Snowy Bluff and Nielson's Crag

Nielson's Crag is usually bypassed by most hikers on their way to Tamboritha Saddle or Moroka Gorge. At the end of the crag is The Watchtower, surround by high cliffs on three sides with a narrow connection to the rest of the ridge. To the east you can see several large waterfalls dropping down from Mt Lookout, to the west the view extends across to Moroka River to Snowy Bluff.

The track used to be open all the way to The Watchtower. A large tree fell across the track a few hundred metres from the end and shortly after that the area became part of the Darling Wilderness and the track is now closed about 1km from the end. The photographs on this page were taken on a three day 'camp' on the crag. The aim of the weekend was to get a photograph of Snowy Bluff with snow on it. The views were not very good with low cloud covering the crag as this view down the side shows.

When I arrived there was a light dusting of snow on the crag and more was forecast to fall. I set up camp on the 4WD track as it was the only flat, clear area around, lit a fire and sat down. This would be my main activity for the next three days. Most of the time was spent either keeping warm by the fire, relaxing, cooking, eating, sleeping or stretching my legs occasionally. It snowed almost constantly but it was only very light and the strong wind prevented it from accumulating on the trees.

On the second day there were a few breaks in the clouds late in the afternoon and a beautiful soft light filtered through the trees and the light mist. I walked back to the car for more food, taking photos of sunlit tree trunks along the way.

The floor of my tent was not entirely waterproof and got a bit wet during the day. Fortunately it was cold enought at night to freeze the floor of my tent so I didn't have to worry about my sleeping bag getting wet. I knew what features I would be looking for in my next tent.

On the last morning there was finally a chance of a decent sunrise, with a small gap below the clouds on the eastern horizon. Unfortunately the wind had blown all of the snow off the trees on Snowy Bluff and there is only a small band of snow visible near the top. The sunrise turned out to be quite ordinary but when the sun streamed through a gap in the clouds just before disappearing for the day I got one good shot. I packed up my campsite, went back to the car, went temporarily silly, started to drive home and then it started to snow. It snowed very heavily, that wet sticky snow that builds up on your moving windscreen wipers. It was snowing all the way down to 400m and I was going home. I'll be back.....

 
Warning: too much relaxation can lead to unusual behaviour!