Grey skies, drizzling rain, flat light, seemed like the perfect time to go for a hike at Flinders Plum up Sandy Creek. I’d been here once before on a workshop with the brilliant Nature photographer James Doyle. That was a great morning seeking out birds and other wildlife, however my plan this morning was to look for more landscape oriented photographs.

The drive in to this spot is almost an adventure in itself, a wonderful road that is dirt for the last section, winds its way alongside the creek, crossing it several times. I arrived at the end carpark around 6am, the sun was up but with so much cloud it didn’t matter, a slight drizzle of rain had set in, a light rain jacket took care of that and my Olympus OMD Em5 Mark II, and 12-40mm pro lens are weather sealed so no issues there either.

Flinders Plum, as the carpark area is called, is the launching point for several walks in the area, the longest and most extreme being the walk to the summit of Flinders Peak. Today I was going to follow the track up Sandy Creek and see what I could find.

Before heading off, I just had to take a portrait of this tree right next to the carpark, it’s a beautiful big tree and the early soft light made it just look wonderful.

Next I headed off up the track that crosses Sandy Creek a few times along the way. I was definitely the first person through this way this morning judging by the amount of spider webs I kept walking into. Pro Tip, hold out your tripod in front of you when the path narrows! There was plenty of wildlife around with Roos and Wallabys hopping off into the bush as I approached and the calls of various birds echoing through the air.

The first creek crossing I came too looked promising for a photograph, I scouted around a bit and carefully picked my way through the rocks to find this composition. I really liked how the trees were closing in over the creek. Running water would have been awesome but I think the area needs a lot more rain before that happens, something to keep in mind for the future however. I must note, the use of a polarising filter was critical on this day for remove reflections on the rocks, and leaves from that huge bright white light in the sky. It really brought out the colours and cut the glare.

Futher up the track I came across the old cattle yards. I looked around this area quite a while for a composition but due to a large amount of overgrowth I just wasn’t having luck this day. I decided to move on and around 10 minutes later I took a small detour off the main track to come across this lovely view south of the mighty Flinders Peak, the highest peak in the Teviot range.

Heading back to the main track I saw this wonderful view of Mt Goolman, shaped like a pyramid looming through the trees. This area is dotted with Bunya Pines which contrast against the typical aussie bush landscapes.

By this time the rain was starting to pick up just a little and the wind had started to blow a bit stronger. I made my way back along the track to the carpark. I took one final detour down to the creek again at the start of the Mount Blaine track, looking downstream to another great creek scene with trees leaning in over the wonderful rock strewn bed.

Finally it was time to sit down and relax and have a well deserved coffee. The picnic area here has all the facilities you could ever need including bbq’s and toilets, and great covered tables. All up my wandering took me 3 hours, it was a great start to the day and I’ll certainly be back to explore more. If you are ever in the area, I highly suggest making a trip out here, don’t forget your camera!

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