After a couple of months steady work in town, last Friday I felt the need to give in to my constant urge to be in the back country, so threw some gear into my venerable old 4WD and headed off to Oteake Conservation Park, in the neighbourhood of St Bathans. By the time I got to my campsite it was dark and pretty cold, so I was pretty keen to get camp pitched and a warming mug of whisky on board. Before I turned in for the night though, I did manage to bag a nice fisheye shot of the galactic core. 

Galactic core

September may be the start of Spring for some, but here in the Deep South, you can still expect a late season blast of snow. I had a pretty comfortable night but awoke to cold temps and a light fall of dry powder. Nevertheless I got up before dawn and spent the next hour or two prospecting for pictures in the growing light. Due to cloud, the light wasn’t spectacular on the landforms, but I did manage to find some good shots. If I look a little crazed, well maybe I am to be doing this.

Now remember, these shots are all clickable for a larger view. Do I sell prints of my pictures?  Yes.

There is a day shelter at the DoC Homestead campsite. Some shooters were actually overnighting there, the big softies. I have to say, the roaring fire they had going inside made it pretty tempting, but I’m a bit of a stoic.

By lunchtime the sky (and road) had cleared considerably but a fierce wind had risen. I was planning on biking the 18km Ida Range water race but didn’t fancy struggling into a headwind on my return, so took the soft option and drove it. I considered it a valuable reconnaissance for my next visit. Nice track.

By dinner time, the cloud and wind had returned and the forecast wasn’t so flash for the next day – more snow and wind. I didn’t want to risk getting stuck, so after breakfast (I can really recommend the convenience and taste of Harraways Oat Singles – use two if you’re hungry, they’re great with just boiling water, excellent if you add a handful of scroggin and a dash of Jamesons) I decided to hightail it out of there. 

The weather didn’t turn out to be so bad, so I managed to catch a little action with my gopro and drone.

Weather was pretty nasty on the way back home via the Pigroot though, but I’m always telling my students that real photogs don’t let weather or light conditions hold them back from creating an interesting shot. So I had to stop and back it up with a monochrome from a spot where the road makes a lovely S-curve up through the hills.

Not exactly chocolate box landscape weather, but I had fun. Did the trip satisfy my urge to be in the back country? Like hell it did. I can’t wait to go back and see what I get next.