Exploring Heart, Killing Care

A photographic essay on the Bouddi Peninsula

The Indigenous Australians referred to the headland area above Maitland Bay on the New South Wales Central Coast as Bouddi, which translates to 'a heart' and also to 'water breaking over rocks'. Today the 1,532 hectare Bouddi National Park spans the beaches and the bay and has sweeping views over the Pacific Ocean to the south and Brisbane Water to the north. Situated within the peninsula are communities at Hardy's Bay, Killcare, Killcare Heights, Pretty Beach and Wagstaffe.

I spent a long weekend at Killcare Heights on the Bouddi Peninsula (celebrating my 29th wedding anniversary) and was able to make some photos of this very special place - a place to "kill care". In keeping with my thesis of photography as meditation this first compilation of three photos has a dreamy feel. I had so many photos I wanted to share that using compilations seemed the most efficient way to do so. I'll run through shots from top left to right and then the bottom shot in the compilations that follow. The first shot is a close up of a wave breaking on Killcare Beach, the second is looking out to Lion Island from Box Head. Lion Island resembles a mythical crouching lion or Sphinx and it sits at the mouth to the Hawkesbury River in Broken Bay, which Captain Cook cruised into on the 7 May 1770 aboard the HM Bark Endeavour and noted the serene pleasant weather of the place. The third shot pans up the fresh water Hawkesbury River, which flows 120 kilometres (75 miles) into Broken Bay and out into the Tasman Sea.

The Indigenous Australian, particularly in the Dharug language, term for 'to swim' is bogey and this is still used to refer to a swimming or bath hole. There is a lovely bogey hole at Killcare Beach, which one visitor called a 'living postcard'. The first shot is of clothing and sunglasses left on a rock by a swimmer. The second is the bogey hole from a distance with 3three swimmers. The third is a close up of my beautiful wife frolicking in this giant rockpool.

The coastline in this area is made up of incredible, blissfully peaceful beaches and sandstone cliffs and escarpments. In the first shot the layers of shale and softer reddish 'lithic' sandstone known as the Terrigal Formation can clearly be seen. The total thickness of this sedimentary rock bed is about 200 metres, but only the top layers are exposed. Shot two reminds me of a Darth Vader's helmet and the third is of the incoming surf hitting the rocks at the Killcare bogey hole as the tide comes in.

Three shots from Killcare around to Putty Beach, running south to north up the coast - lifeguards from Killcare Surf Lifesaving Club setting up for the day, walkers on the beach in the morning mist and an aerial shot from above the beach.

The first shot of the compilation above was literally my first shot of the day on the first morning I was on the Bouddi Peninsula. Funny how that happens more often than not, the first shot nailing the brief. The second is of two dogs running on the beach exuding the unbridled joy that animals are so good at showing and from whom us humans can learn a lot. The third shot is of two young hikers eddied out on the 120 metre high cliffs enjoying the view as they traverse the Box Head track, which winds through rugged bushland and open windswept heath.

Shifting from the beaches to the bay, I headed around to Hardy's Bay which was bustling with cafe visitors, weekend boating enthusiasts, cyclists and joggers. Named after Harry Hardy, who set up a vineyard and provided wine to local residents, the main features of this bay are the yacht marina and views of The Rip Bridge, which feature in the compilation above. The first shot is of a jetty. Second the vibrant colors of the catamaran and it's tender caught my eye and the third is The Rip Bridge, so named because it goes over The Rip, a section of fast flowing water in the narrows between the Woy Woy peninsula and Daleys Point. Ferries strain against the current and kayakers paddle as fast as they can, but get nowhere. We all can find ourselves in the rip sometimes, but hey, then we break free!

Another two perspectives on Hardy's Bay. A yacht on its mooring and a closer look at the jetty featured above.

I call the first two shots in this final compilation, Broken Dreams. I can imagine quite the narrative about this sunken tender. The last shot is an abstract of water swirling around the mangroves with seaweed floating on the surface. I particularly love the painterly nature of this shot and that at first view it takes one a moment to figure out what the composition of the photo is.

I don’t remember who said it, but this comment on abstraction resonates with me:

Abstraction through visual enigmas is an outlet to imagine new landscapes.

And on that thought I'll leave you to ponder enigmas and let your imagination run wild.