Weekend Away - Toora November 2019

The forecast was wet, wet, wet.  Cold and windy as well.  We could not have hoped for a better forecast as 20 club members headed to Toora, near Wilsons Prom, in early November for a weekend of fun and photography.

There was a deluge on the Thursday afternoon, and many members were met with large pools of water over the road and limited visibility as we headed to Toora.  The theme for the weekend just had to be the weather.

The traditional nibbles, drinks and lots of chatter on the Thursday night served as the usual starting gun for these weekends.  The rain fell, the wind blew, more rain fell and the wind blew the rain over us in our small shelter area at the caravan park.  Time to adjourn to the pub with an open fire and a warm country vibe.

More heavy overnight rain told us the first point of call on Friday would be Agnes Falls.  Agnes was pumping as the water, coloured brown after gouging out some of that fine Gippsland soil, slip over the spillway at the top and crashed down the rock wall.  Just like a chocolate milkshake and far more impressive than Victoria Falls is at the moment.

It was hard to leave such a photogenic sight but the ports (Franklin, Welshpool and Albert) beckoned with wind turbines, rolling green hills and cows keeping us entertained on the way.  Port Franklin was first, with its pretty boats lined up along the river, then on to Port Welshpool with its renovated jetty nearly 1km long.  Interesting photos were captured of the long jetty disappearing into the distance, a diving bell, channel markers and waves churned up by fearsome winds.

Port Albert fish and chips was the lunch stop. Yum, and it was good to have a break from the incessant wind.  Back now to Toora for a portrait session with a number of the Toora businesses that Gaynor and her daughter Amy, who runs the pub in Toora, had organised. 

The portraits were to be environmental portraits, that means capturing the business owners and their staff in their work environment with the backgrounds sharp, not blurry like in many portraits.  We divided up into 4 teams and headed off.  This was going to be a challenge. 

We used flash, but we didn’t want the flash to be intrusive.  We needed a smallish aperture, (f8-f11) perhaps, so everything is sharp, we had to find suitable backgrounds, which didn’t detract from the subjects, and we had to set up and shoot in shops with customers hovering around.  No easy feat, but mission accomplished, with great photos the Toora business owners will be proud of and great practice for club members in taking environmental portraits.

The weather had not improved much, in fact it was worse, so our BBQ dinner was shifted to a shelter area next to the pub where there was some protection from the wind.  We could always make a quick adjournment to the pub if things got desperate and there was always the hope that the late afternoon sun would shine on the old pub after a passing shower and pick up a wonderful rainbow in the background.  Some things are meant to be.

We didn’t linger longer in the shelter.  Some headed back to the caravan park, while the hardy ones headed to the pub for an evening’s entertainment provided by a local singer who also played the guitar.  Familiar words flowed around the room as we enjoyed the evening.

The weather forecast for Saturday was cold, wet and windy, with the odd lightning bolt or 2.  It didn’t disappoint.

An early start got us to the big drift, an enormous sand dune near the park entrance, in good time before the weather turned really bad.  The first challenge was climbing up a near vertical wall of soft sand to get on to the dune.  I do exaggerate, but only a bit.  Hands and knees were the only way, 3 steps forward and 2 backwards.

The reward was worth the effort though.  After the 13 weekends away I’ve run, I think this was the best location we have been to.  Picture those sand dunes in Namibia.  Stark environment, curves, textures, interplay of shadow and light, sparse trees, a few super models (us), plenty of options for macros and a blackening sky in the background.  Awesome.

I stretched the stay as long as I could, the black sky with heavy rain showers was too good to miss, but eventually retreated to the car.  The heavens opened just as I got in.  Timed to perfection.

A few beach stops on the way to Tidal River showed The Prom at its wildest.  Wind, rain and sand blasted us, and our cameras.  I know of a few cameras that have since found their way to the camera hospital.

Lunch at Tidal River was mainly spent discussing the value of staying on or heading back.  Most headed back but a few desperate souls stayed on studying the radar hopefully and working out when our next window of opportunity would be.  It came just when we expected it would.  A walk around Tidal River with mist over the mountains and moody shots along the river was wonderful.  We reached the beach to see the black sky and heavy showers reappearing over the water and heading our way.  The wind picked up and blew the sand in torrents across the beach just as in an Indiana Jones movie.  Time to head home.

What an amazing day!  Dinner at the pub capped it off beautifully.

Sunday dawned grey and drizzly.  No good for sunrise photos but perfect for rainforests.  Turra-Bulga National Park was our destination today on the way home.

Leeches were our number 1 concern, and sure enough on our first waterfall stop we picked up a load of them.  That made us more vigilant as we wandered out around the old growth forest in perfect conditions.  Waterfalls, ferns galore, huge trees and even a suspension bridge were a great way to end our weekend away in Toora and surrounds as we headed home with camera cards full of photos and some great memories.

By Ian Spence