Girls’ day out

Mum and I decided to have a girls’ day out and so we went for a drive in the countryside. Mum understands about my caching obsession—and acknowledges that it can take us to interesting new places—so she was prepared to allow me a left-hand turn in the tiny town of Forcett, shortly followed by a right-hand turn that headed up into the hills. At the end of the road there were the remains of an old farm, dating back to the 1860s. The place had been handed over to Parks and Wildlife Service about a decade ago, and it’s almost as if everything was just left where it was at the time. The farming implements are lying around rusting, there are tools left on the bench of an old smithy, there are old tins of chemicals, you can see an old wringer inside the house, and there’s a double-holed dunny outhouse with the rusted remains of a bicycle leaning against it. The fence-posts are encrusted with lichens, but someone has recently pruned one of the old skeletal fruit trees and it seems to be sprouting again.

Not far from a cottage, where there are daffodils in flower, there is a little circle of stones marking the burial place of one of the 14 children of the first people to live there (amazingly, the other 13 survived to live long lives). It was a reminder, as if the whole location wasn’t reminder enough, of the harsh realities of early farming life. All in all, a fascinating spot.

We then continued to Marion Bay, with its long sweep of largely deserted beach. There were shells and windblown sand creating interesting effects, although it was one of those days where the light was a little awkward for photos (too bright, at times, or too “flat”). I’m told that when I was a toddler, I created some anxiety by wandering off around one of the big sanddunes. They seem to have shrunk over the last 40 years.

After driving around the coast to Dunalley (stopping at an interesting little cemetery right on the shoreline on the way) we continued around through Carlton River (looking greener than I have ever seen it) and had our last stop at Dodges Ferry. We made our way out to a small but dramatic headland with views over steep coves and an offshore island. There were some dramatic lighting effects here but I managed to botch all of the more creative photo attempts due to messing up the exposures. There are half a dozen more photos of the day that can be viewed if you click here.

[This brings me to the truth behind my photos: for every photo deemed tolerable enough to appear here, there are usually 6-10 less satisfactory to downright dodgy ones that you will never see. After some initial scepticism about digital photography, I love it. Gone are the days of carefully husbanding a roll of 36-exposure slide film that had put a huge dent in my student budget (heck, it put a moderate dent in my employed budget too!). Now I can take as many photos as I like, and the odds are good that some of them will turn out okay!]

Anyway, Mum and I had a really good day. We reminisced and chatted about various things; and we enjoyed the scenery and each other’s company. There was one particular moment, though, when Mum mentioned something botanical and I mentioned something geological and we both burst into laughter because despite leaving him behind on this trip somehow we’d brought Dad along with us!