the Oodnadatta and Birdsville Tracks, so it was ideal location for the event which lets station people compete in what is an every day part of running a cattle station.
And the winners were……..
Many people are still taking the opportunity to see Lake Eyre in flood this year and I’ve been getting questions about what it’s like at the moment.
This is the Warburton River which is still flowing and feeding water into Lake Eyre from the north.
There’s still good viewing even though it’s winter. It’s still ideal on either fine or cloudy days.
The light and colour of the water is changing constantly.
The level of water in Lake Eyre and Lake Eyre South is still plentiful with some floodwater still to feed into the basin.
The best way to see the lake system is still by air and there’s plenty of options….too many to mention here. However the ones that know the country best are air operators in the Flinders Ranges, at Marree and William Creek.
