Bushfire at Warrumbungle National Park

Over the last couple of days a terrible, horrific bushfire has impacted on the Warrumbungle National Park, Siding Springs Observatory, 33 homes and numerous rural buildings near Coonabarabran in New South Wales, Australia. The bushfire is believed to have burnt out some 500 000 hectares and now has a fire front of over 100km in length.

Obviously the fire is a terrible tragedy for the people living in the region, as well as the natural wonder that is the Warrumbungle National Park. This fire was started by lightning strikes in a major heatwave currently being experienced in Australia. The tinder dry conditions and gale force hot winds have fanned the blaze and even now as I write, the bushfire is again threatening homes in the region and is expected to burn for weeks. 

The Warrumbungle National Park is one of my favourite places in Australia and I have visited the region many times. It is a sad and tragic disaster in more ways than one. 

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Wollomombi and Chandler Falls: Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

This photo is of Wollomombi Falls (foreground left) and Chandler Falls (background top centre) in the Oxley Wild Rivers Natonal Park, New South Wales, Australia. I visited here during my ‘Waterfalls Tour 2010,’ which was my recently completed holiday.

Baker’s Creek Falls: Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

This photo was taken at Baker’s Creek Falls in the Oxley Wild Rivers Natonal Park, New South Wales, Australia. I visited here during my ‘Waterfalls Tour 2010,’ which was my recently completed holiday.

Tia Falls: Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

This photo was taken at Tia Falls in the Oxley Wild Rivers Natonal Park, New South Wales, Australia. I visited here during my ‘Waterfalls Tour 2010,’ which was my recently completed holiday.

Apsley River: Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

The ‘silly season’ is pretty much over – at least for me anyhow. So now I’m back to Blogging again. I have no hope of catching up on the days I missed, so I’ll just start again from today.

This photo was taken next to Apsley Falls in the Oxley Wild Rivers Natonal Park, New South Wales, Australia. I visited here during my ‘Waterfalls Tour 2010,’ which was my recently completed holiday.

This photo is from the Gorge Rim Walk, which pretty much covers the area from the camping area at Apsley Falls to the actual lookout at Apsley Falls. This photo shows the Apsley River flowing wildly at the base of the Apsley River Gorge.

Apsley Falls: Oxley Wild Rivers National Park

This photo was taken at Apsley Falls in the Oxley Wild Rivers Natonal Park, New South Wales, Australia. I visited here during my ‘Waterfalls Tour 2010,’ which was my recently completed holiday.

There had been a lot of rain in recent times and the river was quite swollen, in contrast to its usual flow. Unfortuately I was unable to take any photos from the Oxley Walk (the other side of the river), as the bridge that crossed the river upstream had been washed away.

Gloucester River Falls: Gloucester Tops – Barrington Tops National Park

This photo was taken at Gloucester River Falls in the Gloucester Tops, which is part of Barrington Tops National Park in New South Wales, Australia. I visited here recently while on my ‘Waterfalls Tour 2010’ holiday.

The Gloucester River Falls walk takes about 30 minutes to complete and is a fairly easy circuit walk. The walk can take a lot longer if you explore the area surrounding the falls. On this trip I didn’t do that due to the rain, slippery conditions and swollen river.

The walk also passes the Andrew Laurie Lookout, which features great views over the Barrington Tops wilderness.

Taking a Break at Rocky Crossing

This photo was taken not long after the trip to Orange (see photos from the last few days). We stopped at Gloucester and visited Rocky Crossing for a quick cooling dip. Here I am really having a break.

 

The Beaches of Newcastle

It has often been said that Newcastle has some of the world’s best beaches. I wouldn’t know about that – I haven’t visited all of them.

What I do know is that having travelled around a lot of Australia, Newcastle is certainly up there with the best that Australia has to offer.

It is hard, in my view, to define just what makes the best beach. I imagine that someone who surfs would have certain criteria that differs from someone like me, who likes the natural beauty of a place more than anything else when it comes to liking a beach.

I think the beaches around the West Australia town of Esperance are simply stunning and I currently rate these as the best beaches in Australia that I have seen. There may well be better beaches, but in my opinion, those of Esperance are better than Newcastle’s beaches. But that opinion includes criteria such as seclusion, natural beauty, etc. For recreational use, access, etc, Newcastle has some brilliant beaches that the locals adore. They are certainly good for a walk along when it isn’t too hot and they aren’t too crowded.

MY DEAR FRIEND – I MISS YOU GREATLY

 

I have missed a day’s photo along the way somewhere and so I have been posting for the day before for a couple of days now. So for today only I intend to post two photos, one for yesterday and one for today – but not only for that reason.

The other reason I want to post two photos today is because two people I have counted as important to me have died in the past two years and today I visited the grave/memorial of each of them.

The first memorial I visited was that of my dearest and most important friend, Rebecca. My dear friend – I miss you greatly. It was a hard, hard thing to do today – to visit your memorial at Beresfield. I felt I was unable to say goodbye today and will need to visit again soon. The memorial park was packed with people because it was ‘Father’s Day’ here in Australia and I just found it too difficult to do with so many people about. I will come again soon, but I will also visit often.

I have never forgotten you and I never will. I remain forever your friend and I hold you dearly in my heart. I miss you so much and wish you were still here.

I also visited the grave of another good friend’s sister, someone who I regarded as a good friend in the past and someone I have always held dear – my friend Heidi.