Kangaroo Island impressions
December 2006
We’ve arrived at the final destination on our Australian journey: Kangaroo Island, south of Adelaide, South Australia. And what a contrast from the lush green Queensland forests we’ve been seeing up until now. We’re awed by the dramatic, rocky coastline dotted with sea-lions and ocean-going birds, bounded by a vivid blue sea. At the same time, we are stunned at the evidence of Australia’s record-breaking drought—everywhere we go it is oh so dry! Yet the woodlands, full of fragrant evergreen eucalyptus, look green and inviting. And of course there is wildlife. Flinders Chase National Park, where we are based, offers relatively easily-to-see wild examples of Australia’s wildlife icons—koalas, platypus, echidnas, and, of course, kangaroos.
It is the scenery, though, that inspires my first photographs. At Admiral’s Arch, New Zealand fur seals cavorting on the rocks far below the boardwalk send Crested Terns and Silver Gulls wheeling into the air, while huge waves crash far into the distance. I enjoy the freedom from my long lens, making images with a 28-105mm zoom, showing the animals in the vastness of their ocean environment.
Late in the day, we head to Remarkable Rocks, huge wind-sculpted granite boulders atop a granite dome that seem like a gigantic artwork against an ocean backdrop. They are…well…remarkable! As the sun drops toward the horizon, the light on the lichen-encrusted rocks gets more and more golden, but it is well after sunset, when high cloud turns pink, that I get my most memorable shots of this often-photographed tourist attraction. Needs: a 28-105mm lens set at 28mm, a sturdy tripod for the 1/4 second exposure, a polarizer, and the tenacity to stand there in the chilly breeze until the sky attains its most intense color!