Picnic lunch at Lane Cove National Park, Sydney
No Comments »16th January, 2009; Category: Holidays, National Parks, New South Wales, Picnics, Sydney
Picnic spot in Lane Cove National Park, Sydney
After our walk through a part of the Lane Cove National Park in Sydney we joined the rest of the family for a picnic lunch. We were soaked through as a result of the walk, mostly due to the heat and humidity.
Lunch was mainly leftovers from our Christmas Day family lunch two days earlier. Christmas leftovers make an excellent basis for a picnic lunch. After our delicious meal we sat around chatting for a few hours.
Picnic spot in Lane Cove National Park, Sydney
A walk in Lane Cove National Park
1 Comment »14th January, 2009; Category: Birds, Hiking, Holidays, National Parks, New South Wales, Picnics, Sydney, Walking
Lane Cove National Park, Sydney
Several days after Christmas the family had another reunion, this time in the Lane Cove National Park. This park is about a ten minute drive from my son’s home in Artarmon, Sydney. we knew it would probably be somewhat busy because of the Christmas holiday break, so we went early. Before having lunch four of us went for an hour and a half walk through the park.
Members of my family going on a walk through Lane Cove National Park
It was quite hot and humid with no breeze, so in no time we were all soaked from the effort. My son and I had our cameras and we were on the lookout for interesting things to photograph, especially birds. I think I may have converted him to being a moderate birder after he was pleased to receive a bird field guide for Christmas. Perhaps “bird photographer” would be a better appellation.
Lane Cove National Park, Sydney
Views of Murray-Sunset National Park, NW Victoria
Murray-Sunset National Park, NW Victoria
Murray-Sunset National Park begins only about eight kilometres east of where I grew up. My father’s farm was just over the border in South Australia. From the slight rise near the house we could see the tree line in the distance which was the Victorian border. In fact, Dad called his farm “Border View.”
In those days, the 1950s, this scrub land was a sheep station called Sunset Station. We rarely visited the area, despite it being so close. Because it was privately run public access was limited. I remember visiting several spots a few times for Sunday School picnics.
Murray-Sunset National Park, NW Victoria
In the 1990s this station was changed to national park status. The sheep were rounded up and taken away elsewhere. The national parks people established several campsites and took over the maintenance of the few dirt tracks through the park. Today it is popular with four wheel drive enthusiasts, campers and birders. The range of birds in this park is amazing, with several significant threatened species found here.
Murray-Sunset National Park, NW Victoria
As we were leaving the park to drive home we saw several large flocks of feral goats. This is rather disturbing as they can do a great deal of environmental damage. The flocks looked very healthy and included many kids, so they are breeding well. We must have seen several hundred in a ten kilometre stretch. How many more are hidden in the thick scrub away from the track is a disturbing thought.
Bearded Dragon lizard, Murray-Sunset National Park
Bearded Dragon lizard, Murray-Sunset National Park
While travelling through the Murray-Sunset National Park last year during our holiday we came across this lovely Bearded Dragon, one of many species of lizard common here in Australia. He stopped and posed beautifully for me in the late afternoon sun.
Click on the photos to enlarge the image.
Bearded Dragon lizard, Murray-Sunset National Park
Below is a photo of the track we were following when I saw the lizard. The plants are predominantly mallee trees which are species of eucalyptus. The bush here stretches in every direction for many kilometres. It would be very easy to get lost in thick scrub like that, so one does not wander far from the track.
Murray-Sunset National Park, NW Victoria
Emu and chicks, Murray-Sunset National Park, Victoria
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Emu, Murray-Sunset NP, Victoria
/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} While travelling through the Murray-Sunset National Park during our holiday last year we disturbed a male Emu with three chicks.Â
I was quick enough to get a photo of the male, but the chicks were too quick for me and disappeared into the bushy undergrowth before I could photograph them..
For those readers who may not know, the male Emu is the one who sits on the eggs once the female has finished laying the clutch. The female lays between five and eleven eggs in one clutch. Once hatched, the male then cares for the chicks for up the eighteen months.