Category Archives: Textures

Pilbara textures

Australia, bark, desert, Landscape, other, Pilbara, rock, Textures, WA, WA

The trip to The Kimberley also included The Pilbara, where iron ore mining occurs on an industrial scale. At Port Headland, 6 bulk ore carriers are loaded at once (more now as the terminal has expanded) and over 20 ore carriers are moored off the port awaiting their turn. Trains bring the iron ore to the port – trains 495 carriages long!

Port Dampier near Karratha is the other large port. It is not as big as Port Headland but impressive nonetheless.

The Pilbara has amazing textures, heavily influenced by the abundant iron in the rocks. So many things are red, the rocks, the sand, the dust and the visitors. The red is caused by the oxidation of the iron in the rocks. Who said you cannot bend rock?

The Pilbara also had some interesting barks, distinctly different from the Kimberley. Enjoy.

Putty Beach, Bouddi National Park, Central Coast of NSW

Australia, Bouddi NP, coastal, Landscape, landscape, NSW, ocean, rock, sand, seascape, Textures

The Doc has wanted to visit and photograph the sandstone here for some time, with no success (one or two failed attempts). So he booked 2 nights at Copcabana this week to visit and take photographs.

Here, the sandstone made up of tessellated pavement and Liesegang rings. They do not fully understand how these rings occur, but they do occur in sedimentary rock with a cross cut pattern. Iron and other minerals must be present creating the patterns. The is a heavy iron layer in this rock, you can see iron oxide or rust layers when the iron is exposed to water and oxygen.

Technically “there is a precipitation process that is thought to be the catalyst for Liesegang ring formation referred to as the Ostwald-Liesegang supersaturation-nucleation-depletion cycle.” OK?

A small selection of the spectacular sandstone.

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Putty Beach also has a nice rock platform with some large waves. This place must be spectacle in heavy surf, as it was great with minimal waves. Enjoy.

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Paruna Sanctuary – landscape, flora and wildflowers

Australia, AWC, bark, Landscape, Paruna, Textures, WA, WA, Wildflowers

The Doc hiked at AWC’s Paruna Sanctuary about an hours drive out of Perth. It is one of AWC’s smaller properties.

The Doc walked around Possum Loop, the shortest walk. He took about 3 hours practising macro photos.

After the walk The Doc located Karakamia and then had a pub lunch at Chidlow a nearby town. That night he was booked for a Guided Tour of Karakamia.

Here are landscape photographs around the loop.

Here are a few more flora and wildflower photos. Enjoy. Remember the thumbnails are blurred, click to see the full size image.

 

The Savannah Lander – Day 4

Australia, bark, Cairns, Cairns, Gulf Savannah, Landscape, moss & lichen, mosses/lichens, other, plains, Plant, Qld, river/creeks, rock, States, Textures, Uncategorised

The last day was mostly train travel from Mt Surprise back to Cairns. The Doc was up early and walked to the railway station, having a look around the township. There was also a small market in front of the station with locals selling to the tourists. A great idea. However the food was mostly in glass, so The Doc passed on the opportunity.

There was some excitement on the way home including the train being held up by young bushrangers. A great way for kids to earn pocket money! The passengers were warned that we’d be robbed 😉

Instead of repeating some of the earlier photos let’s look at some textures, here bark and leaves.

And some rock and minerals. Enjoy.

Next day the flight home. An enjoyable trip which included a visit to Pungalina and the Savannah Lander train trip. Yes The Doc used the wrong watermark on the pictures.

Newhaven – revisited

Australia, AWC, bark, desert, lakes, Landscape, landscape, mosses/lichens, Newhaven, NT, plains, Plant, Textures, trees

This time last year The Doc had finished his Kimberley/Pilbara trip and was returning through central Australia using Australia’s longest shortcut – The Great Central Road. After a rest stop at Alice Springs he headed to AWC’s Newhaven Sanctuary for a few days.

This Saturday he heads off to Cairns then onto Pungalina/Seven Emu in Arnham Land.

A few shots from Newhaven. More pictures here.

Kimberley/Pilbara Trip Trivia

Artesian Range, Australia, AWC, Bowra, Broome, Charnley River, Charnley River - Artesian Range, Derby, desert, flowers, Kimberley, Landscape, landscape, Mornington, Mornington, Newhaven, NT, Pilbara, plains, river/creeks, Textures, trees, WA, WA

The Doc decided to put some trivia together about the longest trip so far. Enjoy.

Time, distances and economy

  • the Kimberley/Pilbara Trip lasted 108 days;
  • total distance travelled was 27,000 kilometres exactly (what a coincidence!). The Patrol has now driven over 70,000 kilometres on The Excellent Adventure;
  • most kilometres travelled in one day, 1,032 kilometres;
  • average kilometres travelled each day was 250kms. In reality the figure was less, as 9,000kms was driven to and from the Kimberley which were concentrated days of driving;
  • best fuel economy was 12.4 litres per 100 kilometres. In 2WD, not towing, driving on the bitumen;
  • worst economy 15.1 litres per 100 kilometres. In 4WD, towing the trailer in sand at Cape Peron National Park;
  • average for the trip 14.4 litres per 100 kilometres, which makes sense as the trailer was attached for much of the trip. So the Pod Trailer adds about 2 litres per 100 kilometres, a modest increase compared to towing heavy trailers or caravans;
  • most expensive diesel was $2.50 a litre at Mt Barnett Station Roadhouse, Gibb River Road; and
  • total fuel bill, decided not to add it up!

Flights

Several flights were taken on the trip including:

Corrugations

Over 60% of the trip was offroad. On badly corrugated roads, you can hit over 10 corrugations every metre (the four wheels do). A very, very conservative figure would be the car, trailer and driver went over 20 billion corrugations!!!! No wonder things break and get damaged.

Breakages

The breakages included:

  • hub cover on Patrol, it fell off and was lost on Charnley River Station;
  • broken wire on coolant alarm (it has broken twice before). Field repair that is still working;
  • striped thread on a shock absorber. The front shock was replaced (The Doc was carrying spares). No dramas as the damage was detected early;
  • after a car service an ignition fuse started to blow. It turned out to be a bare wire shorting on the rear towbar and nothing to do with the service;
  • front control arm bushes needed replacement;
  • a broken windscreen 3 days before the trip finished. Thanks to the driver who did not slow down properly on the Plenty Highway. The Doc got more stone hits on the windscreen that morning than the rest of the trip combined;
  • rivets on an awning came out, thanks to the corrugations on the Plenty Highway on the return trip.

Tucker

Best meal, no contest, Restaurant at Mornington Wilderness Camp. Drysdale River Station also put on a good meal.

Cadjeput Waterhole
Murchinson River, Kalbarri National Park
ASCII