Final Frame, 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Australia

Tough to believe I've already been back in Alaska for 3 weeks now. I am still editing through the thousands of images from Australia, which will keep me busy for a while. This was the last frame I took on the beach at the Great Ocean Road, 12 Apostles. I'd gone out that evening with feelings of frustration and indignation and chose to channel that energy into the powerful crashing waves. I walked around a corner and down the beach, set up and shot until the tide was moving in and I had to retreat or be trapped and forced to climb up onto the rocks to avoid being carried out to sea. Once I had reached a safe point, I turned around and took one last photo, leaving the shutter open for ten minutes. This is the end result of all that moving energy condensed into a single frame. During that time, I looked back and noticed the crashing waves had washed away my footprints where I’d just walked back from. This is one of the most significant and metaphoric images from my trip. To me, it says that we cannot go back to where we’ve come from. Regardless of what lies ahead, we can only move forward. Love trumps fear. In the end, love wins.  What do you interpret from this photograph?

Leaving the Great Ocean Road, on to Kangaroo Island

G'day all! Currently aboard the ferry out to Kangaroo Island. Yesterday was a long day of driving and I am looking forward to being on the island for the next 3 days. I don't have much down time to edit or write but I have a lot to share. Wifi is spotty here, I usually have to find a cafe that offers wifi with a purchase to update my Facebook page, website, and Instagram, check emails and map out my next driving route. After my time on the island, I will drive up to Adelaide for a couple days to visit a friend and take a break from being on the road. From there, I will either head north into the Flinders Ranges to get a taste of the outback or, depending on the weather forecast and what my intuition tells me, I may venture back down to the Great Ocean Road for the remainder of my journey. Right now, the ocean is calling me back...

Cheers!

Colin

Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia

No great story comes without some bit of adversity, this I know.  Today was a classic example. I arrived in Australia just four days ago, early in the morning of November 3. I could have easily slept when I got to my hostel, I was exhausted, but it was a beautiful day and I was staying a mere five minutes from the beach, I wanted to get out and soak up the vibe.

That night I got decent rest and was up early to catch the sunrise the following day. Soon afterward, I picked up my camper van, grabbed some groceries and somehow found my way out of Sydney in heavy traffic while adjusting to driving on the other side of the road. I drove to Jervis Bay and met up with a mate I crossed paths with in India three years ago. We camped and went for a good hike the next morning and had a swim in the ocean before I was on my way to the next destination. Since then, I’ve covered well over 1,000 km’s with the van. I was up at 5 am today to make use of all the available light I had at Wilson’s Promontory. The images I captured certainly made the drive down there worthwhile, and I will likely return someday and spend more time, it was spectacular.

In my haste to edit photos, pack up and hit the road today, I left my AC power adaptor, extension cord, camera battery charger and a battery plugged in at my site in the Tidal River Campground, all of which I desperately need. I realized this when I was nearing Melbourne, three hours later.  In a state of semi-panic, I found a shopping center and located an electronics store, who then put me in touch with a camera store in the next town who had a charger that isn’t the same as the one I’d brought, but it would will for now. I also called the visitor center back at Wilson’s Promontory and thankfully, they’d found everything I left behind and are going to mail it to my friend in Adelaide, whom I will be visiting next week. After a while, I was able to look back and laugh it off. It cost me a few hours, a little extra money and some frustration, but it’s going to be fine. In the end, there is always a lesson. I need to slow down, I need to breathe, I need to rest.

The next few days will be spent covering a much smaller area and should give me a chance to slow my pace a bit. Tonight, I am going to rest, my body is telling me I need it. Goodnight from the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia. This place is powerful, and humbling.

Coli

Wilson's Promontory, Victoria, Australia

G'day everyone! I'm checking in from the southernmost part of mainland Australia. It's taken me a few ways to adjust to being on the other side of the world, the time change, living out of a camper van and driving on the other side of the road but I feel I am getting settled into the groove. I spent the night at Wilson't Promontory - the opportunities were plentiful and I encountered a number of species including wombats, wallabies, emus and several other birds, even the kookaburra. The wombats are quite unique and seem to be a type of badger with the body shape of a pig and the face of a teddy bear. They are very docile; in fact I nearly tripped over one while making dinner next to my van last night. I'm on my way through Melbourne and on to the Great Ocean Road for 2-3 days before heading out to Kangaroo Island on Friday. As always, thank you for following along.

Cheers!

Colin