Torrens Tempts Tourists to a Pleasant Paddle

As you've probably gathered by now, I live in a beautiful city in Australia. Adelaide is the capital of the state of South Australia and it has the River Torrens flowing through the centre of it.

Alongside the river is a well used walking, jogging and cycling trail.

The motor vessel, "Popeye", plies the river and takes passengers down to the weir and back up to the zoo. Check out the video links.

Another pleasant way to have fun on the river is to hire one of the paddle boats and get up close to the fountain and birdlife. You can pass the Adelaide Festival Theatre, Convention Centre, restaurants and rowing clubs. Not a bad way to exercise in the fresh air.

For locals, the river provides a great escape at lunch time and after (or before) work, but for tourists it's a chance to experience something different. Be tempted too!

Great Wall of China now located in Australia!

This is true. In the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, near Alpana Station and Blinman, there's a range of hills called "The Great Wall of China".

You have to use your imagination of course, but you must believe the sign. The rock formations at the tops of the hills look a bit like the fortifications on the Great Wall of China!? (Click on the photo to enlarge)

Photos of these unique rock formations are in my new DVD, "Outback Adventure", to be released shortly. A great photo opportunity with blue sky, fluffy clouds, hills in the background and wildflowers up the front.

The Australian Outback offers all sorts of photo opportunities like this one.

At Rawnsley Park, I was up early at 5.00am to go ballooning at 6.00am. The ballooning was cancelled, unfortunately, but rather than go back to bed I decided to stay out and photograph the early morning mist and sunrise.


Many of these photos also appear in "Outback Adventure". The light is what makes the difference, so don't always take photos in the middle of the day. Sometimes it pays to be an early riser so see what others are missing out on.

Check out my post on flying over Lake Powell, Utah/Arizona to see what I mean.

Season's Greetings from Downunder

Christmas is over and New Year is nearly upon us. So here are Season's Greetings to you on a card with a difference. Instead of the usual poinsettias with the bright red and green here are some wildflowers from Australia with the brilliant red and black.

This photo of the Sturt Desert Pea (Swainsona Formosa) was taken on our trip, "Off the Beaten Track", to South Australia's Outback, Flinders Ranges and Gammon Ranges.


On the dirt road from Arkaroola to Blinman, there were patches of these wildflowers along the side of the road and these increased as we travelled through the Wearing Gorge - absolutely stunning.

Our trip didn't turn out as planned because there was actually so much rain in the Outback that many of the roads were closed. However, because of the rain the country just came alive with the burst of colour from the wildflowers - a photographer's Paradise!

That just goes to show that as you journey through life sometimes you don't always get what you want or plan for because God has something better in store for you.

So, all the best for the coming year.

P.S. You may see me out and about with my camera and Akubra hat (I'll tell you about that one later!). Fran

Cross Country Event, Adelaide, South Australia, Video Clip

In early November, I was photographing and filming at the Australian International 3 Day Event, a premier event for equestrian sports in the heart of Adelaide’s beautiful parklands. I only attended on the Saturday which was the cross country section of the event.

It wasn't terribly brilliant weather for photography because it was overcast most of the day, interspersed with periods of light rain. Still new to the art of using a borrowed video camera, I did however manage a few snippets here and there.

This clip shows a small section of the jumps in the parklands. Because the course is so spread out, spectators are able to have an unhindered view of riders and their mounts. The area around the water jumps was a different story.

Outback Adventure DVD Nearing Completion

"Outback Adventure" DVD highlighting photos from "Off the Beaten Track", earlier in September, is nearing completion. It will be released in both PAL format (for Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom) and also NTSC format (for the USA, Canada, Europe and South America).

There will be at least 260 photos (without captions) featuring South Australia's Outback, Gammon Ranges and Flinders Ranges. Wildlife, windmills and wildflowers all make an appearance. Mini adventures like the Pichi Richi Railway journey and the Ridge Top Tour at Arkaroola are there too.

Visits to Alligator Gorge, the Ochre Pits and Leigh Creek Coal Field are included as well. Signs, buildings, vehicles and people make an appearance alongside trees, creeks and beautiful scenery.

Did I mention there are planes in it too?

What more could you want as a snapshot of the Australian Bush?

A video snippet will be posted as soon as the DVD's completed (probably after Christmas or in early January).

If you'd like to reserve a copy at AUD$25.00 contact me at fran@franwest.com.

P.S. the wildflowers on the DVD label are South Australia's floral emblem, the Sturt Desert Pea, (absolutely stunning in the Wearing Gorge).

Kolossal Kolob Canyons in Zion National Park, Utah

The Kolob Canyons are located in the northwestern part of Zion National Park in southern Utah. They're quite different to Zion Canyon in that their magnificence can be viewed from afar.

If you click on this photo to enlarge, you can actually read the information plaque about the Kolob Canyons.

I did find my patches of blue sky and the pale background just highlighted the coloured rocks.


Unfortunately, I couldn't spend as long as I liked in this section of the park. There are many walks to do and places to explore and some of the wildflowers were out too.

I would love to revisit the Kolob Canyons because there weren't as many people and consequently it's much quieter than Zion Canyon.

There are no camping facilities here either and people probably like the campgrounds which are not too far away from Springdale near the south entrance to Zion National Park.

I preferred this area but it may also have been because the weather was slightly better than the more famous canyon. You can decide yourself when you visit.

If you would like a larger version of the bottom photo for a desktop wallpaper email me at fran@franwest.com.

Read more about the park here http://www.nps.gov/zion

Zoom in on Zion's Kolossal Kolob Canyons, Utah

Zion National Park, in southern Utah, is a park which is very spread out, having an east entrance and the main south entrance to Zion Canyon. In the northwest there's another entrance leading to the Kolob Canyons. It involves leaving the southern section of the park and heading west on Route 9 and connecting with the I-15. Well worth the drive.

The weather, while I was in the southern part of the park, was overcast and not ideal for photos, so I decided to head to the Kolob Canyons to see if I could find a patch of blue.

Here there was an excellent visitor centre and landscape much more to my liking. Unlike Zion Canyon, where I felt boxed in and had to look up at the rock formations, the Kolob Canyons were more open and easier to photograph in the landscape format (for my DVD purposes).


The location of the visitor centre is a bit deceiving because it doesn't really prepare you for the spectacular views along the road leading into the canyons. More photos of the Kolob Canyons in a future post.

Read more about the park here http://www.nps.gov/zion