It feels like forever since I last found the time to contemplate adding a post here. What with work, car issues, house rearrangements and illness, some things have had to go onto the proverbial “back burner” of late.
I’m now venturing out of my self-inflicted “blogging hibernation”, and it took Karma to get me moving.
You’ve all heard about Karma, haven’t you? I’ve bumped into her around the webosphere for some time now, but we have never officially met. But we do have some mutual friends.
Karma enjoys offering a Photographic Challenge now and then, sometimes monthly and sometimes when she feels like it, and when I heard about Karma’s August challenge, I couldn’t resist having a go!
This month, Karma is challenging people to find photos of a what we regard as “The Ends of the Earth”.
There’s one place in particular that I love to spend time at, as it takes my breath away every time I go there. I never tire of the magnificence of the area. The view is brilliant and breath-taking, and really looks as though it could very well be the end of the earth.
It is Point Danger, right on the border of New South Wales and Queensland, looking across the Pacific Ocean from a relatively small jut out of land, across to the horizon where the ocean meets the sky.
If there was a place on earth where God would live, I’m sure it would be right there, looking across the water.
I wonder if God has a surf board? The waves in this area are world renowned, with many champion surfer’s living in this area. I haven’t ever been into surfing myself, but I’m sure to some people following the waves is like a religion. They attend the ocean every single day, rain, hail or shine.
Me? I’m overwhelmed by the majesty of the ocean. I’m not too keen on the idea of surfing off the end of the world.
Whilst the roar of the ocean is extremely enticing, I have a huge amount of respect for the power of the waves. I wouldn’t want to take myself too close, nor climb through the fence, as there may be a danger of falling off the end of the earth.
When the foaming waves finally reach the shoreline and trip over on the massive area of rocks, do the waves realise that they have reached “The Ends of the Ocean”? I have heard the roar of the waves, so feel sure that they are surprised to find that the ocean has an end.
The earth may also end up in the clouds. If I reach up high, will my fingers touch the gentle cotton-wool puffs above me, but extend no further?
No matter how thick the cotton-wool clouds may be, the sun can always manage to peek through, sending tiny slivers of sunlit rays down from above.
I suspect that only the Rainbow Gods truly know where the end of the earth really is. The arc of the rainbow always reaches from one end of the earth to the other, visiting the places that mere mortals can only imagine and dream about.
Surely this must be the last tree on earth, sitting all alone, on the edge of the shores between imagination and reality.
Perhaps if I were to venture along these stairs I may reach another end of the earth, but what would I find there? It would be an adventure to walk along the stairs, to see what is over the other side.
Well now you have seen the ends of my earth, do you feel fear, or joy? Whilst showing the utmost respect for the place where the security of the firm earth beneath my feet meets up with the end of the earth, finding the all-powerful ocean, I can only see joy, for I have seen that when you reach the end, the extension of the oceans of all eternity are paved with crystals.
In My World 
Thank you for sharing your ends of the earth, Joanne. You did such a marvelous job! I do so often think of Australia as “the end of the earth” in many ways, but on a round globe how can any place except maybe the poles be the “end”? lol! Especially enjoyed the “Rainbow Gods” photo. So cool! Glad you played along.
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Thank you for encouraging me to play along with Karma’s photo hunt this month Kathy! It was fun, thinking about the photos as I looked at them, and adding the text along the way to suit the theme.
I’m glad you like my “Rainbow Gods” photo. I played with that one in Picasa, which I’ve discovered recently, and thought it had a bit of an “other world” look about it.
When I was very young I would say that Australia was at the bottom of the earth, which I suppose really is the end of the earth! 🙂
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I truly enjoyed your post. Well written and beautifully illustrated. I especially like the photo called Falling off the edge? it suggests secrecy, a mystery secretly revealed. Son enticing. Thank you.
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Thank you so much for your kind words, and for dropping by. I took the photo “Falling off the Edge” one day as I sat in a picnic shelter, drinking a cappuccino, and admiring my little window frame of the ocean. I’m so pleased you enjoyed my post. 🙂
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You place words – and photos – on a page so beautifully! Nice job!
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Thank you so much Carol, you are very kind. 🙂
I really enjoyed your “Ends of the Earth” post also, as it showed me scenes of the USA which I have never seen before, so barren, and ends of the earth-y!
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Interesting thoughts and quite a variety of photos of the same end of the world. I particularly like the first two, with the sharp, flat end in the distance with just a touch of clouds beyond it, and I like how the first one is like the yin and yang of the ocean–white on one side, black on the other side–and the colors in the second one. Nice.
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It’s fun playing with the light of the day when taking photos. I often take 50-100 photos in the same area, just waiting for the light to change, then clicking away with the camera again. The results can be so different, with just a subtle change of time and light.
Thank you for stopping by and taking a look at my part of the world. 🙂
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Beautiful post, Joanne. I am so glad you decided to join in the fun. The first three images nearly took my breath away. How lucky you are to live near the ends of the earth. 🙂
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Thank you Robin. Between you and Kathy, you have both twisted my arm and I have finally joined in the photo hunt, and now I’m wondering why I waited so long. It was fun! I love seeing photos that take my breath away, and yours often take my breath away! 🙂
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Hi Joanne! Nice to “officially” make your acquaintance, as you are correct – we do have mutual blogosphere friends! Australia definitely would seem like the end the of the earth to me, and the photos you’ve selected are gorgeous. I think I remember learning in school one time that if we could dig through the center of the earth from our town to the exact opposite side, we would end up in Perth, Australia. Thank you so much for deciding to participate in the photo hunt!
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Hello Karma! It’s so nice to meet you too! I’ve been peeking in on your photo hunts for a few months now, (and procrastinating!) and I’ve so enjoyed joining in on this theme.
Now that’s an interesting thought…what is the opposite area on the globe to where we live? I just looked on a small globe I have, and I think my opposite may be somewhere in the north of Canada! That would definitely be an opposite to us weather wise, as we have rather a warm climate here.
Thank you for the fun photo hunt this month Karma. 🙂
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My favorites were the stairs and the last tree. Great shots, and thanks so much for sharing!
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Hello Dawn! 🙂 The stairs actually have me intrigued, as I haven’t been back to see where they lead to yet, but I’m sure when I do there will be a blog post involved, with lots of photos! Thank you so much for dropping by. 🙂
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What a pleasure to visit your blog and find those “End of the Earth” pictures ! They are all magnificent and remind me of the immensity of your sky, the flying clouds (where are they flying to in fact ?), the vastness of the ocean and its powerful waves. Truly beautiful. I love The Last Tree, tall and green, standing at the edge of the land, like a guardian of the ocean. Thank you for those great images of your part of Australia.
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Hello Isabelle! How wonderful to meet you today, and I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed my photos. 🙂
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