The Smirkonian Sightseer

Athens hot spot

Athens, Greece
Thursday, 4 October 2018

Koningsdam docked in Piraeus. We boarded the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus that would take us to the Acropolis. Huge crowds, long queues and high temperature - actually it was a reported 25 degrees but felt a lot hotter! As we’d been here before we took a few photos from the adjacent  “slippery rock” then made our way down into Plaka for lunch.

Afterward we continued the hop on - hop off bus tour around Athens. Hot, noisey, traffic jams etc. Took forever just to cruise a few city blocks. Got off at the Olympic stadium as we’d had enough of the traffic and walked back to the Acropolis bus exchange for the ride back to Pireaus.

Koningsdam berthed at Piraeus .

 

Aboard the hop-on-hop-off Piraeus line tansfer bus, from the port to the Acropolis interchange. You can then take the Athens line for a tour of the city.

 

It's a short walk from the Acropolis down to Plaka.

 

The Plaka markets.

 

Our lunch spot in Plaka.

 

The Presidential Guard (Evzones) outside the Parliament building.

 

Is this the seat of power?

A short day in Katakolon

Katakolon, Greece
Wednesday 3rd October 2018

Next port of call was Katakolon. While some of the passengers enjoyed a day trip to the Ancient Olympia site, we decided to stay and have a look around the port and its many souvenir shops.

Corfu Greece

Tuesday 2nd October 2018. Tendered ashore, Corfu town was only a short walk away. On my wish list for this cruise, was to visit the plaques for Gerald and Lawrence Durrell. I’d read some of their books and seen the tele-movie My Family and Other Animals as well as the recent tv series.

From Boschetto Durrell Park we looked over the old fortress that’s separated by a moat. and them wandered the alleyways of Corfu and had some old favourites for lunch, moussaka with a Mythos beer. Then it was a brisk walk back to the ship tender as an afternoon rain shower came down.

Boschetto Durrell Park

Gerald Durrell plaque. There's a similar plaque for Lawrence nearby.

A moat separates the fortress from Corfu town.

The Old Fortress

Corfu town

Lunch

Koningsdam sailed out of Corfu at sunset. Next stop Athens.

Dubrovnik

Our first port of call on our three week tour of the Mediterranean is Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Koningsdam arrives in the port of Dubrovnik. 

 

Dubrovnik old town.

Walking the city walls.

Walking through the old town looking for lunch!

 

One of the entrances to Dubrovnik old town.

 

A cable take us to Mount Srd for a spectacular view of Dubrovnik.

 

Civitavecchia

The Italian cruise port of Civitavecchia is built on history and our departure point for three week cruise around the Mediterranean.

Fort Michelangelo

 

Fort Michelangelo

 

Porta Livorno is a very prestigious architectonical work by will of Pope Clemens XIII to connect Civitavecchia with its port.

 

Vanvitelli Fountain, a feature built into Civitavecchia’s defensive wall.

 

I have a fascination with tug boats.

 

MS Koningsdam, home for the next three weeks.

 

Kiningsdam departs Civitavecchia at sunset for Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Genoa

Although we could have travelled from Nice to Civitavecchia in one day, we decided to split the journey up with an overnight stop in Genoa.

 

 

A day trip to Cannes

During our week in Nice we did a day trip to Cannes. Popularly know for its fannual film festival, the most interesting part of Cannes is the older Le Suque area.

Cannes

 

Musee de la Castre

 

Musee de la Castre

 

Le Suque

 

Le Suque

 

Pina Colada

A week in Nice

We spent a week based in Nice, France. Our intention was to go to a variety of nearby towns along the Cote d’Azur. I don’t know whether it was jet-lag or what, but we only managed to visit Cannes. Here’s a selection of photos from that week….

Relaxing stroll through Castle Hill.

A refreshing artificial waterfall on a warm evening.

 

Beautiful toy cars for sale in the market.

It's selfie central at the sun sets over Nice.

The beach front along the Promenade des Anglais.

Meet the invisible man.

Dusk settles over Nice.

 

The alleyways of the old town. 

Love these little back alleys in the old town.

Travelling to Europe

During September and October 2018, Tony and I travel around the Mediterranean with our friends Michael and Abei. Over the next few weeks I’ll upload a few photos and some details about where we were.

Let’s start with the journey getting there.

LST>MEL>DXB>NCE

From Launceston, Tony and I travelled to Melbourne for the international flight to Dubai and then on to Nice. The last sector into Nice was interesting as there were about 100 people or less on the A380 flight. We saw more crew than passengers.

It’s time to go.

 

Qantas Dash-8 Launceston to Melbourne.

 

Flying over Melbourne

 

Arriving in Dubai at 5.15am. It’s 33 degrees.

 

Empty plane to Nice.

 

Flying over the Black Sea, Northern Turkey.

 

 

Next up… We spend a week exploring Nice, France.

iPhone selection...

Today I spent a few moments looking back through the photos Id taken on my iPhone over the back 10 months. Here’s a few I picked out and posted to Instagram.

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:12pm PDT

 

#tamarvalley

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:19pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:27pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:32pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:37pm PDT

 

A post shared by Andy Shepherd (@smirkstas) onJun 21, 2017 at 4:52pm PDT

Autumn in the vines

This set taken at Marion’s Vineyard in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley.

Westmorland Falls

Explored the Westmorland Falls track in Tasmania’s Great Western Tiers region just south of Mole Creek. The walk was quite spectacular, however the falls are still showing signs of flood damage from last season.

Location and mapping details at the foot of this post.

 

 

 

From Mole Creek, travel about 6 km south along Caveside Road to a T-junction. Go right into Wet Cave Road, which is unsealed. The Wet Cave reserve is soon reached straight ahead and you take the left turn and continue on until you reach a small car park on the right with a sign Mole Creek Karst Conservation Area and Westmorland Falls. Large rocks mark the track entrance. About 10 minutes drive from Mole Creek.

Historical Launceston photo

Found this unusual image of Launceston hidden in my great grandfather’s photo collection.

Taken around the early 1900’s, it’s unusual to see an image of this perspective as long lenses were not around in those days. I’m guessing the image has been heavily cropped from the glass negative.

Probably taken from the Launceston suburb of Trevalyn, the foreground shows shipping berthed at Kings Wharf and the North East River and Lower Charles Street behind it. In the town centre is the clock tower in Cameron Street and the top end of Elizabeth Street. In the background is the Ben Lomond mountain range, these days a national park.

I’m assuming the photo is by Charles A Hart, my great grandfather who was a founding member of the Northern Tasmania Camera Club.

Oh dear...

I really look forward to voting in Greeka’s annual photo contest. Such creative photography in a land I like to visit occasionally. This year it seems I’m ineligible to vote. A rule change means I have to upload and be part of the party. Oh well, maybe next year.

Great Western Tiers

Panorama view of the Great Western Tiers near Mole Creek, Tasmania.

Viewed from Engadine, a quiet rural property with a cosy B&B and spectacular views. Located above Mole Creek in the Mersey Hill area.

The panorama features the Great Western Tiers, the mountain range seen in the distance, with snow falling on some peaks.

iPhone sweep-pano with a small amount of Lightroom processing.

East Coast Tasmania

In late August Tony and I visited Tasmania’s stunning east coast.

The feature of this road trip was Freycinet National Park.

The view of Freycinet National Park from Apslawn.

 

On the walking track down to Wineglass Bay, Freycinet National Park.

 

A walking party on Wineglass Bay, 

 

Hazards Lagoon, Freycinet National Park

 

Entering Hazards Beach, Freycinet National Park

 

On Hazards Beach, Freycinet National Park

 

Sunset on The Hazards, a feature of Freycinet National Park in Tasmania.

 

Boardwalk at Cape Tourville, Tasmania.

 

West Coast Tasmania

Around late July, Tony and I visited Tasmania’s rugged west coast.

An overnight stay in Strahan and a wonderful ride on the West Coast Wilderness Railway following the King River.

Lake Rosebery from Mackintosh Bridge, Murchinson Highway, Tasmania

 

Clearing rain shower at sunrise. Strahan Harbour on Tasmania's West Coast.

 

Capturing the early light spilling on tranquil Strahan Harbour.

 

What remains of the old Regatta Point wharf at Strahan

 

Train tracks at Lower Landing station. West Coast Wilderness Railway, Tasmania

 

Rainforest walk at Dubbil Barril. West Coast Wilderness Railway, Tasmania

 

King River viewed from Dubbil Barril Station. West Coast Wilderness Railway, Tasmania

 

 

Surfers Paradise holiday

A few weeks back Tony and I stay with our good mate Michael in his Gold Coast apartment. Six days of winter sun. Here are a some photos...

 Sky point Tower viewing deck

Dusk view of the beach taken from Michael’s balcony.

The Vintage that never was

Back in June of 2012 I took this photo from the car park at Brady's Lookout in the Tamar Valley. At the time there was a volcanic ash cloud circling the planet’s lower hemisphere, originating from Chile's Puyehue volcano. I remember flights to Tasmania were cancelled for several days.

The photo, taken at sunset, clearly shows the diffused light coming through the ash cloud.

 

 

Fast forward a year or so, I received a phone call one Saturday morning from a polite woman wanting to use my photo of Brady’s Lookout for a wine bottle label. She explained it was only a private label and would not be commercially available. Gladly I gave her permission for free use of my photo. As I’m not a professional photographer, I refused to accept any payment.

That was the last I heard of my photo supposedly being use for a wine label, until yesterday.

I’d told my sister in-law about it sometime ago, as she was doing a wine appreciation course on local wines. Yesterday she produced this empty bottle of wine with my photo on it. Well, what a surprised! There it was, and I must say I thought the photo did look rather elegant on the bottle.

I was curious as to how the Pinot Noir tasted. Well from the comments my brother gave, let’s assume it was a good thing the label stayed private!

 

Archers Knob Walk - Narawntapu NP

Narawntapu National Park is rich in both Aboriginal and European history and has an abundance of bird and mammal life. 

 

The 2 hour return walk to Archers Knob begins from a track which runs between the lagoon and Bakers Beach.Towards the eastern end of the beach the track climbs steadily through coastal trees to the top of Archers Knob (114 m). From the summit there are views sweeping over Bakers Beach to Badger Head and beyond.

 

Tasmania Zoo

Tasmania Zoo is located approximately 18km from Launceston.

Situated on 900 acres (360 ha) of old growth native bushland, it is home to the state's largest collection of native and exotic animals.

Exhibits include Tasmanian devils, wombats, quolls, emus, koalas, kangaroos, deer, reptiles and monkeys, along with a collection of 80 bird species. Conservation work carried out by the zoo includes a breeding program for Tasmanian devils. (via Wikipedia)

 

Pine Lake

Pine Lake - Central Plateau Conservation Area, Tasmania

Pine Lake is easily accessible via a 400m boardwalk, located on the Highland Lakes Road (A5) about 33km south of Deloraine.

The Pine Lake walk offers a rare opportunity to get close to one of Tasmania’s rarest trees without having to go on an extended bushwalk. The pencil pine is an ancient species that evolved before flowering plants and only found in the Tasmanian highlands.

Many of the Tasmanian conifers are unique to Tasmania. The pencil pine (Athrotaxis cupressoides), is generally restricted to sub-alpine areas above 800m. Like its relative, the King Billy pine, it can reach ages greater than 1200 years. Pencil pines are often seen around the shores of highland lakes and tarns, creating the unique ambience of these beautiful areas of Tasmania.

The Central Plateau of Tasmania is the largest area of high ground in Tasmania. It is bound to the north east by the Great Western Tiers, a large number of hydro electric schemes emanating from rivers that flow to the south - and to the west by Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

Narawntapu National Park

Narawntapu National Park became the first Tasmanian park to revert to an Aboriginal name. Narawntapu is the Aboriginal name given to the Badger Head and West Head area within the park. 

 

Rich in both Indigenous and European heritage, Narawntapu offers a wide diversity of habitats for both plants and animals.

 

The coastal heathlands are a feature of the park.

Below are a set of images taken recently to celebrate my first use of my National Parks Pass!

Flickr best

A sure sign of “must do better” my highest rating photo on Flickr for 2015 was this sweep-pan of Entally House at Hadspen taken on my iPhone. It’s #56 of my all time popularity.

 

 

 

Best 500px

Probably not my choice but from all the images I posted this year this one scored the highest pulse and likes on 500px for 2015.

Best Instagram

Notley Fern Gorge State Reserve

Tasmania's Notley Fern Gorge is an 11 ha reserve and remnant patch of wet sclerophyll forest. The forest is dominated by large, old eucalypts with a rainforest understory. Towards the creek, a variety of fern species grow in profusion.

Rail Points

Late afternoon light along the rail lines near Hagley, Tasmania.

It's a horse of course!

Inquisitive horse near Hagley, Tasmania.

Long Dusty Road

Late afternoon light along Black Lane at Hagley, Tasmania.

Meander River 2

Another view of Meander River from the other side of Westwood bridge, Tasmania

Meander River

Meander River at Westwood Bridge, Tasmania.

Forest road

A private road near Westwood, Tasmania.

Blackwood Creek

A few weeks back a spent a chilly late afternoon out at Blackwood Creek near the mountain face to the Great Western Tiers here in Tasmania.. The constant changing light conditions and clouds blowing by made for a few nice photographs.

Below is a farmhouse in the Blackwood Creek area. Click on the picture to see more from the Blackwood Creek photo session.

 

Mount Field photo walk

A few weeks back I enjoyed a walk through the Russell Falls area of Mount Field National Park in Tasmania. Here’s one photo… there’s plenty more on my Flickr and 500px pages.

Judging time again

This morning I received the much anticipated email from Greeka for members to judge 100 images submitted to the annual photo competition.

I love doing this each year. Here are my top 20 picks for the 2014 contest.

2014 Top 20

After rating the pants off my images using flags and stars in Lightroom, somehow these 20 images where the best I could do for 2014!

2014 Stan Siejka Cycling Classic

Although the weather didn’t play nice, I was excited to attend the 2014 Stan Siejka Cycling Classic in Launceston on December 7th. Took my D610 along with me and managed to get a few decent captures out of about 700 exposures. I guess that’s a reasonable ratio when the shutter is set in a continuous shooting mode. I had to re-exposure some images in Lightroom as I’d bumped a setting somewhere that made them 2 stops underexposed. Anyway, follow this link for some of the better shots.

Deviot, Tasmania

Westwood Sunset, Tasmania

Tasmanian Apple Blossom

West Tamar Photo Shoot

Last week we had some beautiful, still winter days here in Tasmania. I took the opportunity to take some photos around my favourite scenic drive along the western banks of the Tamar River.

These are just a few of the images taken. View more on my Flickr or 500px pages.

 

The Shambles

With the Tour de France starting in Yorkshire tomorrow, I thought I’d dig out this photo of the York Shambles I took in 2010.

Samaria Gorge

Seven years ago this week I experienced one of the most exhilarating walks of my life, trekking through Samaria Gorge in Greece. From the White Mountains, it's a 16km trek that descends 1250m to the Libyan Sea on the southern coast of Crete.

Not only a national park but also a World Biosphere Reserve, the beauty of this gorge is its ever changing scenery, evident in the image sets I've recently reprocessed.

The most famous part of the gorge is the stretch known as the Gates where the sides of the gorge close in to a width of only four metres and soar to a height of 300 metres. Samaria Gorge is a refuge for the rare kri-kri (Cretan goat) as well as many species of flowers, birds and some amazing geology.

136 images now on Flickr
https://t.co/FQdriqP2Qu

Tamar Photo Shoot

Last Tuesday I decided to grab the cameras (iPhone, Nikon AW100 compact and Nikon D5000 DSLR) and find a location nearby that I hadn’t photographed before. Useually this mean being around the Tamar Valley. So I didn’t take long before I found myself clicking away at Gravelly Beach and a few locations in the Swan Point/ PaperBeach area.

Here are some of the better images from the DSLR...

 

All images are offered for sale on 500px and RedBubble

An afternoon photo drive through Flowery Gully

Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost 

Over the new year period I spent a few days at my brothers house in Beauty Point. Although the views there are outstanding and the atmosphere very relaxing, I started to get restless. Having all my camera gear handy I decided to go for a drive through Flowery Gully. Having driven past the turn off for decades, I have always wondered where the road leads to. 

In recent years Flowery Gully became known as the home of Tasmania cycling royalty - it’s where Matt Goss and brothers Wes & Bernie Sulzberger hail from. So I was intrigued to know what this special place looked like. 

I drove along the Flowery Gully Road, seeing fields of freshly cut hay, grazing cows, growing crops and lovely rolling hills with scattered light from passing clouds. I went as far as Winkleigh and turned back, stopping every few hundred metres to snap a series of photos.

The image below would be one of my favourites from the afternoons shoot. You can see more on my Flickr Photostream

It's stopped raining

Liffey Falls

I took this image a few months back. Processed it in Lightroom today with a 32bit HDR plugin. One thing I try to avoid when using this HDR technique is over-cooking the shot. I try to keep the image as natural as possible.

My year on Twitter

Just made a movie of my #2013memories on Twitter: https://t.co/yJyXh3PvJV What's yours look like? #Vizify

— Andrew Shepherd (@SmirksTas) December 31, 2013

My first year on Instagram

I joined Instagram back in April. Here are the top 5 most popular likes for my first year. Thanks everyone.