点评:Black Point - Full Day 4WD Tour - Review
Last week I had a remarkable day with Pemberton Discovery Tours onboard with Graeme Dearle who was our driver and guide. I learnt so much. Graeme has a deep knowledge and understanding of the landscape and very generously shares this with guests. History, Geology, Botany, Wildlife, Weather, Land Use, Forestry, Bush Tucker were topics discussed as the day unwound with our questions answered in a considered, informative and very thoughtful way.
The tour is hard to describe but the words diverse, ancient, rugged and alive are the first that come to mind. Our first stop was an ancient swamp and I love swamps. Probably my favourite landscape to be in. This one was very very special. It was raining a fine mist and a patchy sky. Huge Melaleuca trees (Paperbarks) estimated to be over 800 years old. Hollowed, blackened, gnarly, twisted and tangled.Such places command reverence. I feel it, stillness and wisdom, intertwined with an ancient knowing that runs deep. Like diving down into deep dark water, when it touches you it changes you. Impossible to translate with words. Very beautiful place to photograph. Alas when I changed my lens it got slightly wet and fogged. I got some images but will go back during winter in heavy fog or rain for different moods. In a way it was good because the memory of the place and experience is far more important than images.
Our next stop was Lake Jasper, a beautiful freshwater lake with still waters surrounded by reeds. Alive with Dragonflies. Peter, an Ornithologist and bird expert was onboard and spotted Great Crested Grebes out on the lake along with Hoary Headed Grebes. We drank hot tea and coffee and ate some very delicious cake and fresh fruit from Graeme and Toni’s garden. Back on board for an exciting drive on a very windy track through the dunes to Black Point. A quick stop to photograph a gorgeous Bobtail Lizard and then a Goanna.
Sandy landscape, dunes covered with vegetation and with low lying swamps alive with bright orange flowers from the Swamp Bottlebrush (Beaufortia sparsa,). I got a few close up shots of the detail. The plants in the SW corner of Australia are diverse and fascinating. I am slowly learning more and take every opportunity to photograph the flowers I see. The beautiful Toyota Arkana 4WD Troop Carrier carried us up and over a final dune to a magnificent view of the Southern Ocean. Windy, sunny, deep dark blues, azure sparkles and that divine turquoise colour of the water over white sand. Huge cliffs, crashing waves, and black basalt interspersed with limestone. Rugged and very very beautiful.
We had a delicious lunch, fresh rolls from the bakery packed with salad, cheese and a variety of fillings, fresh fruit and hot drinks. As usual I was eating, photographing and wrangling gear all at the same time. Peter spotted a Caspian Tern at the bottom of a cliff along with a few hundred seagulls sheltering from the wind. We continued on to a spot named Breakfast Holes and I took a lot of images of waves crashing over the rocks. The Basalt rocks are part of the geological formation known as Bunbury Basalt from an eruption 130 million years ago. The lava cooled in a particular way and formed huge hexagonal columns that are put to twelve metres high. The rain had gone and the sun was bright and hot. The contrast of white water and black rocks was spectacular.
A beautiful patch of Red Swamp Banksias were flowering about a 100m from the cliffs. It is not a species I have seen before, very bright red almost fluorescent. Many flowers, the plants thriving in an extremely harsh landscape known for very poor soil. One the way back to the vehicle a tiny snake crossed the path. Very beautiful close up, difficult to photography in harsh light. The marking on his head were very interesting and the rich copper colour of his body was beautiful.
Our last spot was truly spectacular. A white sandy beach, interspersed with broad areas of rocky boulders worn smooth from the waves over millennia. The sand sparkled with dark purple illmenite, mineral sands that formed patterns with white sand, the different weights creating beautiful lines and ripples. We navigated carefully over the boulder fields, slowly getting closer to the massive black basalt columns in the distance. Huge waves crashed, a Pacific Gull flew overhead, interesting pieces of seaweed and cuttlefish were caught between the rocks, the sand crunched and best of all when a big wave hit the beach and retreated all the submerged boulders clattered together making an amazing sound. Peter spotted a family of Hooded Plovers on the sand at the base of the point. Two juveniles at different stages suggested successful breeding which was good news given the challenges these tiny ones face on a daily basis.
The sky was patchy with dark clouds and bright sun. The light was challenging so I took a lot of images truing to get some with sun and some with shadow. Looking for compositions to highlight the size of the basalt columns and capture the majesty of the place. Words and images simply don’t do it justice. So much is felt, the texture of the sand, wind whipping my face, taste of salt, stinging eyes, the noises, birds and ocean, textures and colours that don’t translate in images, the desolation and dramatic beauty, the endless shifts in light that change the mood and a sense of being immersed again in an ancient and knowing landscape.
I would love to photograph it again, in a storm or in pouring rain or on a bleak still day with a glassy ocean. I imagine the moods would be endless in this very special place.
I didn’t really want to leave and I think we probably all wanted to stay a little longer but there was a very long walk back over the very tricky boulder patches to the vehicle. I walked last behind everyone else to take some photos and try to capture the sense of scale, tiny people immersed and connected to the earth, ocean and sky in one of the most beautiful, rugged and interesting landscapes I have ever seen!! Huge thank you to Graeme for spectacular driving and a truly awesome day. I will definitely be doing this tour again!!
翻译:黑点 - 全天四驱车之旅 - 体验
上周,我参加了彭伯顿探索之旅 (Pemberton Discovery Tours) 的行程,与司机兼导游格雷姆·迪尔 (Graeme Dearle) 一起度过了难忘的一天。我受益匪浅。格雷姆对这片土地有着深刻的了解和丰富的知识,并且非常乐于与游客分享。我们探讨了历史、地质、植物、野生动物、天气、土地利用、林业以及丛林食物等话题,格雷姆以深思熟虑、信息丰富且体贴周到的方式解答了我们的问题。
这次旅行难以用语言来形容,但“多样”、“古老”、“崎岖”和“生机勃勃”是我首先想到的几个词。我们的第一站是一片古老的沼泽,而我非常喜欢沼泽。这可能是我最喜欢的景观。这片沼泽非常特别。当时下着细雨,天空阴云密布。巨大的白千层树(纸皮树)估计树龄超过800年。它们树干中空、发黑、虬曲、扭曲、缠绕。这样的地方令人肃然起敬。我感受到了,宁静与智慧交织,仿佛蕴藏着一种深邃的古老智慧。如同潜入深邃幽暗的水中,触及你,便会改变你。这种感觉难以言表。这里真是个绝佳的摄影胜地。可惜的是,当我更换镜头时,镜头被水打湿起雾。虽然拍到了一些照片,但我打算在冬季的浓雾或雨天再去一次,捕捉不同的氛围。从某种意义上说,这反而是件好事,因为对这片土地和体验的记忆远比照片本身更加珍贵。
我们的下一站是贾斯珀湖,一个美丽的淡水湖,湖面平静,四周环绕着芦苇。湖中蜻蜓飞舞,生机盎然。鸟类学家兼鸟类专家彼得也在船上,他在湖面上发现了凤头䴙䴘和灰头䴙䴘。我们喝了热茶和咖啡,还享用了格雷姆和托尼花园里美味的蛋糕和新鲜水果。之后,我们回到船上,沿着蜿蜒曲折的沙丘小路,前往黑点,开始了激动人心的旅程。我们稍作停留,拍了一张漂亮的短尾蜥蜴和一只巨蜥的照片。
沙质地貌,沙丘上覆盖着植被,低洼的沼泽地里开满了鲜艳的橙色沼泽瓶刷树(Beaufortia sparsa)。我拍了一些细节特写。澳大利亚西南角的植物种类繁多,令人着迷。我正在慢慢学习更多,并抓住每一个机会拍摄我看到的花朵。漂亮的丰田Arkana四驱越野车载着我们翻过最后一个沙丘,来到了南大洋壮丽的景色前。微风拂面,阳光灿烂,深邃的蓝色海水,湛蓝的波光粼粼,还有那令人陶醉的碧绿海水倒映在洁白的沙滩上。巨大的悬崖,汹涌的波涛,黑色的玄武岩与石灰岩交错分布。景色崎岖壮丽,美不胜收。
我们享用了一顿美味的午餐:从面包店买来的新鲜面包卷,里面塞满了沙拉、奶酪和各种馅料,还有新鲜水果和热饮。像往常一样,我一边吃饭、拍照,一边整理器材。彼得在悬崖底部发现了一只里海燕鸥,还有几百只海鸥在那里躲避风。我们继续前往一个叫做“早餐洞”的地方,我拍了很多海浪拍打岩石的照片。这些玄武岩是1.3亿年前火山喷发形成的班伯里玄武岩地质构造的一部分。熔岩以一种特殊的方式冷却,形成了高达12米的巨大六边形柱状岩柱。雨停了,阳光灿烂而炎热。白色的海水和黑色的岩石形成了壮观的对比。
距离悬崖大约100米的地方,有一片美丽的红沼泽班克木正在盛开。我以前从未见过这种植物,颜色非常鲜艳,几乎像荧光一样。很多花,这些植物在以土壤贫瘠而闻名的极其恶劣的环境中茁壮成长。返回车上的路上,一条小蛇横穿马路。近距离拍摄非常漂亮,在强光下很难拍到。他头上的斑纹非常有趣,他身上浓郁的铜色也十分美丽。
我们最后一站的景色真是壮观。一片白色的沙滩,其间点缀着大片被海浪经年累月磨得光滑的岩石。沙子上闪烁着深紫色的钛铁矿,这种矿物砂与白沙交织成各种图案,不同重量的矿物砂粒勾勒出美丽的线条和波纹。我们小心翼翼地穿过乱石堆,慢慢靠近远处巨大的黑色玄武岩柱。巨浪拍打着海岸,一只太平洋鸥从头顶飞过,岩石缝隙间夹杂着一些有趣的藻类和墨鱼,沙子嘎吱作响,最精彩的是,当一个大浪拍打沙滩又退去时,所有被淹没的岩石碰撞在一起,发出令人惊艳的声响。彼得在岬角底部的沙滩上发现了一群黑头鸻。两只不同生长阶段的幼鸟表明它们已经成功繁殖,考虑到这些小家伙每天面临的挑战,这无疑是个好消息。
天空阴云密布,时而乌云密布,时而阳光灿烂。光线条件颇具挑战性,所以我拍摄了很多照片,试图捕捉一些阳光下的画面和一些阴影下的画面。我一直在寻找能够凸显玄武岩柱雄伟气势、捕捉此地壮丽景象的构图。文字和图片都难以尽述其美。这里的一切感受如此强烈:沙粒的质感、风吹拂脸庞的刺痛、咸涩的海水、刺痛的双眼、各种声响、鸟鸣和海浪声,以及那些无法用照片捕捉的纹理和色彩;荒凉与壮丽并存的美感;光影变幻无穷,营造出不同的氛围;仿佛再次沉浸于这片古老而充满智慧的土地之中。
我渴望再次拍摄这里,无论是在暴风雨中、倾盆大雨中,还是在阴沉平静、海面如镜的日子里。我想,在这片特别的地方,各种景象定会无穷无尽。
我真不想离开,我想我们所有人都想多待一会儿,但要走很长一段路才能回到车上,而且路途中还要翻越布满巨石的崎岖路段。我走在队伍的最后面,拍了一些照片,试图捕捉那种宏大的景象:渺小的人们融入其中,与大地、海洋和天空融为一体,置身于我见过的最美丽、最崎岖、最引人入胜的景观之一!非常感谢格雷姆精彩的驾驶,让我度过了如此美好的一天。我一定会再次参加这个旅行团!