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Image by Loic Le Guilly

Pandani in Cradle Mountain landscape

photograph of Pandani in Cradle Mountain landscape

This image belongs to : Cradle Mountain area Pandani

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walkers approaching Cradle Mountain just before Kitchen Hut

walkers approaching Cradle Mountain

approaching Cradle Mountain

2 Pandani in Cradle Mountain

Pandani in Cradle Mountain landscape

The famous Dove Lake boat shed on a gloriously cold winter morning.

Winter sunrise at Dove Lake

Stunning and still morning at Dove Lake in Cradle Mountain national park.

Dawn and fog at Cradle Mountain

Pandani grove, Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain creek with moss and pandani

Cradle Mountain creek

After an all-nighter on the Summit of Cradle Mountain I was privileged enough to witness a dawn like no other I had seen. It was a photographers heaven and I knew that it would be many climbs to come before I witnessed something like this again. This was a moment from my dreams.

But there was a problem... I was so overwhelmed by it all that I couldn't seem to steady myself long enough to take a decent photo. Knowing this may well be the only time I ever see a dawn like this from such an amazing place seemed to flood panic into my mind. It got worse with the threat of the moment going past and none of its glory being captured.

But amongst the adrenalin and rush of blood something stood me still and told me to breathe. I turned my back on it all and just tried to still my mind. Then something in my head said 'what stands out' and in this case it was the cloud around little horn. So after a little time spent calming myself and a little bit of climbing I found a place for my tripod at the edge of the mountain and set off a 30 second exposure. Then it came up on the screen on the back of my camera...

I don't think I took another shot for 30mins or so (after shooting non stop since 3pm the day before) I just sat there and enjoyed the moment.

I had taken an image that truly represented how I felt about what I was experiencing.

I feel as if the work of the great Peter Dombrovskis guides many photographers and certainly has me. He influences what we do and somehow he lives on through it all. He is gone but maybe what motivated Peter is still alive. Maybe in our quest for good light and exploration we all share a little bit of the Spirit of Dombrovskis.

I recently drove to Hobart to meet with Liz Dombrovskis the wife of Peter to ask her face to face for her permission/blessing for the use of the Family name in this image. She was happy for me to use it and was also happy to share a few wonderful stories about Peter. What an amazing man.

'Spirit of Dombrovskis'

Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake

Pandani grove, Cradle Mountain

Pandani in Cradle Mountain landscape

Creek lined with Pandani, Cradle Mountain

Pandani grove in Cradle Mountain

"In Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, Sphagnum moss tends to die if it dries out in summer suggesting that Sphagnum peatlands in south-eastern Australia may be near their climatic limits. If so, global warming is likely to reduce their chances of long-term survival." (from the Tas Parks website).

Pandani on sphagnum moss

Creek lined with Pandani, Cradle Mountain

Mossy creek with Pandani in Cradle Mountain National Park.

Mossy creek with Pandani

pandani LLG 0843

2 Pandani in Cradle Mountain

Wallaby and joey in the early morning light in Cradle Mountain (near Waldheim area). They sprung away straight after this picture was taken. Lovely Pandani in the background.

Wallaby and joey

© Tasmania 360 / Loic Le Guilly unless specified otherwise.