Contrast: Humans vs Nature
The agricultural landscape of south west Australia is a patchwork of yellow and green crops awaiting harvest. Canola and wheat fields stretch as far as the eye can see yet come to an abrupt halt at the boundary of the Stirling Range National Park. Here flora and fauna have been preserved, a sanctuary for rare orchids, mountain bells and wallabies. Farming techniques race forward with science to find better fertilisation, genetics, irrigation and disease control. Yet the boundary contrasts the wonder of nature, a place of peace, a place to wind back and a refuge away from machines.
National Park Boundary: from the summit of Bluff Knoll, Western Australia
Bluff Knoll is the highest peak (1096m) in the Stirling Range National Park. We took a day to hike and climb the Knoll on a crisp spring day in 2008. This was the view from the summit, looking North. I have never felt such peace and serenity. Truly beautiful.
From Bluff Knoll Summit: carpark 1096m below.
Bluff Knoll: an awesome hike
The Sacred Cave 
Truly beautiful countryside.
louise this is beautiful, i feel i should be there to make an essence … is it near albany? it is time for the big commercial use of nature to end … and a new ecological way to prevail that is beneficial for the earth as well as us …. sorry to rave on!
Oooh rave away!!! You’d love it. There are so many birds and flowers that are only found within the national park. It is a haven, a sanctuary, a very sacred place – the home of my totem bird, the black cockatoo!! Its beauty and spirit is beyond description really. Yes, it is 80km north of Albany and east of Mt Barker. An easy day trip for Aussies!!
i will tuck this knowledge away and let you know if we can get over there sometime 🙂
Great! Late winter, early spring would be best. Here is a shot of the Knoll from my Red Bubble site – it shows the cloud pouring over the face, and it really was pouring like a flow of dry ice. Spectacular. Do keep in touch.
Fabulous, must have been quite a trek but so worth it, thanks for sharing the view with us!
Yes Gilly, it was soooo worth it. A hard trek up, it is very steep in some sections and just plain steep in others!! Looks mostly like THIS. We took a long time and had lots of rest, probably a six hour round trip for us with about 20mins at the summit. Hard going up, but harder coming down the steep shale with fatigued mind and jelly legs. So glad I did it then, I couldn’t manage it now. 🙂
Wow, what a stunning view. You can see forever.
On the back side we could see out to the coast, such a great experience, I could have stayed for hours.
Hi Louise, down yonder in Australia, of course we have the contrast between nature and farming machines in Europe too …
absolutely beautiful. thanks for sharing.
What beautiful photos, Louise! Such a clear demarcation of farming vs the national park. And I looked at the steep path and read your Path of Grief post from January. Both moved me and resonate with me, as do the words ‘jelly legs’!
Thanks Jan, it was a wonderful experience and I look back on it as one of the best days I’ve had. Plenty of bird calls, a small waterfall half way up, striped rocks, different foliage, a view across farmland and one across the Ranges which made the earth below look like a crumpled blanket.
What a beautiful place to spend the day hiking! Gorgeous!
Very beautiful 🙂
Your views are stunning! Nature is the most beautiful of all art. 🙂
Yes, the views are beautiful. It was very, very special to reach the top and in hindsight the experience and the shots are even sweeter. In a whole lifetime, there are probably not many days we really remember – maybe a handful? But for me, this was one of my best days. Ever.
Oh wow. Awesome pictures. The land is so spacious, plain greens and free of man-made features.