Reverse Sunsets - Blue evening skies.

On Wednesday evening, as I drove back into Robertson, the sun was dropping in the sky behind me. Our location high on the escarpment produces some lovely evening skies. The aspect I am talking about is what I refer to as the "reverse sunset". Looking out over the coast (east) with the sun setting behind me (west). The pink sky is caused by the last rays of the Sun's light. The blue line just above the horizon is caused by the Earth's own shadow. As the Sun sets lower behind us, the blue band rises, until it becomes the night sky.

One can see Port Kembla in this picture, (click on the photo below to enlarge it - you can just make out the Chimney Stack of the main blast furnace) to the left of the sand dunes which enclose Lake Illawarra. The hill on the left is Mt Macquarie.

For those not familiar with this spot, we are looking out over the Macquarie Pass, approximately 5 Kms east of the village of Robertson. The coastline is a mere 20 Km away. Wollongong is out of view, just around the corner to the left. Port Kembla, is the harbour for Wollongong and the industrial heart of the Illawarra, and is part of the Wollongong urban complex. It is of course, the main steel manufacturing centre in Australia - the home of the former "Big Australian" company BHP (now BHP-Billiton and "Bluescope Steel").

















This viewing point is named after one of the early pioneer properties in the district, settled by the Gay family, and known as "Ocean View". No quibble there.

Here is a photo taken from a similar position, in August 2006. Obviously an early morning shot, with the sun rising behind the early morning clouds.














The Lake in the foreground is Lake Illawarra. The strip of land runs to the left, to the mouth of the lake, at Windang. Shell Harbour is to the right.

These photos are taken from a key point on the Illawarra Escarpment. From down on the coast the escarpment looks like a jagged line of cliffs, which dominates the entire skyline.

*****

Readers of Greg Chapman's blog will know that he lives just out of Robertson. Greg's family's property is close to where these photos were taken, and so they pretty much share this view. Good for them, I say. It is a magic view, and a great place to live, I'm sure.