Landscapes of South Australia

  • We talk about the timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola Landscape.  The reflections in the waterholes make places like Arkaroola like nowhere else. Arkaroola is synonymous with ancient geological ages. It is the most rugged expression of the Australian Landscape. At once powerful and untamed with a natural beauty.  According to legend, Arkaroo, the great Dreamtime serpent lived in the Gammon Ranges. He felt very thirsty, so he slithered down to the plains and drank Lake Frome dry. When he had finished, he went back to the Gammons, his body gouging out Arkaroola Creek. The waterholes represent the places that he stopped and rested.
  • We talk about a timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola landscape.
    For over 600 million years, these Pinnacles have served as sentries to the Mawson Valley. Contemplate the violence of their formation in those primeval years, of the natural evolution.  Today the challenge is the climate cycle.
    The copper tones of the dead leaves display the stress. And yet, the cleverness of nature, that it adapts, it survives but doesn’t quite conquer.
  • We talk about a timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola landscape. On the ground, in the creek beds, it is not about the geological forces but the adaption of the trees to to the climate. Towards the end of 2019 Arkaroola had experienced the longest, driest conditions in living memory. Red Gums that were hundreds of years old were dying. The desiccated landscape was facing its biggest challenge. Having seen it at it best, we were witnessing a potential disaster. Every major drought asks the question, will the landscape recover?  
  • We talk about a timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola landscape.  This scene taken from the lookout near the Pinnacles, a peaceful, contemplative hilltop vantage point looking over a typical Arkaroola landscape. The track winding back to the village gives the sense of journey with some interest in the distant rocky outcrops that remain from the weathered, folded landscape. I liked the sense of the hills and the colour of the dried earth coming through the sparse vegetation.
  • Capture the impression of the endless break of a passive surf break at the famous Cactus Beach.  At sunset, watching wave after wave roll in. The light slowly fading, but leaving an orange hue on the horizon and an eerie purple on the break. With the wind dropping in the evening, the scene depicts a peaceful reminder of the power of the sea.  
  • We talk about the timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola Landscape.  Arkaroola is synonymous with ancient geological ages. It is the most rugged expression of the Australian Landscape. At once powerful and untamed with a natural beauty. The afternoon sun on the rugged face of Dinnertime Hill brings out the colours of the landscape and there is a little mystery as Wywhyana Creek winds it way through the nearby gorge. The desert mulga with its dry, copper tinge completes the story.
  • The mighty Cooper Creek after all its journey spreads out into the desert plain, attracting abundant birdlife, but it is endless flat water that holds the reflection of the desert sunset. Still, quiet, harmonious, not a soul in sight.
  • An early morning rest at Port Adelaide provides the opportunity to marvel at the emerging dawn. The reflections of the sunrise with the blue hue above the horizon topped with a pink layer before merging into the morning sky is the fascination. This autumn morning had the added bonus of a late moon and reflections on the still Port River.  
  • The early morning catches an interesting mood. The air is clear, the sun is bright, it is not yet hot, the day is full of promise. The light catches the awning's vivid red and the communication tower at the end of the jetty. There is some fascination with the water lapping the shore, the ripples and the shadows under the jetty.
  • Mt Ward from Split Rock

    (Ridge Top Tour Track).

    One of the iconic vistas of the Arkaroola Landscape. I am really attracted to this place. It is not just the power of the landscape, but the colour of the hills on the horizon and on the face of Split Rock. I enjoy the challenge of bringing all that I see to canvas.

    Arkaroola is synonymous with the ancient geological ages. It is the most rugged expression of the Australian Landscape. At once powerful and untamed with a natural beauty.

    Arkaroola offers the famous Ridgetop Tour which takes you to Sillers Lookout. One of the most exhilarating experiences in a most exhilarating landscape.

  • Mt Ward from Split Rock (Ridge Top Tour Track).

    One of the iconic vistas of the Arkaroola Landscape. I am really attracted to this place. It is not just the power of the landscape, but the colour of the hills on the horizon, the bright haze emerging from behind the hills and the colour on the face of Split Rock. I enjoy the challenge of bringing all that I see to canvas.

    Arkaroola is synonymous with the ancient geological ages. It is the most rugged expression of the Australian Landscape. At once powerful and untamed with a natural beauty.

    Arkaroola offers the famous Ridgetop Tour which takes you to Sillers Lookout. One of the most exhilarating experiences in a most exhilarating landscape.

  • Mara Murumuru Waterhole

    Tillite Gorge Area

    One of the iconic vistas of the Arkaroola Landscape. Arkaroola is synonymous with the ancient geological ages. It is the most rugged expression of the Australian Landscape. At once powerful and untamed with a natural beauty.

    This morning I walked from Stubbs Waterhole towards the Tillite Gorge, and caught the morning light giving colour to the rockfaces and providing twice the effect with the reflections in the still waterhole.

  • We talk about a timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola landscape.

    Bararranna Gorge Waterhole, One of the iconic vistas of the Arkaroola Landscape

    Arkaroola is synonymous with ancient geological ages. It is the most rugged expression of the Australian Landscape. At once powerful, untamed but with a natural beauty.This scene projects a primeval emotion typical of the harsh and robust environment. The rock faces are sharp and steep with few trees successfully finding a crevasse to set their roots. Interest in the scene is enhanced with the foreground water, and we have the curiosity of what lies around the next bend as we make our way up to the Bararranna Waterhole. There are still many questions that the landscape asks of us. Look at the sharpness of the rock face embracing the cutting power of flood.

    Contemplate just how high and powerful the flood must be when it does rain.

     
  • We talk about a timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola landscape. This view of Mt Ward is the iconic vista painted from the angle of Split Rock. I have tried to capture the essence of the landscape, the feel the morning breeze before the afternoon heat. Colour before the afternoon haze There is an interaction between the ruggedness and the beauty. Stretching out past Mt Ward we see the characteristic purple hue as the distant peaks fade into the horizon. Split Rock is a tea break stop along the famous Ridgetop Tour, which best exemplifies the character of this region.
  • We talk about a timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola landscape. This view of Mt Ward is the iconic vista painted from the angle of Split Rock. I have tried to capture the essence of the landscape, the feel the morning breeze before the afternoon heat. Colour before the afternoon haze There is an interaction between the ruggedness and the beauty. Stretching out past Mt Ward we see the characteristic purple hue as the distant peaks fade into the horizon. Split Rock is a tea break stop along the famous Ridgetop Tour, which best exemplifies the character of this region.
  • We talk about a timeless grandeur of the Arkaroola landscape. In this work I have tried to capture the thirst of a landscape in the cycle of life. The day is beginning to warm, there is a feeling of death. And yet there is still some sign of life in the background. There is a hope that the landscape will recover, that the trees will shed their parched exterior. That is the conundrum and the cleverness of nature, that it adapts, it survives but doesn’t quite conquer.
  • Camped at Curdimurka, just south of Lake Eyre (Kati Thanda) in the heart of Arabana country Here are remnants of a past glory that can easily disappear into the past. It is flat and featureless, but it does have a story. Reflect on the difficulties of building the Ghan dream. Here we have the old water storage, slowly falling apart, we have the old water treatment plant, leaning like the tower of Pizza. But there is more. Why here? The Ghan followed the inland telegraph, that followed the mounds springs, that were crucial to the ancient trading routes across Australia. This is where Stuart commenced his five expeditions into the Red Centre. This is outback Australia.

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