It’s been a cold winter here in Warrandyte, with clear skies often as not, which has meant fog as well. As those of you reading my blog will know, I don’t much fancy Australian bush, but I’ve been forcing myself to try my hand at capturing its mood and fog is a great help.

These are a few more images I made in the State Park not more than ten minutes walk from my door. A walking tracks winds along the Yarra River as it flows its way through the village and wriggles past Pound Bend, and if you’re brave enough to risk ending up in the water you can descend the bans and get a good view. It was muddy this day, really muddy, four-wheel-drive muddy. I ended up on my arse at least twice, and wondered also whether I’d lose my boots to the sucking quagmire at the river’s edge, but I endured and really enjoyed the physical effort, the crisp (snap it like ice) air and the solitude.

The fog was lifting as I moved up river. Some of the shots show the far bank blanketed in cool mist. Some the sun burning through. At one point, I came across delicate webs by the side of the trail, glistening like brocade in the sun. All lovely.

Seems it is possible to make something of our crazy bush.

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I live in a very pretty little village incongruously placed in the middle of suburbia in Melbourne’s North-East. Warrandyte, originally Anderson’s Creek until its name was changed in 1906, was one of the earliest gold towns in Victoria, and remains remarkably true to its 1850s origins despite the march of time.

It is picturesque without being spectacular, and is also a tourist haven, with people flocking to its cafes and the riverside every weekend, forcing the locals to give the place up until they leave. But a new Melbourne COVID-19 lockdown has kept many “out of towers” out of town. Coupled with a sub-zero right and fog, the township, the surrounding forest and the trails were relatively quiet on this particular Sunday, with only the most enthusiastic donning beanies and jackets against the chill.

Off I went with my camera and several layers of clothing to see whether I could make something of the morning.

I don’t particularly like photographing Warrandyte. The township is lovely, but too often crowded, and Australian native forest is not my cup of tea; the bush is unkempt and messy, making it hard to make compelling images. But fog does wonders for it, hiding the mess and helping the tall, pale trunks of ghost gum to stand out particularly well against the green-blue shadows of the underbrush. Monochrome renders the geometries even more stark.

So here are a collection of images made in the fog this morning. Nothing amazing, but a little slice of the place I call home. I think it captures it perfectly.

Warrandyte straddles the Yarra River. The water is shallow enough for paddling in spots, and in summer plenty of people swim in it. The Yarra was once dirty, but has long since been cleaned out, and is perfectly same to swim in until you get into the inner suburbs of Melbourne. A single bridge crosses the river and it is a source of frustration for locals, because it attracts passing traffic from around the Eastern suburbs trying to travel north-south, creating jams at peak hour. But outside that time and the touristed weekends, the streets of the village are remarkably quiet.

*Cyclists on the river trail that runs several kilometres along the Yarra*

Pound Bend, where the Yarra does a sharp sweep around farmland and bush, is home to mobs of kangaroo and shy wombats and echidna. Birds are plentiful—kookaburras, cockatoos, galahs, the occasional wedge-tailed eagle, and flocks of rosellas. Platypus live in the river, but you need to risk early to spot them.

Cyclists pass through frequently, and running, bush walking and canoeing are popular too. I think Warrandyte’s Main Street might have the highest density of cafe seating of any street in Melbourne, so after burning off those calories it is easy to add more. You’ll also find galleries, potteries, antique shops, the Sassafras Sweet Shoppe, upmarket restaurants, a 100 year old bakery, school no. 12 (a lovely building fashioned from local stone in the mid-1892) and even a museum that is well worth a visit. Clara Southern, a well-known Australian Impressionist, settled in Warrandyte. Reproductions of her paintings can be found on display along the river walk, which stretches several kilometres along the banks of the Yarra.

All in all, a day trip to Warrandyte is just the thing if you’re fed up with suburbia and want a bit of cultured nature.