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Monday, October 12, 2015

Avon Valley Part 3: Canola Fields






So here's part 3 of the Avon Valley series - and definitely my favourite part of all. I have always wanted to visit canola fields - and I finally got the chance to do so...twice! The first time I visited the canola fields was on the day of the Northam National Ballooning Championships. The second time I visited? Well it was exactly two weeks after the first time. And whoa - there was quite a big change in the canola fields even after two weeks! So in this post - I'll be sharing pictures of various canola fields, starting with the first time I went, and then with pictures taken from the second time.

After we finished shooting pictures of the hot air balloons, we headed to Toodyay for breakfast before we decided to go to the canola fields. And that was where I tasted the best bread ever! This award-winning bakery in Toodyay has won plenty of awards for their bread and pies (and trust me, it is really worth the drive there...the bread and pies were super delicious!). Oh yes - I bought some back too, and am savouring it slowly.





Breakfast was definitely really enjoyable, and after that, it was time to head off to the canola fields! So the whole group of us headed over to one of the farms somewhere in the outskirts of Toodyay. Ended up in a small dirt road, and we all just parked on the side, and got our cameras ready. Here are some of my favourite pictures from that particular farm. I was totally mesmerised by the quantity of the canolas...I've never seen so many canolas in my life!

Of course I had to attempt a mandatory close-up shot of the canolas :)




And then I had a nice time shooting pics of these beautiful landscapes...









When we were busy shooting pics, some of us climbed over the fences to get better shots...and we unfortunately got discovered. We actually didn't know that the farm was a private property! And so we had to make a quick escape to head to another farm - and this time we stayed outside, instead of venturing in. This farm was kinda similar to the previous one...

Clouds were rolling in too - so I had to be mindful of the lighting and all...









Walked down the dirt road and discovered this old windmill - this provided quite a good contrast to the fields of yellow flowers.





And I also discovered a small spot, where I managed to get these two pictures :) These pictures (along with the windmill pictures) are my favourite from the collection!





Just as we were finishing off those shots, someone mentioned that there was yet another canola field elsewhere! And so we all quickly packed up and headed to the next field - which happened to be the best out of all the canola fields!

Here's the view of part of the canola fields, from the highway. We were all floored when we saw the vast fields here - and immediately stopped our vehicles to head to the other side.





Canolas in the foreground, and part of the countryside in the background.




And here's the canola farm - the best of all the farms we visited! The highway was located on top of sloping ground, and the farm just below it. So that allowed us to take pics of the highway from above.







Zoomed in with my telephoto lens, and spotted more canolas in the distance! We were literally surrounded by canola farms!











We also headed down the dirt road heading to the canola farm, but didn't end up going inside. This was the same farm from previous pictures. Ended up taking fun pics of my buddies, and of course, of the farms. The smell from the canola flowers was much stronger here too.








And yes I did end up climbing some dead branches to take pics of the canolas from above. I found this spot right next to the highway and it was a really good spot indeed. It was a shame that we didn't get to stay longer, because the rain clouds were really starting to build up in density, and none of us were keen to be rained on!





Exactly two weeks later - the same friend and I headed back to the exact same canola farms, on the way to the Chittering Wildflower Festival. And we were actually pretty surprised by how much the canola fields had changed - there were fewer canola flowers now, and some of the canolas from other farms had been replaced by wheat already.

Different lighting, different canola views, but same vantage points. And I also managed to get more pics of the countryside in the distance. Surprisingly the canola flowers still smelled pretty strong.














Took some final pics of the remaining canolas before getting back into the car, to head to the Chittering Wildflower Festival.









Last couple of pics - fields of gold being replaced by fields of green. Two weeks ago these areas were covered almost completely with yellow flowers. Now they're almost completely green.





Might head to canola farms again next year if I can! It was fun taking pics of them, and even more fascinating watching the farms transform over two weeks.