Great Otway National Park

Think of Australia and what first comes to mind? I'll guess it's one of the usual suspects - the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, kangaroos, koala bears, the vast red outback, or Uluru. But a rainforest probably isn't going to easily register.

We had the pleasure of a three week trip to Oz a few years ago and it remains one of our most enjoyable vacations ever. I don't have enough good things to say about Australia, its citizens or its natural and man-made resources.

Our itinerary included a trip along the southern coast, near Melbourne, to the town of Warrnambool. From there, we saw the highlights of the Great Ocean Road, including the famous Twelve Apostles (now eleven). On a more intimate note, we traversed through the Great Otway National Park, and witnessed firsthand some of Australia's temperate rainforests. We traveled down a well worn path to the base of this waterfall, all the while admiring the lush oasis around us. I didn't have my tripod, so I utilized a fallen tree and my camera bag to steady my camera and used my trigger release cable to captured the long exposure shot of the waterfall. Interestingly enough, this was on my old film SLR (Minolta Maxxum 8000i).

If you have a personal 'bucket list' please put on it a visit to Australia. You won't regret it.