2012 Forest rally

Ben Grabham has won the 2012 Quit Forest Rally Moto aboard his KTM EXC 500 by just under 2 minutes, with seconds separating 2nd placed Robert Pollard and 3rd placed Warren Strange. In unfortunate circumstances, the rally had to be stopped due to a fire which started on a nearby farm. Rally fire safety crews had to be mobilised to help with the fire, therefore leaving the rally with no fire control, and the decision was made to cancel the final 2 stages.
Unfortunately, defending champion Damien Grabham destroyed a rear tyre and crashed on the first stage on Sunday. In an attempt to stay in the race, Grabham removed the tyre and rode on the rim, only to have the rim collapse.
Ben Grabham continued his successful year in WA after winning the first Enduro X event only a few weeks ago, following a dominant 30 minute win at the Gascoyne Dash in Canarvon late last year.
I went and watched the rally as a spectator this year, but managed to fire off a couple of pics. Disappointment on the first stage of the day as the motos were diverted away from the main rally track, which was also the best viewing point on the whole rally, not a lot of thought into that one by the organisers. Then at the Healthway loop, after finding prime position behind the bunnted area, 3 photogs decided to block my view, deliberately mind you…..you don’t reckon I wanted to throw something at them!! Here’s a couple pics of the winner!

Mates 500 Relay 2012

Over the weekend I had the pleasure to be involved with a fantastic event to support the Regional Mens Health Initiative and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. In 2011, a group of 6 mates, Paul Omodei, Heath East, Matt Johnston, Anthony Stubberfield, Wayne Barndon and Tim Lyster, decided to run a 500 km relay to raise awareness of mens health issues. If that wasn’t enough distance to cover, the group decided they would cover 1000km in 2012.

The runners run 1km at a time, with the distance cutting back to 500 metres each during hilly sections, so effectively it’s 1 on, 5 off. It is a huge effort, both physically, mentally and also logistically for the support crew. With the support crew driving the runners bus, protection/support vehicles, organising food and water for everyone, ice baths at the end of the day and the organising of the fundraising events at the overnight stops. With the usual get up time of between 3 and 4 am daily, the group is on the road for anything up to 15 hours in a day.

This is the itinerary;

Day 1 – Nannup to Northcliffe via Manjimup and Pemberton – 122 km

Day 2 – Northcliffe to Cranbrook via Quinninup, Rocky Gully and Frankland – 182 km

Day 3 – Cranbrook to Dumbleyung via Tambellup and Katanning – 132 km

Day 4 – Dumbleyung to Kulin via Lake Grace – 151 km

Day 5 – Kulin to Narrogin via Wagin – 158 km

Day 6 – Wagin to Kojonup via Arthur River, Darkan and Moodiarrup – 142 km

Day 7 – Kojonup to Manjimup via Boyup brook and Bridgetown – 153 km.

That is a collective distance of 1040 km, with an individual tally of 199 km per runner. The individual tally also includes distance where the group runs through regional centres together. A massive effort.

Day 1 and 2 took the group through the winding roads and towering forests of the South West, with day 2 finishing on the edge of the wheatbelt. Day 3 saw the crew battle 40 degree temperatures…..while the media kept on about Perth sweltering through yet another heatwave (4 consecutive days above 38) 6 men were pounding the wheatbelt roads in 40 degree heat. the runners have also been well supported on the roads by Grant Johnson (running) and Nigel Reeve (cycling). Nigel had ridden over 200km by the end of day 3. There was also special runner appearances by Warwick Capper and Pamela Anderson!!!

The night time fundraising events will have guest speakers and will also include memorabilia auctions. Speakers include former ABC Sports broadcaster Glenn Mitchell and West Coast Eagle Premiership player and Norm Smith Medallist Dean Kemp.

In summary, 6 men, who used to all play football with or against each other, have banded together to raise awareness of mens health issues. Please get on board and support the cause. You can visit http://www.mates500relay.org.au or just click HERE and donate.

Here are a few photos from he first two days!

Mac – Addicted to Water!!!

Hello all……and one!! Been a while, but still kicking. Been pretty busy on the farm (yes Merv, I still make time for golf!!), but hanging out for the break which hopefully will be here by the end of the month, the dry summer always starts to wear thin come March!!

Thought I’d get the camera out seeing Mac has a new game/obsession with water. Used to be a time that he hated the hose, but now, he absolutely loves it! I got some pretty cool photos, and some funny ones, but selected a few for the blog….if anyone’s interested. Hope everyone is doing well. Cheers.

I think you will all agree that we’ve all had dog’s that make you laugh. Their personalities are just amazing, and it’s amazing how they develop over time.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

The End of 2011

Hi all, and yes, it’s the last day of 2011. Thought I’d get one more post on the blog. 2011 has been interesting to say the least, with photography taking a back seat while I pretty much took on the reigns looking after the farm whilst the oldies took a much earned back seat. The old boy’s still a terrible back seat driver though!! Golf has also got me back in, trying to get back to a single figure handicap. I have set myself a goal to get down to a 6 by next xmas.

2011 taught me some things, the number one being if you believe in something, stick to your guns, don’t back down just to give someone something for nothing, and a credit is only a credit, if it’s credited with $$$!!! So don’t work for nothing people. It’s also great to see some of the quality of work coming from a lot of guys out there in blog land. Two that stand out for me is Ben Clegg and Luke Austin, who continue to produce outstanding work. They don’t post a lot of photos, but what they do produce is quality. That’s not to take anything away from everyone else, as everyone is producing great stuff. This year has also been a year that has given me some great laughs, as some of the things I have read had me in disbelief that I was actually reading what I was reading, if that makes sense.

Anyway, heres a couple of pics taken around Bunbury last night with some pretty cool looking clouds around, nothing special but thought I’d put them up anyway, definitely not “Fine Art Photography”!!! These were processed on the laptop, so if they look weird that’s why!!

Hope everyone has had a successful and happy 2011 and here’s to a safe new year. Wishing everyone all the best. Stay safe and enjoy life.

Hay Season

Well, haven’t done this for a while, trying to work my way around WordPress and new new subtle changes.
Thought with all that’s been going on with farming + weather at the moment, I would post a photo. Not a great photo, but just a photo.
We all know that on the back of a potentially great grain harvest and heavy hay crops, W.A has been hit with some uncharacteristic weather patterns. Deep troughs together with mid level disturbances has created some perfect condition for some pretty decent thunderstorms, and I don’t need to remind you of how much rain has fallen across the wheatbelt and south west of the state. Merv and Pete know only too well by how much rain has fallen around Northam.
It’s no different in the South West. We’ve had one of the best years for pasture and hay growth in a long time, one of the best I’ve seen here, but we’ve been getting probably too much follow up rain than we’d like. Yep, I’m a typical farmer, whinge when we’re not getting rain and whinge when we get too much!! It goes with the territory. Last week it was forecast for 10-20mm of rain on Thursday and Friday, so we were basically forced to cut a couple of our hay paddocks, otherwise they would’ve ended up laying flat on the ground anyway. For those that don’t know, rain isn’t bad for hay when it is still green, or freshly cut, but it’s not good when it’s dry, that’s when the mould and rot can be a problem.
Anyway, just got back from Bunbury and checked out the hay, which is looking pretty good, but the ominous signs of rain were approaching, so thought I might as well dust off the camera. I’ll post some pics after the hay is rolled.

Winter Rains.

So it’s been wet down south, that’s no secret, but just how wet? I got home to the farm on Wednesday afternoon from a 10 day trip up North, we’d had a couple inches of rain while I’d been away. I’m always keeping an eye on the weather, and dad had told me that it was supposed to rain for the next week. Well it started about 6 pm on Wednesday, and has continued to rain everyday until this arvo, where there has just been a few showers. Up until this afternoon, I’d had 89 mm at my place. There has been water running everywhere. The dams are filling up, the rivers a flowing flat out, and our creek is overflowing so much the spillway can’t handle it. It did create a little photo opportunity with a view that only happens when it’s been raining flat out for days!!! Keep it coming, we need a lot more, and with August traditionally a wet month, we should be right. Throw in the transitional month of September, which is capable of throwing us 100 mm + for the month, and hopefully the season will finish off well for everyone in the agricultural regions.

Jehi Willis – Indee 500 2011 Winner.

The 2011 J & S Labour Hire Indee 500 is done and dusted, with 31 year old Victorian Jehi Willis taking out the outright win.

Willis was brought in to ride for Trailrider magazine. After an ordinary prologue by his standards, Willis fought his way through the dust on Saturday to be placed at the top end of the field, with an overall lead of about 14 minutes. Willis made the most of Sunday’s ride, riding virtually dust free and leading the rest of the field for the remaining 200 km. Willis laid down his fastest lap time on lap four, with a time of 1hr16mins for the 100 km loop.

Willis praised the event, going on to say how he loved the layed back and friendly nature of the whole weekend. He hopes to be back next year to defend his title.

Jehi presenting the trophy and number plate to Indee Station owners Colin and Betty Brierly.

Oxers Lookout – Karijini

Hey Merv, two posts in a day!!! As the title says……pretty cool spot!!

Tanks – Port Hedland

On our recent trip to Port Hedland, Tegan mentioned that she’d never been to Port Hedland, so thought I’d better take her there for a visit!! On the way in we came across these tanks which everyone has seen, and shot, so thought I’d do the same.

Golfing…..

Hi all, yep, I’m still here!! Haven’t gone anywhere, just been busy on the farm and working on my golf handicap!!

The golf bug has hit me again after being out of the game for about 8 years. With some new clubs  and some revived enthusiasm to try and get back to a single figure handicap, I haven’t spent much time behind a camera. I’m off to Port Hedland for the annual Indee 500 Desert Race in a couple of weeks to shoot the event, something I’ve done for the last 4 years. But I guess I need to spend some time with the camera to get used to looking through glass again!!! The only thing I’ve taken a pic of lately is my new Mizuno MP-63 irons!!! Now if anyone here are golfers, you may get a little excited like I was when I picked them up. My last set, Maxfli FX-31’s, were awesome, but after 15 years it was time to upgrade. I had looked at the Mizuno’s before, but did some research, and decided on the forged irons. They are amazing, absolutely pure!!

If anyone is ever keen for a game, join me at the Manjimup Country Club, our little secret in the south west, one of the best country courses you will ever play golf on.