Busy highway not the place to stop to view turbines

A wind farm is beginning to take shape not far from where this blog is domiciled.

Here is the first of the creatures, growing out of Mt Cullerin, 12 kilometres east of Gunning, in New South Wales.

Since this photo was taken, about five more structures have been erected with about 10 still to come.

I think they are magnificent - and I happen to like wind farms. But then again, I have been known to sit around at airports for a couple of hours taking photos of aircraft. So, 'whatever floats your boat', you might say. 'Whatever spins your propeller' might be more appropriate!

There is a problem, however.

The Cullerin range wind farm is located right next to the Hume Highway, which, for overseas readers, is the main dual carriageway highway linking Sydney and Melbourne.

The problem is that (especially) when travelling west, you come round a slight bend in the road at 110 kilometres per hour, and bam! - you are confronted with massive white wind turbines growing out of a large hill straight in front of you. The temptation is to pull over to the not-very-wide road shoulder and take a couple of happy snaps.

Other wind farms in Australia have dedicated viewing areas - like this one at Crookwell, some 50 kilometres to the north of Cullerin.

I really do hope that Origin Energy, the developers of the wind farm at Cullerin, do likewise, and provide a dedicated area for enthusiasts and the curious, to park their cars and take some photos should they wish. Pulling over to the side of the road - while preferable to stopping in the middle of it, like I saw one driver almost attempt to do - is just asking for trouble.