When talking about the most photographed icons in the world, sunset is rarely mentioned. Yet I think there are more photos of and more blogs dedicated to sunsets than to anything else anywhere.
Whether watching it with the love of your life, with friends, or alone, a sunset needs nothing more than a glass of champagne to make it magical.
I’ve done a lot of travelling, and seen a lot of sunsets. As a photographer I love finding new places to photograph sunsets. And as somebody who lives on the east coast and has to get out of bed very early if I want to see the sun rise over the ocean, watching it set over the ocean is fabulous.
Some of my most treasured memories are of watching the sunset from the Cable Beach Bar in Broome with my children (and cocktails). We were there for 10 days, and I don’t think there was a bad sunset. Lightning storms in the distance added to the feeling of a tropical paradise.
Sunset over the floodplain at Ubirr was another one to remember. The first time Doc & I went was dry season and I’d heard great things about the colours of the sunset from Ubirr. So did the other fifty or so people who climbed the rock to watch along with us. Alas, there was too much cloud so not much sunset. However when we returned in the wet, and had the rock all to ourselves, it was a different matter. The cloud was just enough to turn the whole sky pink, red and purple, and the water shimmering over the plain reflected all the colours much more than an ocean ever does. Though the climb back down the rock in the dark with no guide was a bit scary. Lucky Doc has a thing about torches so we always have the best!
One of the amazing things about travelling from the tip of Cape York, down the western side to the Gulf was watching all the sunsets along the way, usually with a glass of champagne. On our last night together with our friends before we all went our own ways we sat at a table on the sand at the Loyalty Beach campsite, watched the as the sky and ocean flamed bright orange and toasted our fabulous experience of driving the Old Tele Track together. As the sky darkened the fairy lights came to life in the trees above and behind us. Magical!
But perhaps the most beautiful sunsets I have seen have been in the Australian outback. Where there is no other light to detract from the setting sun and no buildings to cast shadows, only the heat haze to add a shimmering effect to the bright yellow, fiery sun as it sinks below the horizon. The wide open spaces with nothing between you and the horizon mean that even the closest grasses can glow yellow in the final setting rays.
My most disappointing sunset has been at Uluru. Expecting magical colours, the first afternoon we went to watch was too cloudy so there was no visible sun to set. The second wasn’t cloudy enough so there was nothing to reflect the colour back onto the rock. There was a beautiful pink & mauve shimmer, but no amazing colours. Maybe next time.
And then, there’s Darwin – justifiably famous for its sunsets from the harbour or the beaches. Sitting on the beach at Mindil Markets, eating noodles and watching the sunset is a must for tourists and locals alike.
