Narooma is a town of about 3000 people on the southern coast of NSW. Its urban centre spans the truly crystal blue waters of the Wagonga Inlet. Travelling south by car from Canberra it is easy to find this summer holiday destination because the Princes Highway travels around a sharp right corner before crossing over the inlet. Narooma is a beautiful gem that has grown mainly along the southern side of the inlet and the Pacific Ocean on the sea side. No major rivers flow into the inlet, just a some creeks, making the water beautiful and clear. It is no exaggeration to say crystal blue, because that is what the water is. I have previously posted (here and here) about this wonderful seaside destination and we ended up spending a fair bit of our summer holiday in Narooma, being captivated by the beauty. It would be hard to select a single photo to represent the locale but Glasshouse Rocks, on the southern side of the town, is worthy of consideration for that role.
This is the first post in a series of five looking at different aspects of wildlife at Narooma. In this post I am covering the environment around Narooma. I took my camera with me on holiday because I knew Narooma was going to be beautiful and I hope you enjoy the photographs below.
More of this story is on my blog at https://bit.ly/3yw1Pvv
The iconic seascape of Glasshouse Rocks at Narooma
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 106mm, f/20 and 1/160 SEC])
Wagonga sawmill ruins on Punkally Creek
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 2500, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Eastern Yellow Robin on the marker stone of Wagonga Wharf at Brices Bay
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 500, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Reamins of Wagonga Wharf at Brices Bay
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 4000, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/500 SEC])
Close up on the colours in the wharf post
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 100mm, f/10 and 1/400 SEC])
Abandoned shed in Narooma on the inlet, surrounded by mangroves and casuarinas
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 400, 40mm, f/18 and 1/80 SEC])
Opening central span steel bridge over Wagonga Inlet; with a central boating channel
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/100 SEC])
Walkway along the side of the bridge
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/160 SEC])
Waves heading into the shore at Bar Beach North
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 286mm, f/14 and 1/1250 SEC])
Aerial shot of the waves hitting Narooma Beach
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 400, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/500 SEC]
Waves hitting Glasshouse Rocks seen from beach level
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 300mm, f/14 and 1/1000 SEC])
Different colours across the shallow waters of the inlet
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/18 and 1/400 SEC])
Sand ripples on the bottom of the inlet seen through the clear, shallow water
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/640 SEC]
Ebbing tide from the main channel on the left pushing across the rocks into the much shallower sand
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/14 and 1/320 SEC])
Power boat travelling up the inlet from the bridge
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/640 SEC]
Seaplane for showing visitors around the beauty of the south coast
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 100, 104mm, f/13 and 1/400 SEC])
Looking down on just some of the oyster leases in Wagonga Inlet
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 400, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/400 SEC]
Not a bad office at the top of the inlet - ideal for servicing oyster leases
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 1000, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/320 SEC])
Shops selling fresh seafood beside Wagonga Inlet
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 250, 40mm, f/18 and 1/125 SEC])
Spotted Gum trees
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 117mm, f/9.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Lewis Island see from the above Wagonga Inlet
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/640 SEC]
Foot bridge to Lewis Island
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM [ISO 160, 40mm, f/18 and 1/320 SEC])
Oyster leases under water at hight tide
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/640 SEC]
Dead Grey Mangrove grasping at the world above
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/640 SEC]
Bird tracks on the sand
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Narrow boating channel with stingray swimming on the bottom
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/640 SEC]
Narooma is a really lovely part of the world where we enjoyed spending a lot of time over summer. There was so much to see and do, with bountiful natural beauty. Narooma has captured our hearts and there will be more content from there reflected in this blog - I suspect people won’t object.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the south coast of NSW has on offer. All the best until the next post; Sea-eagles, herons and oystercatchers - Beautiful Narooma Part 2, Summer 2022/23
