Sunshine Coast Daily Photo

Saturday, 6 March 2010

Pumicestone Passage
A week of the blues day six.

Another day another puddle in the passage. That murky stuff in the foreground isn't actually murky stuff at all, it's just sand in the very late afternoon, the remnants of excavations by soldier crabs. More importantly, the tower is a lighthouse of sorts. It provides lighting to mark the main shipping channel to Brisbane located on the outside of Bribie Island (on the left). There's a tricky little bend that happens just abeam of Caloundra that's been the nemesis of more than one ship over the years in stormy seas.

Pumicestone Passage Skywatch
A week of the blues day five.

Caloundra Airport isn't too far from the passage, but it's a small strip used by light aircraft and helicopters.

Sadly, development has occurred around it's perimeter and the new home owners have put enormous pressure on Council to relocate it, so another part of our very short history will soon be gone.

I will never understand this process. The one where we allow people to build adjoining something that has the potential to cause them nuisance, and then shut down the nuisance despite it having preceded them by decades.

As usual, Skywatch photos with clouds and sunsets and pretty things may be found in abundance by following this link.

Pumicestone Passage
A week of the blues day four.

Being shallow and calm, means the passage is a beaut place for families to play. It also means at low tide there are lots of puddles for me to play with in the dying light of the afternoon.

Pumicestone Passage
A week of the blues day three.

The passage is one of those places where the shoreline vegetation is low and the water shallow and narrow, so when the breeze is right, sailboards can play at high speed with little wave action. Of course most sailboarders I know get bored with that and head out into the surf, and today the breeze wasn't right, so this pilot had a lot of work just to balance the sail in an upright position, let alone to make headway.

Pumicestone Passage
A week of the blues day two.

From yesterday's vantage point, looking north. The passage turns sharply right (east) which is a handy manouvre because it avoids any chance of a nasty collision with Caloundra. The low land to the right is Bribie Island, and there is a very shallow channel through the surf between it and the mainland. After that there is nothing but Pacific Ocean.

Pumicestone Passage
A week of the blues day one.

Today's City Daily Photo theme is "Passageway" and as usual I probably cheated a bit by taking the broadest definition I could find.
Pumicestone Passage is a thirty five kilometre long Marine Park and conservation area, which runs from Caloundra in the North, between Bribie Island and the mainland. For those with a boating intent, be warned that it is very shallow mostly and littered with shifting sand banks.
Of course this photograph doesn't quite take in it's full length, but it is a view from Golden Beach, looking South, with Bribie Island in the background.

Post Script: Bribie Island, as you will see in coming days, is a very low, very narrow strip at this its northern end, offering little protection to this shoreline should a tsunami make it to this side of the world. One did of course, yesterday, in a benign but none the less sobering way drawing us closer to those suffering from the consequences of the earthquake in Chile just an ocean away. Our thoughts are with them.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

The Same Old, Same Old

View to Maroochydore on a murky day. Lots of fresh muddy river water in the bay mute the colour of the ocean, and the rain just managing to stay away leaves a sort of European light really, not quite what we're used to on a summer day, nor any other for that matter.

Amazingly, I look at my calendar and discover another month has gone wooshing by!

Fashion

Matching board, shorts and top. Quite nice, but I feel as though I'm working for a fashion magazine.

Skywatch with Surfboard

With a sky like that you'd really wonder why the surfboard was still sitting on top of the car!

Well the surf didn't quite live up to the promise of the sky.

If you think blue and green should never be seen, perhaps you should check out all the other Skywatch photos!

Mining

When a surfer goes straight down the wave, and his board buries in the water ahead, there is only one end to the ride; going "down the mine". This bloke isn't going to do that though, he's about to happily trundle off, to left of screen. The water is an "interesting" colour because of all the silt flowing out of the river mouth after a week of heavy rain.

In the slop

Out on the water, a lone kayaker attempts to make the most of the conditions. The sun tried valiantly but really only managed a feeble peek through the cloud.

Well we made Watery Wednesday at least.

Waiting his turn

The surf was shocking, blown out murky water from all the recent rain, so there was no surprise that no-one seemed overly enthusiastic about hitting the beach.

Surf Kayaks

The Australian Surf Kayak championships were on at Alexandra Headland over the weekend, so I suppose it was to be expected that I'd find a few sunbathing between the showers.

It's Obvious!

Well I quite like this anyway. I can't excuse it, and I can only explain it by offering that perhaps I'm going through my "taking photos of reflections in shopfronts" phase.

I'll stop now, but I do quite like this piece of 'accidental' art.

Trying too hard

OK I admit it! Sometimes I should just give up, but well, the mix of the postergirl holding onto the branch and the reflection of the leaves from outside, just fired my imagination.

Sorry.

Perhaps a less cryptic reflection tomorrow!

Mooloolaba Breakfast
Tinted Skywatch Reflection

Pesto Scrambled Eggs with Sausage and Turkish Toast $12.90.

Did we mention we were beachfront?

Of course the grey sky reflected in the tinted blue glass doesn't do much for avid skywatchers, but they can get their fill at SkyWatch Central.

Wildlife Corridor

At Maleny there is about a hundred metre wide clearing on the ridgetop from which it is possible to see all the glasshouse mountains. To my surprise, when I arrived at sunset, it was illuminated by hundreds of "lanterns". These are plastic tubes protecting new plants, beautifully caught by the sun for the benefit of my photograph at the moment it left us for another day.

Now presently I am rather sensitive to habitat, as my house is about to be resumed due to a freeway realignment to conserve habitat, (not mine) and selfishly I wonder why this planting could not have happened just a few metres further down the hill face, so that the one view of the mountains won't be obscured in the future.

Wherever I go it seems, conserving the habitat of other creatures is more important than conserving mine!

Glasshouse Sunset

There are better days to photograph sunsets, but to my dismay when I arrived at my vantage point, I discovered hundreds of trees have been planted in front of it, and I reckon I've got a year or two at best to try again before the view simply won't exist! So enjoy this for all its flaws!

Crookneck

The last of the day is almost gone, and it was hazy and murky and I thought I'd wasted another trip to photograph the glasshouses. Then just as the sun dipped below the horizon, the faintest glow appeared on the trees in the foreground and the haze turned a murky orange.

Coonoorin from the north west.

Glasshouse Mountains Revisited

At first glance this shot is almost the same as yesterday, but it's taken from quite a bit further round the range and it provides a perfect spot for a bit of revision while the sun is still high in the sky. From left to right (heights are in metres, and because we are located pretty much at sea level, the height above sea level is pretty much the height above ground:

Coochin - 230 and 235m high respectively

Ngungun - 253m (the flatter hills in the background)

Tibrogargan - 364m (the first prominant square top)

Beerburrum - 278m (the dome shape)

Tibberoowuccum - 220m

Coonowrin (Crookneck) - 377m

Tunbubudla Twins - 338m, 294m

Miketeebumulgrai - 202m (just visible in the haze)

Beerwah - 556m

For those who are new to this blog, the full story was published back here. Or to see all the previous shots, visit our September 2009 Archive.

Glasshouses Revisited

Well it's time to have another go at capturing my old adversaries, the Glasshouse Mountains. I thought I'd take a spin into the hills late one afternoon to see what I could see. This is the view heading up towards Maleny from Landsborough. I rather like the khaki in the green at this time of day, it says "you are in Australia."

Rocky Beach

If you have to have a rocky beach, there's no prettier way of having one than the one at Noosa National Park.

Noosa Heads

At last! A sunset sky!

I'm not sure if this isn't my first ever Skywatch post that didn't have some sort of oblique sky reference in the corner somewhere. If one stands on the top of Mt Coolum and looks vaguely west north-westish when the sky is strangely greeny orange, this is what one sees.

It reminds me of the sky in a painting depicting the battle of Waterloo that hung in my grandparent's house half a century ago.

We lived to fight another day though.

Coolum

Hot Tub

In a crevasse in the rocks, two chaps with a death wish, frolic in the foam. It's an incredibly foolhardy pastime, and they have to dive under each incoming wave to avoid being dashed against the oyster covered rocks.

Noosa Heads

Monochrome Naturally

If you are here for Watery Wednesday, you will easily spot the patch of blue, (or you could just visit yesterday's post!). The monochrome look doesn't necessarily rely on sun and water, sometimes the trees take on the colour of the rocks as well.

Noosa Heads

Another for good measure

I liked yesterday's photo a lot, so I thought I'd post another. Once again in full colour, it's enough to make one want to experiment in monochrome!

Noosa Heads

Full Colour

Before sunset, when the sun is low but still at full strength, the ocean sucks the colour out of the day.

Noosa Heads

Seven Days of Wood
7 - the Sunset

The sun sets through the timber frame of a new house.

Seven Days of Wood
6 - Plywood

The Wood is there somewhere. Wood I lie to you?

This weird yellow light was to be my skywatch photo for Friday, but, well I just got my days a bit muddled this week! Strangely the sun looks very high in the sky going by the reflection on the cloud, but as can be seen from the depth of shadow in the background, it was in reality almost beyond the horizon, hence the strange illumination.

There's still time to and check out all the other Skywatch photos!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Seven Days of Wood
5 - Old Meets New

In days gone by the vertical pieces of this picnic shelter would have been morticed into the bottom rail, and over fifty years or more the mortices have probably had their share of water resulting in a bit of rot. The modern solution is simple: whack on a new bit with a few screws out of a gun.

New screws look terrific for about half an hour, before the salt air descends for the first time.

Then every thing new is old again.

Seven Days of Wood
4 - the Paperbark

The melalueca is often referred to as a "paperbark" as it's bark is very reminiscent of a strong tissue paper. Each layer is in a different hue, and it was quite fashionable for a time, for artists to create entire pictures using different coloured bark pasted to a board background.

I suspect that that particular art movement has now been relegated to the "tourist kitsch" school.

Seven Days of Wood
3 - The Boardwalk

The Boardwalk through the Melaleuca forest will carry you to the beach, without damaging the understory plants.

Seven Days of Wood
2 - The Entry Statement

Everything needs an entry statement apparently, gone are the days when clever planning and design allowed one to discover where to go of one's own volition.

This one says:- "This is the way to the beach", or it would if it could speak.

Seven Days of Wood
1 - The Post

By the beach, timber ages to a beautiful grey if you let it. Although I've done no one a favour with the reduced size of the photographs, if your eyes are good enough you'll see a small procession of ants in profile as they march to the top of the post, which itself is sun bleached to a colour which is complimentary to the sky.

This is my contribution to the City Daily Photo Blogs theme for February: Wood

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Top Deck

The roof decks of these apartments are a popular spot late afternoon, they'd make an ideal spot to watch the storms coming across the sky from the south west.

Trying his luck.

Off to see what's biting.

Alexandra Headland.

Rockpools
skywatch reflections

The rock pools at Alex at a murky time of day. Overcast, high humidity and late afternoon combine to ensure that if you wear red, you will stand out.

A murky Skywatch at 90% humidity and 30°C.

CHIPS

Well they can't be CHIPS, because for starters we aren't in California, and we aren't within cooee of a highway. If you have to be a patrolling officer, then this would have to be one of the fun parts of the job I reckon.

Alexandra Headland

Ubiquitous

The thong (no not that kind) or humble flip flop as it's often known unless you live in New Zealand where I do believe one refers to them as jandals for some hitherto inexplicable reason, is probably the world's most travelled footware. It seems that they are built with some sort of wanderlust so that whenever they get the opportunity they jump into the ocean and float for years at a time.

Occasionally one will beach itself. The cause of this behaviour is not known, but there are several theories regarding ridding itself of parasites, or perhaps they aren't well and are trying to commit suicide.

Whatever the case, no one has yet explained why only right side shoes wash up in the Southern hemisphere, while the left side ones can be found in climes north of the equator.

Australia Day

Today is Australia Day, and although I've been keeping my eye out for suitable photo opportunities, they just haven't come along, or at least the ones with heaps of flags and that sort of thing haven't.

So here is a windmill, and icon of Australia's rural life. Used for pumping water they appear at every isolated bore or just about anywhere one wants to move water from one place to the next. With blades of pressed iron and corrugated vanes, many have been in service for a century.

This one at Maleny.

On another note, we'll be spending all of today at a ceremony to induct new Australian Citizens as some Canadian friends take the plunge, I'm sure there'll be a photo or two over coming days, but later in the evening I plan to post a report on my Fading Memories Blog for those interested.

Dragon

It was Mr Three who saw him first, in the darkest shadow in the cotton tree thicket. He was showing us his frilled neck and looking terribly fierce until I pulled out my camera. He had a few mates as well, but I was fortunate to catch him while he still had the red "fire" in his throat!

He(she?) is a bearded dragon, about two and a bit feet long, and quite common round the coast. This one was in the trees near that little camping spot that I featured in the past week or so. Oh, and have no fear, they are entirely harmless... mostly!

Tuff

I truly don't understand the reasoning behind owning a monster truck fitted out with the latest and greatest suspension in order to be able to drive down the fully paved road to the fully paved car parking area beside the beach.

Don't get me wrong, there is a place where off road vehicles are very useful, but I'm not sure that all that shiny chrome would survive at all well in that place.

Perhaps the owners just brought it down to teach it to swim.

Mooloolaba

Surf Shop

As you leave the beach at Mooloolaba, there's a reminder of what a great time you've just had.

Mooloolaba

Wave
or how to get wet Skywatching!

Actually it's probably not a wave, just a bit of a mark where one has been. Posting a photo a day isn't that hard when one lives at the beach; just slip in the occasional water shot to pad out the week, with an uncertain sky to make it a Skywatcher's photo too!

Minding the stuff

A beach bag waits patiently.

Alexandra Headland

More Happy Campers

Just to put yesterday's photograph in a bit of context.

And if it gets a bit of the wet stuff in the pic in time for WateryWednesday, then why not.

Mooloolaba

Happy Campers

In another week the campers will be starting to thin out as the summer holiday comes to an end, but one has to be just about born in this little camping ground in Mooloolaba to get one of these shoulder to shoulder beach front positions.

Perched right on the top of the dune, but hidden from the apartment buildings behind, yet only a few metres from cafes and even a supermarket, it has to be one of the best coastal camping locations on the planet.

Mooloolaba

Incoming!

Another plane load of tourists on final landing approach, bringing with them all the resources that keep the accomodation houses, supermarkets and all of us really in the manner to which we would like to become accustomed. None of us like the holiday crowds of course, but we all benefit from the business they bring and the infrastructure that they pay for.

Maroochydore

That Picnic Shelter

A few weeks ago, a picnic shelter was the centre of attention for a few days, when viewed from the inland side. To my delight, there's not a bad vantage point of it from the sea as well if one hops out on a few rocks and stands on tippy toe. There she be, on top of the cliff.

Mooloolaba

Always Look UP!

Never give a coconut tree the benefit of the doubt. Even though the fruit on this one are quite small, they'll still weigh several pounds/kilos, enough to impart a severe injury or worse, on an unsuspecting lounger sitting below.

Many of the towns in North Queensland employ people to remove coconuts in their formative stages to prevent serious injury to tourists. In Moololaba, I suspect that this is the only tree in fruit, and the chances of injury are slim, but do be aware when walking by a coconut palm!

Mooloolaba

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