The hauntingly beautiful Great Walls of China at Mungo National Park, New South Wales.
Archive for the 'New South Wales' Category
I wonder who will be first to blame this unusual dust storm on global warming?:
SYDNEYSIDERS have woken to a massive dust storm that blanketed the city in thick red dust, leaving Sydney airport in chaos, ferry services suspended and health authorities worried.
Large areas have been shrouded in dust as the state experiences severe winds and unseasonably warm temperatures.
Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman Jane Golding said dust had settled on much of the state, including Sydney.
“We’ve had reports of low visibility up out as far up as Moree, Dubbo, Canberra’s got some raised dust in the area and Wollongong, so it’s very widespread,” she said.
The blanket of red dust began to shroud Sydney just before dawn after a cold front moved in from central Australia and western NSW.
It came as the state was experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures and followed reports of visibility reduced to just 10m in Broken Hill.
A Sydney airport spokesman said 10 inbound international Sydney flights had been diverted to Melbourne and Brisbane.
“They may get back later in the day,” he said. “We’ve got departures, they are occurring, but it’s slow.” [Daily Telegraph]
I have never seen a dust storm as severe as this one on Australia’s east coast but I once saw a wind storm in Victoria two years ago that brought dust from the Outback that caused the sky to have a red tint to it. The amount of dust from this storm is absolutely incredible though.
Here is a photo gallery with a bunch of photographs from this dust storm. Here is a sample:
Here is a place in Australia that I absolutely want to go to one day:
Once upon a time, travelling responsibly meant taking only photographs and leaving only footprints. Now it’s about the size of those footprints, and one of the best places in Australia to keep them small without even trying is Lord Howe Island, 600 km northeast of Sydney. Unless you have access to a boat, the only way to get to Lord Howe is to fly. But arriving by air makes sure you’re properly acquainted with what is widely regarded as the most beautiful island in the entire Pacific, before you even step off the plane.
After gazing out at the featureless blue from my windowseat for two hours, Lord Howe suddenly appeared, like an aquatic oasis. The first things you notice are the twin peaks of Mt Lidgbird and Mt Gower, real mountains that dominate the island’s southern end. Then the 6 km-long blue lagoon encircled by the most southerly coral reef in the world. There, below you, are isolated beaches accessible only by sea kayak or on foot, and populated by hundreds of thousands of seabirds. And finally, like an afterthought amidst all this natural beauty, a settlement of 350 locals and just 400 visitors. Even David Attenborough once wrote that Lord Howe is “so extraordinary it is almost unbelievable…Few islands, surely, can be so accessible, so remarkable, yet so unspoilt.” But Lord Howe is not just a pretty face. Because of its isolation, the island is an important site for “in situ” conservation of many rare and endemic species – almost half its 241 native plant species are found nowhere else in the world; the same goes for both the island’s reptiles, a skink and a gecko, and almost a thousand insect species. According to Ian Hutton, Lord Howe’s resident naturalist and author of 10 books on the island, including A Guide to World Heritage Lord Howe Island. “People talk about the Galapagos Islands because of Darwin’s connection, but there’s more diversity on Lord Howe Island and it’s so intact – the island is very much as it was when it was first discovered.” [Australian Geographic]
Make sure to click the link to read the rest because this island just looks to be an incredible place to visit.
Here is a video I shot near Tom Groggin Station in Australia’s Snowy Mountains of two kangaroos fighting each other:
While my wife and I were staying at the Thredbo Alpine Hotel in Australia’s beautiful Snowy Mountains, one of the main things we wanted to do while visiting Thredbo was ride the gondola to the top of Mt. Crackenback that overlooks the beautiful Thredbo Valley.
The gondola was incredibly easy to reach from the hotel because of a bridge that spanned the Thredbo River that run right in front of the hotel:
Just across the river was the Kosciuszko Express that takes people to the top of Mt. Crackenback:
This image here should give readers a pretty good idea of the topography around the Thredbo Ski Resort, the trails that traverse this area, and the two main gondola lines that can be seen in the center of the map that climb up the mountain during the warmer months:
Here is a map that shows the ski trails and gondolas that run even further up the mountain during the winter months that provides skiers with the long ski runs in the entire country:
The ride up on the gondola was actually quite a bit of fun at first:
On the way up the views of the Snowy Mountains were just tremendous:
However, soon we had no views as the gondola traveled into the thick clouds that had rolled in and engulfed the summit of Mt. Crackenback. We were shivering and extremely cold from the falling snow as we reached the summit of the mountain:
On top of Mt. Crackenback there is a lodge that overlooks the Thredbo Valley complete with a lookout with telescopes:
However, we had no need for the look out due to the snow and cold. My
wife and I immediately rushed into the lodge to get warm afte that cold
gondola ride. Inside the lodge on top of Mt. Crackenback is what is considered the highest cafe in all of Australia at 1,930 meters:
The lodge was actually quite nice and decorated with beautifully photographed pictures of the Snowy Mountains. My wife and I ordered something to eat and most importantly we drank a few cups of hot cappuccinos to warm up:
As we sat there drinking our coffee and eating our food in that warm cafe, it was hard to believe that we were 1,930 meters up a mountain in the midst of a massive blizzard with hurricane force winds just outside our window:
It is kind of cool when you think about it. The nice young lady that worked up in the cafe, who was quite a looker by the way, came over and told us that the gondola had been shut down and we may have to be evacuated by vehicle if possible from the lodge. If a vehicle couldn’t make it up to the lodge to evacuate us then we would just have to wait out the storm.
There was about 15 people up in the lodge and after about 2 hours the storm outside began to die down and right outside the cafe window this beautiful rainbow appeared:
Seeing this break in the weather just about everyone emptied out of the cafe and rushed down to the gondola which had been turned back on because of the lull in the weather. My wife I jumped on and we proceeded back down the mountain descending right into the rainbow we saw back at the cafe:
Due to the break in the clouds we had a much better time enjoying the views of the Thredbo Valley from the gondola on the way down compared to the way up. Here is a view looking north up the valley towards where Jindabyne is located:
As we continued down the gondola it almost appeared as if we traveled around under the rainbow:
The ride down the mountain took it seemed about 15 minutes to get back to Thredbo and it was a really enjoyable ride especially with the break in the weather:
However, shortly after getting off the gondola we could see the clouds rolling back in to engulf the top of the mountain again:
The snow fell off and on the rest of the day on top of the mountains. From the window of our hotel room my wife and I enjoyed the spectacular sunset views that the harsh weather and clouds provided on top of the Snowy Mountains:
That concluded our short trip to Thredbo and the next morning my wife I were scheduled to hit the road again and traverse the Alpine Way back to Victoria.
Next Posting: The Tom Groggin Station
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