Sunday 6 March 2011

Lord Howe Island - Castles in the mist


Out in the streams of the Pacific Ocean, the weather can change on the head of a pin, and a wily tour operator has plans, rather than schedules. No sooner had we tossed our bags through the guest-house door, than we were clambering onto a charter vessel taking a dozen of us the 6 kms down the lagoon, and then another 23 kms through open waters to Ball's Pyramid, the eroded remnant of a long-gone volcanic island which rises 551m above sea-level.


Both the light and the peace were magical. Shearwaters dipped and waved around and across our bow. Masked Boobys kept pace as we ploughed through the swell. Petrels soared magnificently overhead riding whe upper atmosphere. Eventually the sated camera finger was stilled. The camera of the mind's eye whirred on.


Follow my Lord Howe Island escape on Hither & thither as from today.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I am enjoying your adventure on Lor Howe Island. Thank you for taking us along.

Kay L. Davies said...

All that and masked boobies as well. What a wonderful experience, Julie. Looking forward to more!
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

brattcat said...

Yes, I love that moment when the camera finger is sated, when you lower the box and just take in the beauty around you.

Ann said...

There's some serious lens power there.

Meant to tell you that, after speaking to you, I did some googling and ebaying and found myself a camera harness (elastic). Will test it out tomorrow on KI - taking the camera strap in case I don't like it. It wasn't espensive so no loss if it doesn't work for me. Can't believe the amount of gear I'm taking, bag is so heavy. Only thing I'm not taking is the 50mm as the P&S is good in low light and has zoom.

Jim said...

A mighty serious lens.

Julie said...

The 'boat' driver (not shown here) had a Canon 7D, and Ian (in the lower photo) had some sort of swanky Nikon, which was better again. The guy on the top was a Pommy birder out for a few weeks. His camera was amazing. My jaw just dropped and I was too overwhelmed to ask him anything. He certainly knew his stuff, though. His ego hung over the edge of the boat.

More about Ian tomorrow on 'Hither & thither'.

Mary Ann said...

This is an amazing island, and those are amazing cameras!

Joan Elizabeth said...

Oh my goodness those lenses are amazing. Maybe that's why my bird photos are no good