Photo Diary
Yes, it is Stingray bay images from the time I worked in that town of Warrnambool Victoria Australia. I have taken over 2k shots at this location which is only 1 km from where I stayed during the locum assignment. Many people asked if there were any stingrays here. The answer is that I dont dive in this area. In fact, the water is choppy with many undercurrents and rips. over 3k shipwrecks happened here for early settlers as well.
A good place to work out as well
Linking Water H2O Thursday
The cloud in the image hangs low and brooding, as if it has gathered every mood of the Southern Ocean and pressed them into a single, slow-moving shadow. It feels impressionable too—alive, shifting, carrying the temperament of a coast known for its sudden turns of weather. Warrnambool has always worn its climate like a cloak: heavy one moment, iridescent the next, a place where wind, light, and water constantly revise the landscape.
Stingray Bay, just beyond the thunder of the Blowhole and the salt-sprayed arches of Thunder Point, has its own long memory carved into this restless edge. For thousands of years it was a quiet gathering place for the Gunditjmara people, who knew the rhythms of the tides and the pathways of eels and rays far better than any visitor blown in by a storm. The bay’s limestone arms once sheltered smooth-gliding stingrays in such abundance that early settlers named it almost without thinking, awed by the dark shapes that moved like shadows beneath the surface.
Throughout the 19th century, the coastline here became a stage for shipwrecks—brutal reminders of how quickly the Bass Strait could turn from invitation to threat. Whaling stations rose and fell along these cliffs. Fishermen hauled cray pots under skies as erratic as the catch. Even now, the rock platforms hold the stories with a kind of stubborn dignity: layered sediment, eroded tunnels, small tidal pools carrying miniature worlds.
So when the cloud presses down like this—thick, bruised, and full of intent—it feels less like a passing weather pattern and more like the landscape remembering itself. Carrying every departure, every loss, every shift in tide and workforce. An atmospheric echo of a region that offers beauty in abundance but demands something back: patience, resilience, and a willingness to stand still while the coastline remakes itself around you.
Sony A7RV
FE 20-70mm f4 G
Linking Skywatch Friday
This small estuarine inlet adjoining Stingray Bay is a hidden gem, lying less than a kilometre from where I once stayed, with road access that remains remarkably convenient. The still waters below capture exquisite reflections of sky and vegetation, a mirror to the tranquility of the surrounding landscape.
Stingray Bay itself forms part of the sheltered mouth of the Merri River at Warrnambool, where freshwater mingles with the tides of the Southern Ocean. The area is renowned for its tidal flats and rock platforms, rich in marine life and bird activity — herons, cormorants, and sandpipers frequent the shallows, while stingrays glide silently over the sandy bottom from which the bay takes its name.
Along the inlet’s edge, the weathered wooden barrier now stands as more of an ornament than a necessity, its timbers softened by time and tide. Once built to define or protect, it now blends into the natural scene — a quiet relic of human purpose slowly yielding to nature’s rhythm.
Sony A7RV
FE 20-70mm f4 G
Linking Skywatch Friday
I am uncertain as to why a flock of seagulls has gathered, seemingly intent on feasting, despite the absence of fish in the shallow waters. I am simply awaiting the sunset, yet these creatures have chosen to accompany me in this moment.
Sony A7RV
FE 70-200mm f4 G
Linking Saturday Critter
This secluded part of Stingray Bay lies sheltered from the main expanse. The tide is steadily rising. I wandered through the shallows with bare feet, seeking a reflection, yet found none.
Sony A7RV
FE 20-70mm f4 G
Linking Skywatch Friday
The tide suddenly came in. The area was rather flat that the sea level instantly raised.
I caught a bit of turquoise water before retreating.
Sony A7RV
FE 14mm f1.8 GM
Linking Water H2O Thursday
Since I arrive this coastal town, the rain has been non stop. For the weekend, I was expecting a terrible storm until a cloud break close to sunset hours. So I quickly fly my drone to get a view off Stingray Bay. The wind nearly took my drone away into the sea...
At least, I got a shot here and there before the storm took over. So sad.
DJ Mini Pro4
Linking Sunday Best
