Beach at Thurra River and Point Hicks
Well, I’d got set up at Thurra River camp in Croajingolong National Park, had some lunch and a well earned rest, and felt like a wander along the beach with the digital camera.
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- The remains of a tree, burried in the sand near the mouth of Thurra River.
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- A mutton bird that wasn’t up to the riggors of migration.
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- The remains of a stump, no doubt washed down Thurra River in a flood, burried in the sand of the river mouth.
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- A multy branched stump protrudes from the sand near the mouth of Thurra River, weathered and sandblast from many a year exposed to the harsh, coastal elements.
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- A closer view of the old, weathered stump at the mouth of Thurra River in Croajingolong National Park.
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- Looking seaward, the half buried remains of a multi branched tree, washed down the river in a flood.
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- Under the harsh, Australian, summer sun, this old tree stump makes it’s statement of stability in a changing environment.
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- Washed up in flood time, this branch sits firm and casts it’s shadow on the sand below the high tide line.
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- Viewed from the direction of the ocean, the tree trunk makes a powerful diagonal in the black and white, digital image.
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- Casting an attractive shadow and reflecting the light of the summer sun from the sand, a strong diagonal composition.
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- It’s a long flight for the mutton birds from the islands of Bass Straight to mainland Australia. They don’t all make it in rough weather.
The breeze was fairly strong from the east along the south facing coast line. Sand blew into my back pack, every time I opened it to get the camera out. In the end I opted to carry the camera in my hands and keep the back pack on my back.
I find plenty of interest in the driftwood and washed up tree stumps along such a beach. In addition there were the remains of many mutton birds that had succumbed to the rigors of migration and lay half buried and rotting in the drifting sand.
It’s a desolate and wind swept looking coastline. Big seas frequently erode the giant sand dunes that line this stretch of Australia’s southern coast. No protection, really, between here and Antarctica!
Croajingolong National Park, situated on the Wilderness Coast in East Gippsland, Victoria, houses many access points and camping spots.
My area is around Point Hicks, Point Hicks Lighthouse, Thurra River, Thurra Dunes, Mueller River, Camp Creek, and the surrounding tidal inlets and bush.
Point Hicks, or maybe it was really Mount Everard, about 15 kilometres inland, was the first land sighting of Captain Cook in the endevour. In fact it was Lieutenant Zachery Hicks, in the crows nest, who sighted land and cried “Land a-hoy!”
