A Birdcage with the birds on the outside
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
On day two of our holiday in New South Wales we drove from Balranald to Hay in the morning. When I say “to Hay” that is strictly not true. We actually drove “past” Hay not stopping at all. The main highway we were on skirts the southern edge of this large rural town on the Murrumbidgee River. We had no need to stop. This lovely town serves a vast tract of grazing and farming land in the western part of the state of New South Wales.
Birdcage Rest Area, east of Hay NSW
As we drove on from Hay the countryside started to change. We had driven across the saltbush covered Hay Plains earlier in the day where there are few trees and bushes. Now we were seeing taller trees, especially along water courses.For lunch we stopped at the oddly named Birdcage Rest Area, shown in the photo above. There were many birds in the trees all around, but I didn’t see any cage.
Yellow Rosella
For our picnic lunch we made some delicious sandwiches using the tailgate of the Mazda Bravo as a table. The folding chairs came out from the back and we enjoyed the birdlife all around us as we ate. My attention was divided between eating my lunch, watching the birds with the binoculars and taking photos of the birds. Somehow I managed to juggle all three tasks without spilling any food.
Some of the birds seen include Laughing Kookaburras, White-winged Choughs (feeding young in a mud nest (see photo below), Apostlebirds, Yellow Rosellas (see photo above), Willie Wagtails and Galahs.
It was another wonderful lunch break.
White-winged Choughs' nest
To make Hay with the sun shining
Our trip through New South Wales
September 2007
On day two of our holiday in New South Wales we travelled from Balranald across the unbelievably flat Hay Plains. The road here is quite straight for long distances and very flat in all directions. The sun was shining brightly but the wind was bitterly cold.
Hay Plains, western New South Wales
At one point my wife asked me to stop so that she could photograph some of the plants and wildflowers on the side of the road. I took the opportunity to do a little birding. At first glance this area may seem to be birdless, but on closer inspection is is alive with many interesting birds. Twice we saw Emus, one of them with about a half dozen half grown chicks in tow. We also saw many raptors – birds of prey like eagles, hawks and kites.
Hay Plains, New South Wales
This place may seem rather desolate and a lonely place miles from anywhere. In reality it is a very busy highway. We later stopped for a half hour at a roadside parking bay complete with public toilets. The provision of such stops along our major highways has improved long interstate travels over recent years. While we were stopped over fifty cars, trucks and motorbikes passed us. This is one of two major routes from Adelaide to Sydney and is shorter that the other route through Broken Hill.
The meandering Murrumbidgee
Murrumbidgee River, Balranald, NSW
On our trip through New South Wales last week we stayed one night in a cabin in the Balranald Caravan Park. The town of Balranald (population about 1200) is situated on the banks of the meandering Murrumbidgee River, one of the major rivers that flow into the Murray River.
The caravan park is at the south eastern edge of town and the bank of the river forms one boundary of the park. The photo above shows a part of the river next to the park. The photo below was taken in the middle of the park. It shows the lift section of the historic old bridge that once spanned the river here. One section of the bridge had to be lifted to allow the old river boats to pass under it. A new higher bridge has recently been built.
Balranald Caravan Park, NSW
Travelling from Lameroo to Balranald
Balranald Caravan Park, NSW
On the first day of our 2007 holiday in New South Wales and Victoria we travelled from home in Murray Bridge, South Australia, through to Lameroo where we had a picnic lunch. After lunch we travelled on into Victoria. We drove through the small towns of Murrayville, Underbool, Ouyen and Manangatang, where we stopped briefly to refuel. Several times we stopped on the side of the road for my wife to take photos of native plants flowering. I took the opportunity during these short breaks to take a short walk and to observe the birds along the way.
At Tooleybuc we crossed a very narrow bridge over the Murray River. This bridge allowed only one vehicle at a time to cross. Fortunately the town is rather small and the traffic is never heavy, so it would be rare to have to wait more than half a minute for the bridge to clear. Crossing the river meant we were now in the state of New South Wales. That meant we had been in three states of Australia in about three hours.
We pressed on towards our destination for the night. Originally I had planned to reach Hay by sunset, but our late start in the morning meant we would be about a hundred kilometres short of there. We settled for a cabin in the caravan park of the small river town of Balranald. This park is right next to a busy interstate highway. The heavy trucks roaring past all night were a little disturbing, far noisier than what we are used to at home. Despite that we managed a reasonable night’s sleep.
One disturbing sight just before reaching Balranald was a dead kangaroo on one side of the road and a dead Wedge-tailed Eagle on the other. This is the largest of our birds of prey and a magnificent bird to see soaring on high. This unfortunate bird must have been feeding on the carcass of the kangaroo and hadn’t flown away in time to avoid being hit.
Wildflowers of Geebung National Park, NSW
Orchid flower
Several years ago on a holiday in New South Wales we spent several days exploring the area around Parkes. One of the places we headed for was the Geebung National Park north east of the city.
Wildflower in Geebung NP NSW
Our interests complement each other; I go to places like national parks to look at the birds, my wife looks at the plants and flowers. I usually have my head up while she has her head down. Both of us also keen wildflower photographers. This trip, however, was before I had my Canon Powershot digital camera. The photos on this post were taken with our old Kodak digital camera. This old camera is still a very good camera and my wife continues to use it frequently.
Orchid flowers
All photos can be enlarged by clicking on the photo.
Wildflowers in Geebung NP NSW
To see more of my photos of birds, flowers, scenery and much more visit my family photo gallery here.
Wildflower in Geebung NP NSW