Around and around Round Hill
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
One of the target places to visit on this holiday was Round Hill Nature Reserve. I was keen to visit this spot after reading about the many birds that can be see in the reserve and surrounding areas. The reserve is about 60km north west of the town of Lake Cargelligo in central west New South Wales.
Round Hill Nature Reserve, central NSW
We arrived in time for lunch. Driving through the park-like eastern end of the reserve we soon found a lovely spot for a picnic lunch. The birds were calling all around but few came near to where we sat eating our lunch. It was a bright, sunny, cloudless day with a gentle cool breeze. The early chill in the air had long since disappeared and it was not long before we had discarded our jumpers.
Round Hill Nature Reserve, central NSW
After lunch we wandered around the general area where we had parked for lunch. My wife was busy identifying and photographing the plants she found while I occupied myself chasing up the local birds. I managed several good shots, including one of a Pallid Cuckoo, one species I didn’t expect to get a photo of without a lot of effort. Just proves that one can be wrong. This photo was taken leaning out the car window. The bird sort of posed just for me.
Pallid Cuckoo, Round Hill Nature Reserve
Later we drove through a part of the park before turning around and heading back to the main road. About an hour later we found an interesting track to take through the park. This led us right back to where we had turned around. We had come full circle! At least I didn’t get lost.
Red-capped Robin (male)
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
Lunch at Salt Creek, South Australia
A salt lake, Coorong National Park, South Australia
On our way home from our recent holiday in Robe, South Australia we stopped at Salt Creek. We took a short diversion road from the main highway and drove into the Coorong National Park. We stopped at a small picnic ground there so we could sit down at a picnic table in the scrub. While we were there I took a short five minute stroll along the walking trail shown in the photo. This is one of many walking tracks in this national park. We have often talked of camping here for a few days and doing some of the walks.
Walking trail, Coorong National Park.
Along the coast south of Robe, South Australia
Coastline south of Robe, South Australia
On our last afternoon in Robe on our recent holiday we went for a drive along the coast south of the town. There are a number of rough tracks from the main road leading towards the coast. From time to time one gets a glimpse of the beach and the waves, like in the photo above.
Along the main road the traveller also encounters a series of lakes. Some of these are salt lakes and others contain fresh water. The lakes vary in size from the area of a tennis court through to some that are many kilometres around the perimeter. Most are very shallow.
Old Man Lake, south of Robe, South Australia
These lakes are part of the Little Dip Conservation Park. Camping and picnics are allowed in designated areas near some of the lakes and beaches. We stopped at Old Man Lake for a short picnic. Some home made biscuits and a cup of tea was very welcome. We were entertained by some Superb Blue Wrens and Red Browed Finches hopping around us as we had our picnic. Unfortunately none of them came close enough for a photo. By then the shadows were making it too dark for good photography. (Click on the names of the birds to see photos taken elsewhere.)
Old Man Lake, south of Robe, South Australia
Even though the light was failing as we finished our picnic, I managed several good photos of the reflections on the still water of the lake.
A short winter holiday
Lake Albert, Meningie, South Australia
Last week we went on a five day holiday break to Robe. This small historic seaside town is on the Limestone Coast of the South-East region of South Australia. We left on the Tuesday and returned last Saturday. It turned out to be far from long enough, but five days is better than none. We are currently planning a longer break this coming September.
On our way we stopped for lunch near the southern shore of Lake Albert in the small farming community of Meningie. The day was wild and windy, with scudding showers and it was bitterly cold. As a consequence of the cold and the wet conditions we ate our picnic lunch while sitting in the relative warmth of the car. You can read more about this picnic and some of the difficulties we experienced with the wind in the article called “It was a dark and stormy day” on my Birding Blog.
Lake Albert, Meningie, South Australia
As we progressed further south the wind became wilder and the showers heavier and more frequent. I normally do not drive during the day with the car heater on, but this was an exception. We travelled via the seaside town of Kingston passing Larry the Lobster, a giant replica of a lobster near a service station.
On arrival in Robe mid-afternoon we settled into The Salt House, the house we had rented for the duration of our stay. The wind was still bitter late in the afternoon, so we didn’t bother going for a walk, preferring to stay indoors and read. In the evening we watched the DVD version of the movie Pride and Prejudice.