Kingaham Gorge: Masons Quarry at the end of the day: Time to exit the gorge if we are to be back at camp before dark.
The towering cliffs of hard metamorphic rocks sit above the sculpted granodiorite in this pristine gorge. Masons Quarry includes drillholes, large abraded gnammas, and polished surfaces because some distance upstream the creek cuts through Tertiary granites which load this stream in floodtime with ample tools to polish this granodiorite. The foreground section of Masons Quarry is quite a deep and attractive rock pool.
There is much to see and much to explore and ponder here. Birdlife, crustaceans, eels, and macropods, echidnas and a diversity of birds including the Top Knot pigeons feeding in the forest canopies, scrub turkeys scratching their huge nests on the forest floor, and blue cranes catching and feeding on the bivalves and blue-claw yabbies in the pools. Then there are the huge wasps nests, the big fossils and around it all the variety, the changing light and moods of the stream, and the awesome cliffs and thrust faults, and the torment of floods.
When the air is still the pools are like broken mirrors; when the afternoon sea breeze arrives the ruffled surfaces are a kaleidoscope of reflecting fragments of colour.
This is my world to value and protect, to appreciate and seek to understand.
This is a glimpse of an area that few knew about and fewer ever explored. Since retiring, we have set about exploring it and building the bank of scientific knowledge of the area, in order to advocate for its protection and inclusion in the protected areas estate. Our efforts have been successful, so now it is time to create the wealth of artistic and photographic record of the area. It is a big area with several gorges and many waterfalls, some majestic ones. And here, the flooding water armed with abrasive granite sand from upstream and sculpted, drilled and polished this "quarry-like" section in the gorge. We love it as sunlight highlights, shadows mystify, water reflects and breezes create shimmers on the pool - all delighting the senses yet home to a myriad of wildlife.
Kingaham Gorge: Masons Quarry at the end of the day: Time to exit the gorge if we are to be back at camp before dark.
The towering cliffs of hard metamorphic rocks sit above the sculpted granodiorite in this pristine gorge. Masons Quarry includes drillholes, large abraded gnammas, and polished surfaces because some distance upstream the creek cuts through Tertiary granites which load this stream in floodtime with ample tools to polish this granodiorite. The foreground section of Masons Quarry is quite a deep and attractive rock pool.
There is much to see and much to explore and ponder here. Birdlife, crustaceans, eels, and macropods, echidnas and a diversity of birds including the Top Knot pigeons feeding in the forest canopies, scrub turkeys scratching their huge nests on the forest floor, and blue cranes catching and feeding on the bivalves and blue-claw yabbies in the pools. Then there are the huge wasps nests, the big fossils and around it all the variety, the changing light and moods of the stream, and the awesome cliffs and thrust faults, and the torment of floods.
When the air is still the pools are like broken mirrors; when the afternoon sea breeze arrives the ruffled surfaces are a kaleidoscope of reflecting fragments of colour.
This is my world to value and protect, to appreciate and seek to understand.
This is a glimpse of an area that few knew about and fewer ever explored. Since retiring, we have set about exploring it and building the bank of scientific knowledge of the area, in order to advocate for its protection and inclusion in the protected areas estate. Our efforts have been successful, so now it is time to create the wealth of artistic and photographic record of the area. It is a big area with several gorges and many waterfalls, some majestic ones. And here, the flooding water armed with abrasive granite sand from upstream and sculpted, drilled and polished this "quarry-like" section in the gorge. We love it as sunlight highlights, shadows mystify, water reflects and breezes create shimmers on the pool - all delighting the senses yet home to a myriad of wildlife.