Holy Sheep

Today is my 26th birthday and as a present to myself, I had a day of exploring Innes National Park yesterday. It was terrible weather - cloudy, humid, barely any wind. Yuck! So I didn't get quite the stunning photos I was after... one of the last stops I made was at the Cape Spencer Lighthouse. I think I had my eyes shut when I drove past the turn off on my way into the park, but noticed it on my way out. I was walking along the little walking trail out to the lighthouse, taking my time enjoying the views and trying to get photos. My most favourite part of the park has been closed for years due to safety - The Gap. I'd forgotten exactly where it was, but on the eastern side of the Cape Spencer Lighthouse walk, I could see gorgeous cliffs that reminded me of The Gap. So I did what any clever little photographer would do - gingerly left the walking trail and tried hovering closer and closer to the cliff's edge so I could get an incredible photo. In hindsight, it was stupid of me. But I did however notice 3 sheep in a cave in the cliff. Yes, you heard me - sheep. In a cave. In a cliff. In the national park.

There are actually 3 that I saw, but one had gone back into the cave by the time I got my super dooper lens out and ready to go.

To put it into perspective, in the top left corner of this shot, you can see two dark lines at the top of the cliff. Those are both caves, and the sheep were in the one on the right.

I was surprised when I got to Ethel's because it had changed so much since I'd last been there. The boiler from The Ferret was entirely under sand - you wouldn't even know it was there. But the ribs of old Ethel were still poking through.

Something else I was disappointed in besides the weather, was my lack of timing. I didn't get to Ethel's until about lunch time, so there were footprints everywhere (plus someone had clever written a huge word in the sand). As I was making my way down the steps, a group of people pulled up and started to get their surf rods ready so I knew I didn't exactly have much time to snap my footprint-less pics before they came down. However, I did manage to find a sneaky little spot where no one had walked yet that day.

Another thing that had changed about the beach was how steep it was. Its kinda hard to see it in the photos, but from where I was standing, the sand dropped away very steeply. It'd be easy to slip and be swept away by the ferocious waves. I like this next photo because the wave is just starting to crash onto the shore.

Sorry for all the wave photos, but they were just so wild and I loved it! I could've easily sat there for hours, just watching the intensity of the sea.

I took so many photos but unfortunately none were quite as spectaular as I'd hoped. Might have to make another trip on a nice day before the photo competition is over!

The Past & The Present

This afternoon, my cousin Shane took me for a drive to show me where our Pop had grown up. I didn't know about his childhood and had no idea he grew up around here - I assumed he grew up in the Riverland. Apparently not. There's not much left of the old house and shed, but upon scuffling through the weeds and old roofing sheets from the shed, I found this old gem.

Our next stop was at the old Bublacowie School (I think its Bublacowie? WIll check and edit if needed). Apparently it was where Pop went to school and I think nearly every person on the peninsula has carved their name or initials into the wall, so we were keen to see if we could find Pop's.

After that spot, we went back to Shaneo's where I got to take some happy snaps of his gorgeous girls.

Little Chloe

Hayley was very impressed with my pop up flash! :)

Proof that bean bags rock for all ages.