Victor Harbor Archives - Page 6 of 21

June 26, 2017

back to normal

Suzanne returned from Cuba and Mexico last week, and the dog walking has returned to normal, with each of us taking us taking turns in walking Ari separately and Kayla and Maleko together. Though the walking has has become easier, the weather has changed. The bright, sunny days that existed during the four weeks whilst Suzanne was overseas have gone, to be replaced by days of low rainfall and overcast conditions. However, there is still very little wind, even though we live on the southern coast.

The roadside vegetation photos that I had been scoping for a reshoot with my film cameras have yet to result in any reshooting. The problem has been the lack of early morning sunlight around 8am. I am waiting for some clear, sunny mornings to reappear.

There is a sense that these humble photos refer to inhabiting this place on the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. How can this ‘inhabiting a place’ be unpacked?

Continue reading “back to normal”

June 11, 2017

a helping hand

I am fortunate that Madeline, our temporary next door neighbour at Encounter Bay, has kindly offered to walk Ari on the late afternoon poodlewalk several times a week. That frees me up to venture along the coastal rocks on the late afternoon poodlewalks with Kayla and Maleko. I have even been able to use the opportunity to make a couple of photos of the coastal rocks with my Rolleiflex SL66 film camera.

This does make for a welcome change from the routine of walking along the back country roads on the morning walk and the Heysen Trail for the afternoon walk. That routine grinds me down.
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May 27, 2017

Baum Rd, Waitpinga

Suzanne is now in Cuba before going to Mexico and I’m at home in Encounter Bay looking after the three standard poodles. It is four weeks of walking along back country roads on the morning and evening walks as Ari cannot walk over the rocks along the coast. This is Baum Rd, Waitpinga, which I walk down most mornings when Suzanne is away:

It is a no through road that leads to a couple of farm properties that have become holiday houses. The road side vegetation lessens as we approach the entrance to these properties. The owners are hostile to walkers whilst the local farmers in the area are not very friendly. Rarely do they slow down along these roads and say hello or give a wave. Continue reading “Baum Rd, Waitpinga”

May 10, 2017

walking country roads

I returned from my quick but fruitful trip to Melbourne to solo household duties. Suzanne left the day after I returned from Melbourne to continue with her walking the Heysen Trail in the Flinders Ranges for 9 days or so. She is based at Quorn then Hawker. I am minding the standard poodles, walking 3 of them in the morning and the evening.

The places that I can walk are limited because Ari is nearing 16 and the Maleko and Kayla are 2-3 years old. So I mostly walk along the back country roads where Ari is able to walk and the other two can check the smells and hunt amongst the roadside vegetation. So my photographic options are rather limited:

I am pretty much limited to photographing the roadside vegetation whilst on the poodlewalks. The problem is that there aren’t many suitable quiet roads with limited or no traffic. So I end up walking the same roads in the morning and the evening.

April 18, 2017

From a local beach to a carpark

On my morning poodle walks with Ari I have noticed how the Bluff Boat Ramp car park extension at the western end of Encounter Bay is taking out a beach to construct a carpark for boaties, which will they only use during the peak summer Xmas season.

The extension allows for an additional 34 parking spaces to accommodate 14 boat trailers and 20 cars. Currently there are 34 parking spaces for boaies at the Bluff Boat Ramp car park, and this only overflows 4 days a year around Xmas with the summer influx of boaties. The extension costs $548,300 with the Victor Harbor Council receiving funding of $242,150 from the state government for the project.The extension has State Agency (DPTI) support of the project and it was approved by the Development Assessment Commission.

The current parking area in front of Whalers is used by boaties, school buses, paddlers and sightseers and there is space for approximately 60 cars. But with the boat ramp expansion the parking area will be reduced to only 20 with the rest of area being used strictly for boaties and their cars and trailers. So half a million is being spent for the current car park for boaties and their trailers that will be used for 4 days a year.

A beach goes in the name of car parks to foster tourism.

Continue reading “From a local beach to a carpark”

April 10, 2017

field, sea, sky

I have started to walk along the back country roads looking for photographic subjects whilst on the afternoon poodle walks with Kayla and Maleko. I have become tired of sitting in front of the computer screen working on the texts of The Bowden Archives book and I am looking for a break.

This is an example of my recent scoping, from an afternoon last week when we were walking along the road to the old Victor Harbor dump:

Waitpingafieldsea

After the dump shifted to Goolwa the ‘no through’ road now leads to the Kings Beach Retreats. There is not much traffic during the week so it is a good back road to walk along with the standard poodles.

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March 27, 2017January 3, 2018

Ari

Ari is going on 16 years of age and he has slowed down a lot. His hearing and sight are limited, he has dementia, and he is wobbly on his back legs. The course of acupuncture is keeping him going as is the companionship with the younger poodles.

The morning walks have decreased in terms of the time spent we spend walking. We walk slowly along the road down to the beach, shuffling along as it were.

The autumn mornings before sunrise are a great time to be walking. It is soft and gentle time. There a few walkers, runners and bikers but it is pretty quiet. So we can meander and hang out amongst the rocks along the beach . We are able to just enjoy the moments together and he still enjoys having his photo taken.

Continue reading “Ari”

March 5, 2017

summer light

With walking along the rocky foreshore of the southern Fleurieu Peninsula out for an Ari, who is unsteady on his legs, I have shifted to walking on sandy beaches and country roads for his morning walk. He now walks on his own with me in the morning and with Suzanne in the afternoon. Kayla and Maleko walk together with Suzanne in the morning and with me in the afternoon. They are becoming easier to handle together.

This picture of roadside grasses– phalaris— was made on an early morning walk inbetween the trips to New Zealand and Tasmania in mid-February:

It had been grey and the light was flat and drab as we walked along the dusty, country road. Then the sun came out from behind the cloud cover for several minutes.

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December 7, 2016

cream brick

One of my options in our restricted poodlewalks during the current grass seed season is to park the Forester in Kent Reserve, walk west along the Encounter Bay beach towards Rosetta Head, then back along Franklin Parade to the Forester. That way I can see some of the seaside architecture along Franklin Parade that runs alongside the beach and the reef. It is a popular walking spot.

The seaside architecture is very varied and the built environment along the foreshore is undergoing change. The modest, older style beach-side shacks are being replaced by two story McMansions that take up the whole block. Some of the older architecture is at odds with the coastal environment as it is mass produced, suburban architecture from the 1950s and 1960s that has just been dumped into a coastal environment:

These kind of cream brick seaside houses do have a certain kind of historical charm and they have shown themselves to be resilient in the salty coastal environment, but I personally don’t find them very attractive.
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November 10, 2016

restricted walks

The morning and evening poodlewalks have become limited in scope and diversity. Ari is now 15 years old. He has slowed down and he is unsteady on his back legs. He can no longer walk over rocks, and so we are limited to walking along the beach. That limits the walk for the other standard poodle (Kayla the morning and Maleko in the afternoon) and it restricts my photography severely.

One option that I have explored has been to make a return to Petrel Cove:

Another reason why we havre limited to the beach is the grass seeds among the roadside vegetation of the back country roads or the costal reserves. The grass seeds are drying out and, as they cling to the poodle’s woollen coats and feet, the back country roads are becoming increasingly becoming out of bounds.
Continue reading “restricted walks”