# the zuluclayvan journals



## zuluclayman

I took the zuluclayvan (thanks for the name WereBo :smile: ) for its maiden voyage the other day - 3 days, 2 nights in the idyllic surrounds of the Upper Allyn River.
The camper worked well with only some very minor adjustments and additions needed.
these are some pics from that stay - the first 2 are of the pool and small falls adjacent to the campsite - my bath/water supply/swimming pool, the next 2 from a pool a 100 metres or so downriver.


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## zuluclayman

some wildlife from the same trip:

these birds were quite common during the day - very hard to see against the dusty ground covered with leaf litter - a good camouflage job :smile:










a small goanna that wandered around my campsite each day - the magpie in the background was keeping a good watch over it


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## Masterchiefxx17

I may just use the first picture for my Windows 8 Lock Screen. :grin:


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## zuluclayman

enjoy masterchief - it's currently my desktop :smile:


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## WereBo

Mmmmm.... Glad the van works well Zulu :laugh: - Totally beautiful photos there, especially the camouflaged bird - Mrs WereBo is now wishing we were 20 years younger, so we could visit Aussieland, it's in our top 3 of places to visit :grin:

PS - Have you had 'Zuluclayvan' stencilled on the sides of the van yet?


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## zuluclayman

this is a pic of the bird against the campsite grounds - mostly dirt with dead leaf litter - the bird is well camouflaged against this backdrop


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## yustr

zuluclayman said:


> ...
> these are some pics from that stay - the first 2 are of the pool and small falls adjacent to the campsite - my bath/water supply/swimming pool, the next 2 from a pool a 100 metres or so downriver.
> 
> 
> 
> Old Indian Proverb: always make camp upstream of the buffalo herd.
Click to expand...


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## zuluclayman

@ yustr - :laugh: I wasn't that dirty & there are deep drop loos at the campsite - the river stayed pristine & beautiful...and not a herd of buffalo in sight
One sad thing I did notice going there on a Monday - the weekend campers are a lazy, littering lot. Parts of the campsite looked like a rubbish tip until the rangers came and cleaned most of it up not long after I arrived & there are plenty of bins scattered around (all covered to prevent wildlife getting in and scattering - I always take my rubbish out with me.
Even little nooks and crannies in rock shelves on the riverbank had cans jammed in them - mostly alcohol mixed drinks.
Unfortunately the local Newcastle paper had a feature article on this spot not so long ago and maybe it has attracted more weekend warriors to it.


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## WereBo

When Mrs WereBo and I went to our 1st 'Glastonbury Festival' back in '82, we camped in a field full of so-called 'Eco-Warriors' who'd set up stalls with leaflets and booklets, all about the protests they'd organised about saving various local environments (chaining themselves to trees and so on). They seemed a decent enough crowd of youngsters until the morning after the festival when they dismantled their tepees and moved out - The entire field was scattered with beer-cans torn in half, empty bottles and uneaten food left scattered around in the grass.

What really annoyed us was that they well knew the field was used as pasture for the farmer's cattle for the rest of the year, the sharp edges on the tins could do untold damage to their hooves :nonono: 

It worked out well for us though, we had a word with the farm-staff, collected some sacks from them and spent the morning clearing the field of all the rubbish; they let us camp there for the rest of the week for free, giving us both a free base to drive around visiting the rest of Somerset - One of the best holidays we've ever had :grin:


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## zuluclayman

mm- unfortunately sometimes the rhetoric doesn't line up with the reality WereBo

this is a video of the footage shot while at the Upper Allyn - the b&w footage is part of the journey home - there are 4 causeways to cross to get to (and from) the campsite - only one constantly has water flowing over it, the others do in rainy times and can stop you from reaching your destination.

https://vimeo.com/63131151


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## WereBo

The van seems to be working OK, especially after those extremely nice shots there Zulu, along with the transitions - It's a wonderful primeval-looking place, I kept expecting a small dinosaur to appear, only to be nicely surprised with the lizard, right on cue...... :grin:

I can see some arguments with the Americans though, as to whether it's the USA or Australia that's 'God's Own Country'.... :laugh:


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## zuluclayman

Hi all - haven't posted for a while as I have been travelling in the van and using a USB dongle for mobile broadband which is relatively expensive so have kept uploads/downloads to a minimum.
For this trip I travelled south along the coast of NSW, along the Victorian coast including The Great Ocean Road (this winds along a spectacular part of the coast featuring magnificent rock formations in the sea) then up through the middle of Victoria to the mountain areas of Bright & Beechworth before making my way home via a couple of interesting places in NSW - see my journey map here

some pics:
the van at Cumberland River - I was the only guest at this campsite



roos at Princetown



steaming river on a frosty morning at Smoko (yes there is a place called Smoko in Victoria )



rock formations called The Twelve Apostles along The Great Ocean Road - there aren't 12 and there never was but...


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## WereBo

Hi Zulu :wave: - Good to see both you and the van are doing well :wink:

Superb picture there, especially the steamy river at Smoko, it seems a rather appropriate name with that river :grin:

Was it warm weather when you snapped the 'roos? - It looks like that 1st 'roo isa about to roll his sleeves up :laugh:

I really like that last shot of the '12 Apostles' though, with the various textures of clouds, rocks and sands - Beautiful and moody ray:


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## zuluclayman

> Was it warm weather when you snapped the 'roos?


quite the opposite WereBo - that pic was taken in the evening, the next morning saw the grass covered with frost - the roos had grass iceblocks for breakfast :smile:



the sun shing through mist & trees at my sister's place



sunrise at Mystery Bay



some of the small falls/cascades at Beechworth Gorge



this is a shot from the town of Chiltern which was originally a gold rush (mid 1800's) town and was scouted for filming of a movie in the 1970's - many of the town's main street buildings were re-aged to appear authentically dilapidated etc & since then has been used in TV series as awell as a couple more movies - thought this one was appropriate for Photographer's Corner


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## WereBo

zuluclayman said:


> quite the opposite WereBo - that pic was taken in the evening, the next morning saw the grass covered with frost - the roos had grass iceblocks for breakfast :smile:


Aahh, so it's rolling it's sleeves down then :grin:


Another set of excellent pics, though that photo of the trees at your sister's place really grabs me, I'm looking for prehistoric animals again :laugh:

The Chiltern Photographers shop really captures the feel of the place, though the bench-seat outside looks a little odd, or is it for the wives waiting for their menfolk inside, talking f-stops and ISO-speeds etc..... :grin:


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## zuluclayman

yep - I liked the sun rays streaming through the trees - caught my eye & just had to grab the camera - am currently editing a video which has some footage from the same morning - very misty on the little pond in front of my sister's place

this is the pic I meant to post for "sunrise at Mystery Bay" in the above post - not sure why I did it - crosseyed from editing probably :laugh:


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## WereBo

Oh WOW!!! All it needs is a volcano or 2 somewhere in the background and that could either be the very early days of life on Earth, or the 'End of Days' on Earth - Beautiful! ray:


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## zuluclayman

video from the trip is up now: https://vimeo.com/69819535


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## zuluclayman

another one I meant to post previously - a formation along the Great Ocean Road known as London Bridge - it used to have a span joining it to the land but in 1990...

"... two tourists were stranded on the outer part of London Bridge - also in the Port Campbell National Park - after one of two arches on the natural bridge collapsed.
No one was injured, and the tourists were rescued by helicopter."

see more here


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## WereBo

A very lovely mix of stills and movies in that clip Zulu, stunning scenery ray:

We claimed London Bridge back when certain London 'Salesmen' were attempting to sell it to American tourists, hence the missing bit.... :whistling: :grin:


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## sinclair_tm

Actually, it's now sitting in my backyard.


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## WereBo

I hope you're taking good care of it, it's a beautiful and elegant old bridge there.... :grin:


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## sinclair_tm

Haven't seen it myself, maybe one of these days I'll visit and let you know. But when I do, you can bet there'll be photos posted here.


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## zuluclayman

set out on another trip today - heading north to Queensland to visit cousins and an aunt this time - as well as seeing the sights and maybe even having a surf along the way

first stop was Neranie on Myall Lake - when I arrived the lake was perfectly still making incredibly detailed reflections:


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## yustr

Very nice. I really like the framing of the lake and clouds through the tunnel of brush.


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## WereBo

Beautiful pics Zulu, it's rare to see water that still, without even a faint movement from some distant fish or bird - As you say, perfect for stunning reflections ray:


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## zuluclayman

lots of photos later...
while around the noosa hinterland staying with my aunt and her partner I was given a good photo opportunity with my aunt's partner's neighbour Colin and his Austin A40 Somerset which he has restored beautifully. We went for a drive then stopped to take some pics:

Colin donned the driving gogles for this one



nice backside!



whose idea was it to get rid of hood ornaments?



back to a time when there was lots of real estate under the bonnet & you could almost sleep in the engine compartment


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## WereBo

Hi Zulu, glad to see you're still OK and enjoying your touring :wink:

Beautiful pics of a wonderful old car there ray: - I like the registration plate, at 1st glance it looks like 'OLD TIN 53', rather than 'QLD' :laugh:

Sadly, it was the Health & Safety bods who got rid of hood ornaments, less injuries to idiots who walk in front of the car when it's moving... :sigh:

There's a big difference nowadays under the bonnet, I can hardly get my hands in my VW Polo, there's so much crammed in there - I can still remember when my Dad swapped the engine on his old Morris Oxford, he sat inside the engine compartment then lifted the engine onto his lap, before swinging it round (by hand) onto a sturdy table placed next to the wing (after disconnecting everything first :laugh..... Those were the days.... :grin:


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## zuluclayman

Thanks WereBo - will post some more pics of the trip when I get around to it - Queensland & back via the Northern NSW Tablelands - a good trip :smile:

yep - no room to move under modern car bonnets


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## zuluclayman

Thanks WereBo - will post some more pics of the trip when I get around to it - Queensland & back via the Northern NSW Tablelands - a good trip :smile:

yep - no room to move under modern car bonnets


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## zuluclayman

here's a couple from the trip - the first has a funny story attached to it:
my artist cousin, who lives in a converted 22 seat bus, and I were in Brisbane (capital city of Queensland) and we were free-camping (sleeping in our vehicles on the street) on a reasonably busy road which had nose-to-kerb parking bays along it. It looks across the river to the CBD and is spectacular by night. We had been to see a movie so arrived there 10pm or so, had a cuppa, chatted awhile then went to bed around 11:30pm. I woke at around 4am to the sounds of people unpacking stuff nearby, lots of voices and weird flashing lights. On looking surreptitiously out the side window what did I see?... only about 10 police officers setting up a RBT (Random Breath Testing) station right behind and next to our van & bus. They were there for around four hours with police bikes, pursuit cars and getting the drunk drivers to leave their cars right next to my van. They either didn't know or didn't care that we were illegally sleeping there :laugh:
the view from River Terrace:



one of the many waterfalls catching the late evening light:



some windswept trees:


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## WereBo

The 1st 2 are definitely wall-hangers, preferably large ones, the 2nd pic especially it's absolutely stunning ray:


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## sandman55

Great pics zulu I've only just found this thread but then I was traveling for the months of July and August. I had quite a few surfing holidays when I was younger on the Great Ocean Road before aliens took part of the London bridge. It is only in latter years that I found Mallacoota I don't know much of eastern Victoria Smoko looks interesting is the creek fed from a hot spring? We once traveled from Bright to Mount Hotham then to Lakes Entrance so we must have passed through it.


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## zuluclayman

As far as I know sandy the name of the town has nothing to do with the river looking like it does in that pic - it was just a weak winter day's sun making the near freezing water steam - the temp had dropped to below -6 or -7C the night before and parts of the road and riverbanks were still covered in thick frost.


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## sandman55

And I was thinking of a nice warm soak..... I would have been in for a shock :grin:


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## zuluclayman

Yes - the water would have definitely freshened you up sandy

here are some from both northern and western journeys:

from the west: 

fields of canola making a strong presence of startling yellow amongst the greens, browns & blues of the Aussie countryside



northern tablelands - my son's parents-in-law live on a sheep farm - this is the view from their backyard



the upper reaches of the Mann River at the evening golden hour - each morning I was there I saw a (normally quite shy) platypus feeding in this pool


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## WereBo

I see Australia is also plagued with Oil-Seed Rape (Canola), although a lovely splash of colour, it's a blight on the countryside. A lot of English farmers ripped out their hedgerows (over 48,000 miles of hedgerows have disappeared since 1945) to create what I call 'Prairie-farming', just miles and miles of yellow monoculture :nonono:

#2 - I'm still looking for any Hobbits hiding somewhere, I envy your folks for a view like that :grin:

#3 takes me back to my pup-hood, back up on the Yorkshire Moors. The River Ribble flows along the edge of the town and I spent many hours playing there. Sadly, a lot of the riverside has now been 'developed' into housing-estates, such is progress.... :sigh:

Beautiful photos though Zulu, with amazing scenery


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## sandman55

Nice pics zulu.
The canola is a crop we see a lot of here.

Your Son's inlaws have a nice view from the back yard.

Number 3 is a lovely golden water shot. I tried for a view of a platypus when I was up north and only got a glimpse when one surfaced and immediately disappeared. The camera was ready but I didn't have a chance.


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## zuluclayman

some video from the mann river recreation reserve -unfortunately my platypus friend from the previous visit didn't make an appearance - the roos were still plentiful both mornings and afternoons and many of the joeys that were still in the pouch were now out and feeding near mum:

https://vimeo.com/77314008


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## WereBo

A great video Zulu, I like the music for it too - Did you get to visit Stonehenge on the way? :laugh:

I guess you're fairly safe from the bush-fires, where you are? They look pretty nasty, from the news reports :sad:


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## zuluclayman

the main bushfire areas at the moment are south of me by 250km (Lithgow/Blue Mountains area) - we did have bad bushfires here around Newcastle/Lake Macquarie/Heatherbrae a few days ago but all have been contained. It's supposed to be another bad day tomorrow - hot, blustery winds with high temps and low humidity. Hopefully all wil be OK - lots of houses destroyed in the southern fires and the firies have been at it for 6 straight days now so are really starting to suffer from exhaustion - hats off to them and the job they do - most are volunteers - there's talk of bringing in the Army if conditions do deteriorate too much and the fires flare up badly again.


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## sandman55

Beautiful video zulu.
I take my hat off to those guys fighting the fires.


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## zuluclayman

the bushfires are still with us - locally we have 2 main areas of concern:
Minmi/Stockrington - an outlying area near one of the main highways of Australia 
and 
Gateshead/Redhead where a large area of bushland surrounded on 3 sides by suburbs has been burning for a couple of days with some evacuations and windy conditions today meaning flare ups and scary scenes. I took some long shots with my 70-300mm lens handheld in gusty windy conditions so not the sharpest images ever but gives you an idea of how close to homes these firestorms are - the choppers were waterbombing it every couple of minutes and I'm sure there were a number of firies on the ground fighting hard

the familiar view of the coastline disrupted by fire smoke and haze:



the fire front approaching homes:



a chopper waterbombs the fire front



the fire approaching - you can see a firetruck (centre right, next to the smoke ball)


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## WereBo

Excellent shots for hand-held Zulu, though it's a helluva shame about the subject-matter, my heart goes out to both the fire-fighters and victims - Nature can be relentless at times :sigh:


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## sandman55

Good shots zulu especially the water bomber. It would be terrifying living so close to that scrub. Sadly a water-bomber pilot was killed in a crash today. Live: Pilot confirmed dead as State Mine and Mount Victoria fires flare in Blue Mountains - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)


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## zuluclayman

the latest addition to the zuluclayvan - hippiedom here I come!


I'll slowly - slowly because I have torn some ligaments in my middle finger right hand so have 2 fingers buddy strapped for 4 weeks :sigh: - paint my way over most of the front surfaces of the cupboards.


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## WereBo

Mmmmm very nice.... It's good to see you're getting back into your painting again Zulu, and it'll make a good camera-prop if you have access from t'other side of the cupboard :grin:


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## zuluclayman

I had a small video job to do in Melbourne recently and travelled down & back slowly in the van. 
Campsites ranged from inland riverbanks to high rainforests to beachside:


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## WereBo

WOW! You had approx 650 miles of scenery like that??? How on Earth did you make it in time? :grin: - I seriously envy your journey, waking up to views like that of a morning, 'tis beautiful indeed - I'd end up driving off the top end of Scotland, if I drove 650ish miles :grin:

Oh, welcome back ol' chum, good to see you around again with your beautiful photos :lol:


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## zuluclayman

thanks WereBo :wave:
I took a few days to get to Melbourne, leaving Newcastle Tuesday and arriving on Saturday morning, worked Sunday then left Monday morning, arriving back in Newcastle on Tuesday afternoon of the next week - all up 2 weeks.
I can still only drive 200-300km a day, 2-3hours max with rest stops along the way which suits me fine - it makes me take my time and so I get to see more :smile:
All up this trip was 2,754km.
Here's some more from the trip - foxes are a big stock loss problem in sheep areas in particular - years ago there was a state funded bounty system - this farmer is showing how prevalent they are by displaying his night's haul:



just across the road was his hay wall - never seen hay stacked along the roadside like this before:



The zuluclayvan dwarfed by giant gums on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River near Wantabadgery:


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## WereBo

That's a fair sized haul of foxes, they must have a real problem if they get that many in just 1 night. That's a fair sized crop of hay too, good job foxes don't eat hay.... :lol:

There's very few place remaining in the UK where there's total solitude like that, there's some that's near as beautiful to look at, but usually within 1/4-1/2 mile of 'civilisation' of some form, either a 'theme-park', camping-site or small town :sigh:


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## zuluclayman

Australia has lots of open spaces WereBo - some of it is still very raw & occasionally wild :smile:

here is the video I made from the trip - some sequences were shot using the Magic Lantern firmware that allows you to shoot video as sequences of RAW DNGs - absolute pain in the butt workflow wise but incredibly detailed and malleable footage to work with in post production.

https://vimeo.com/97583663


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## Old Rich

Incredible footage! !


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## WereBo

Beautiful scenes Zulu with perfectly appropriate music, it was nice to see a wombat too - The 'Magic Lantern' does look good on video, giving a lovely evening softness feel to it.

1 snag is that it's too short by approx 90 minutes.... :grin:


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