Last Updated on September 15, 2014 by Red Nomad OZ
The silence intensified the colours.
Cool greys melded with ochre, rust and purple; rock layers folded and blended in harmonious tranquillity as evening shadows lengthened.Then ringing from the rocks and echoing around us, a wild, sad cry. Again and again, the air reverberated with a sound so pure and perfect unshed tears brightened my gaze.
Falco peregrinus, Peregrine Falcon and with dive speed recorded at 389 kph (242 mph), the fastest creature on earth!
Soaring above our lookout perch, then far below into the pit.
Circling high, then plunging down the sheer rock wall to perch on its cliff-edge nest. And all the while, that free and savage cry. Safe from predators, afraid of nothing, for nothing could conquer this man-made citadel.
Then, slowly emerging from the cave mouth 150 metres below us, a car. Its smallness offset by the gloriously coloured immense cliff face as it climbed the winding road, while the falcon soared above, shrieking a challenge.
Then both were gone, leaving us alone with the silence.
And a perfect moment at Cobar‘s open-cut mine!
Visit Our World Tuesday for more fabulous and inspiring ways to look at the world from new perspectives … Enjoy!!
A great look into the mine. It looks like an abstract painting. What a wonderful moment to watch the Peregrine at play.
@Amish Stories – Uh, it’s actually spring downunder in OZ but thanx anyway … AND, there have been several more posts since this one!
@ladyfi – that’s what comes of taking pix through the wire mesh that stopped me plummeting 150 metres!!
@Jenn – you got that right!! Come on down!!
@Snap – sometimes it just all comes together!! Yep, I was SOOOOO lucky!!
@Karen – It was unbelieveable! But this colour is normally covered up so we wouldn’t see it!!
@Lesley – I was on solid ground, but on a lookout 150 metres from the open cut floor! AMAZING!!
@Jackie – Without the perspective of sky, it could be almost anything! That’s what made me take the pix – that, and that I had to put my camera lens through a wire mesh fence! And you’re right – the peregrine is KING!!!
I was trying to figure out if it was a road winding down or if it was an optical illusion created by the striping of colour. Just fantastic, and probably a bit of a hairy ride for any newcomer.
I have never seen a Peregrine Falcon or heard one either, he will be King of his domain.
Wow. This is amazing. Love the aerial view you had!
And i look foward to your next post. Richard from the Amish settlement of Lebanon,Pa.
Amazing colour in the rock!
The colors are amazing and a peregrine, too! Lucky you!
That’s a beautiful world down there!
Wow – how dizzying and absolutely thrilling. The photos look like paintings.
Happy fall everyone. Richard
@MJWC – Then my work is done!
@Cathy – Thanx! Hope Google was helpful!!
@Amish Stories – Greetings to you too! Hope my Aussie Adventures inspire you!!
@Michele – Thanx! It’s hard to believe something so utilitarian could be so beautiful!
@Jayne – That’s how it struck me too – glad my attempts to convey that actually worked!! And thanx, as always, for your words of encouragement – much appreciated!
That looks like a work of art, love your post and pics 🙂
Wow that looks so lovely!
Greetings from the Amish community of Lebanon,Pa. Richard from Amish Stories.
Beautiful photos, OZ. I’m not sure I know what an open cut mine is. I’ll have to google it.
What beautiful, beautiful pictures, and how wonderfully you decribe it. You make me feel like I am right there with you.
@diane b – on the contrary, the falcon has made the mine his habitat! The nesting site on the cliff face just below a ledge is virtually inaccessible to ANYTHING, including humans!
@River – I do the research so you don’t have to! It’s a tough job …
@Joan Elizabeth – I didn’t expect to find it beautiful, and I certainly didn’t expect to be so inspired by my visit! But that’s the cool thing about travel, right?!
@Mrs Tuna – I don’t think you’re in too much danger of running out of fresh air 150 metres above the mine entrance! But by all means bring the canary – it’d be a tasty starter for the falcon!!!
I’ll bring my canary. Wouldn’t want to die in the mine.
That mine looks worth a visit.
You do have a knack for finding the most picturesque places! That’s a very pretty rockface.
Wow that is one huge mine. Hope the bird’s habitat hasn’t been ruined by the mine.
@FabFawk – yes, if I could bottle it, I’d make a killing!!
@Windsmoke – this really felt like nature in the raw – thanx for your kind words!
@Alessandra – I believe this to be a gold mine! And scary? Yes! I was glad to be behind a fence several metres high …
@Magsx2 – The thought of driving that road gives me the creeping horrors … but, as you can imagine, the car wasn’t going real fast!!!
@PDP – This was one of those all-too-rare times when everything came together!! Sadly, my pix are not up to your standard, but they give the idea, I hope!
@J&L – I don’t know what I was expecting from our visit to the open cut mine – but I didn’t expect such beauty! Not a word generally associated with the mundanities of mining, although it HAS been known to apply to some of its products!!! The ‘dive speed …’ link above will take you to a short video of a falcon in full dive – if you’re interested, of course!
@Kathy – Thanx so much!! And yes, right place, right time – for once in my life!!
@SFlaGuy – Or … msybe it’s just the high quality pix!! You’ll just have to come on down and decide for yourself!!
@Dianne – I’m honoured by your praise!!
@Manzanita – yes, this is a departure for me. So difficult to capture the perfection of the moment juxtaposed against a much-maligned man-made structure – the open cut mine! So thanx for your kind words!!
@Linda – I too found it hard to tear myself away. Or to stop taking photos – more’s the pity. Maybe a late change in career for both of us is in order!! Thanx for your kind words – as an admirer of your blog, that means a lot!
@Wendy – Indeed!! Thanx for dropping by!!
Hi,
All the different colours in the rock look amazing, and OMG that road. 🙂
Open mines are impressive, a bit scary really, but I guess that in Australia you have so much space to be able to do that, and they are safer for workers (or am I mistaken?)
What do they mine there? You lucky Aussies, we have hardly any minerals in NZ!!!
Magical words for a magical place filled with natures bold colours and creatures, Bonza photos to :-).
Now that’s some beautiful rock!
Beautiful photos and awesome description How lucky you were to have witnessed such purity of Nature.
Hello:
We have, alas, never witnessed for ourselves a Peregrine Falcon in action – something which must be absolutely amazing to see. The speed of flight is simply incredible. The colouring on the rock surface is wonderful and demonstrates, yet again, the beauty to be found in Nature in such unexpected places.
Looks pretty amazing from up there Red, I know what you mean about the Peregrine Falcon have see one in action, incredible!
Wow!!
Rocks have always been alluring to me. I can stare at places like this forever–it is simply beautiful! I should have been a geologist. Thanks for sharing these photos and your thoughts.
Bravo ……. This post is far more than a travelogue. It lingers on the quintessence of color and the primordial of the druids. It is lulled by dominance into final tranquility. What a beautiful study of nature.
A moment in time beautifully captured! How wonderful to see the layers of colour! Superb.
Even the mines take on an artistic luster down under. What a magical place this land of OZ.