Friday, June 11, 2010

Gabo Island Lighthouse

4:12 AM | Posted by Laura | Edit Post
I love this lighthouse!
My trip at the beginning of May took me just across the New South Wales border into Victoria to see Gabo Island Lighthouse. I caught a flight in a sesna 5 seater plane in Merimumbula NSW and in just under 30 minutes, we were landing on Gabo Island. (It was just me and Captain Andy.) There was a little turbulence, but it was not terrible. The fire brigades were back burning to prevent further bush fires, so it was rather smoky in the air.




The island is separated from the mainland by a shallow channel, one km wide and is subject to severe storms. It is believed that in 1895, a huge wave came over the island, up to the side of the houses and knocked out part of the wall. There is a marking on a rock showing how far the wave came inland. This wave was 16 meters above normal high tide. The buttresses were added when the wall was rebuilt.



Captain Andy and I climbed to the top of the tower and stepped outside to the rim for a few photos. It was rather windy, so I only snapped a few shots before heading back inside. This lighthouse is 47 meters high, the second tallest in Australia.
We toured the museum and even spoke to the current “keeper” Bob about the weather this last week and how he has enjoyed his month on the island (much better this weekend since his wife was visiting and he had someone to talk to!!)





We then got back to the sesna and flew just over 30 minutes (going against the wind) back to Merimumbula. Captain Andy pointed out the NSW/Victoria border at Cape Howe Bay, Cape Green Lighthouse, and Ben Boyd’s Tower in NSW through the smoke.


The following day, I visited the Nan Tien temple outside of Wollongong. I’ve seen it so many times and I finally stopped in. I am so glad I did! It is a Buddhist temple and is just beautiful!!!

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Denver, Colorado, United States
I'm originally from Colorado, but I've been living in Australia for three years. Before that, I lived all over the U.S.: Washington State, Maine, California, Oregon, Nebraska, North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and more... No, I'm not a military brat or a military wife; I was a traveling nurse for 5 years so I moved to a new city every 3 months. During my travels, I became intrigued with lighthouses and started making plans to photograph as many as I could in whichever state I was living (including the two in Nebraska!) My blog is about my trips to various lighthouses, as well as other interesting trips. I hope you enjoy reading, and leave a comment or two!

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