Pangarinda Arboretum, Wellington, South Australia
Today we travelled south to the Pangarinda Arboretum at Wellington East. This is about a half hour drive from home here in Murray Bridge. The arboretum is quite close to the River Murray and consists of a series of sandhills overlooking the marina on the eastern side of the river.
The planting of native Australian plants was established over a decade ago by local residents and members of the Australian Plants Society (APS). It is very well established with many 100s of examples of different Australian plants species. Some areas are quite spectacular; I particularly like the area planted up with banksias. These amazing plants have stunning flowers that I have used extensively in my photographic pursuits.
The arboretum is always open to the public; all we ask is that the gates are kept closed at all times – to keep out the rabbits. Rabbits love to chew off the fresh growth on newly planted plants. There are several tracks through the establishment and, although you can drive through, it is far better walking. This way you are able to stop and really appreciate the plants and their beautiful flowers. Don’t forget your camera! At present there are no public toilet facilities but we hope that this should be corrected by the local council soon.
Another reason for taking your time to walk through the plantings is to appreciate the rich birdlife in the area. There are hundreds of honeyeaters, pigeons, finches and a wide cross section of other species present. For a more in depth review of the birds present go to my birding blog by clicking here. Other postings about this place can be found here and here and here and here.
Maoist Rally in Kathmandu
The polical turmoil in Nepal seems destined to continue, despite the advances made in recent weeks. This week there was a massive rally – perhaps as many as one hundred thousand people – in the capital Kathmandu. It was organised by the Maoists who have controlled large parts of rural Nepal for about a decade.
More than 100,000 people have turned out for a mass rally by the Maoist rebel movement in Nepal.
There was a big show of force by an insurgent group, which after 10-years of ruthless violence claims to want a legitimate role as a peaceful political movement.
The Government says many people living in Maoist-controlled areas had been intimidated into attending the rally.
It is easy to be critical from afar but the resurgence of the Maoist cause does not seem to me to be the way forward for this troubled, yet beautiful, country. To say that they have a legitimate role in running the nation is hypocrisy in the extreme. It is their very actions in killing more than 13000 people over the past ten years, in addition to countless bombings, that have almost brought this country to its knees. Coupled with a ruthless and despotic king it has left the people desperate for a peaceful way forward. Bully tactics by the Maoists – and the king – have not worked. Democracy is struggling to survive against such ruthless opponents.
Discover South Australia
In my last post I talked about the local channel 9 television programme “Postcards from South Australia.” Another local station, channel 7 have a similar programme called “Discover South Australia.”
Strangely, a thorough search did not turn up a web presence. Odd. Still, even though it also features many wonderful aspects of our state, it is nowhere near as good as the “Postcards” show, in my opinion. It also tends to be more lifestyle oriented than strictly directed at the local tourist industry.
An episode of “Discover” we watched several years ago did encourage us to go somewhere we might not normally have visited. We were planning a short holiday in Mt Gambier in the South East district of the state. On our way we detoured slightly to have lunch in the Mundulla Hotel. This turned out to be your typical Aussie country pub with excellent food and a lovely atmosphere. It was well worth the effort to visit.
I watched the programme again this evening. Interesting without being inspired to do anything special. You get that.
Postcards from South Australia
Local Adelaide television station, channel 9, has had a regular weekly programme called “Postcards From South Australia” showing for over ten years now. This is one of our state’s quiet achievers for all of that period. It has highlighted many hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of places unique to South Australia. Each episode focusses on a different place or aspect of life in SA. It is particularly strong on emphasising our history and rich heritage.
Newsletter
I received their fortnightly emailed newsletter today. An item included in it prompted me to access their website for the first time in many months. I had forgotten the extent and coverage of this site. It lists many delightful places in South Australia that are worthy of a visit. It also has text versions of the scripts used for the episodes. This is a planning resource that I have not used so far. My mistake. It would be a good starting point when planning anything from a day trip through to an extensive holiday lasting many weeks. For locals like myself the many stories on the site are a timely reminder of the hundreds of wonderful places to visit in our own state.