After the rains

On a beautiful sunny day I persuaded the family that a trip up into the mountain would be an excellent idea. A picnic was created and packed into the car 'fridge - I pack all the ingredients for sandwiches and let everyone create their own once it is lunch time. Since the temperature was rising and the sun bright I reasoned that most people would either be heading to the beaches or to the theme parks. (This place is a holiday playground with several fun parks). I was right. There were plenty of parking bays free at Purlingbrook Falls and we were able to park right beside the track leading to the Lookout. Madi (short for Madison) is a 12 year old boy and was the only one of the party not to have a camera so I dug out the Samsung from my bottomless handbag and he had a wonderful time with it and was so thrilled to be able to take pictures that I told him were good. He was my shadow for much of the day! He learned how to take Macro shots and became quite excited when his attempts started to give good results.
We were slower than the rest of our party and were lucky enough to see some people aiming a camera into the undergrowth. We discovered the attraction to be a black skink or "land mullet" - a magnificent large one.

f/13  1/30   ISO200   55mm

This glossy black lizard was approximately 500mm from nose to tip of tail. Much bigger than any I had ever seen previously. Madi discovered the advantage to a zoom on a still camera and he managed to get some lovely shots of this lizard. I was using the 18-55mm lens so he was thrilled to be able to take closer shots than I could!

After viewing the falls from the front and seeing the wonderful long drop of water - so dramatic after all the rain we have had - we walked around to see the falls from the other side - not a big walk - and had to paddle over the footpath because the head of the falls was so full it had spilled over the track. I showed Madi how to get low to get a more interesting shot of the racing water.

f/5.0  1/30  ISO 200   18mm

After capturing many beautiful tiny creatures as well as dozens of lovely water and bush pictures we made our way to another lovely waterfall right at the end of the mountain road at a place we know as the "English Country Garden" because of a Tudor building beside the parking area for the falls with that name.

f/9.0  1/100  ISO 250  18mm

From the lookout besides these falls is a magnificent view right over the tree covered mountain tops.

f/20  1/100  ISO200 18mm

I always find that shadows from the clouds make the hillsides even more attractive. The sky looked beautiful today.
After our picnic I wandered around with my camera and although leaving the tracks in National Park is forbidden I broke the rules and stepped over the garden weeds and discovered this beautiful but hidden delight.

f/5.6 1/60 ISO 640 55mm

This amazing display would have gone unseen by anyone if I had not ventured into the undergrowth! All that could be seen from the track was a pale top on an old stump that could not be identified as anything special. I was careful not to crush anything precious and walked back to the track in my own indentations. But, as I mentioned, since the vegetation I stepped on was introduced from gardens I really did not feel guilty!!
AJ