Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
No Comments »17th October, 2011; Category: Botanic Gardens, Holidays, Parks and Gardens, Plants, Sydney
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Sydney Trip June 2011
On our way home from visiting family in Sydney earlier this year we stopped for a short break in the Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens, just a short detour from the main road through the city. We only stayed long enough to have a quick bite to eat, a refreshing cuppa and to have a brief look at some of the flowers blooming in the gardens. Yesterday I showed some of the photos I took; today I add a few more, including some beautiful grevilleas.
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Sydney Trip June 2011
On our way home from visiting family in Sydney last June our route took us through the provincial city of Wagga Wagga. Except for one occasion we have generally driven straight through the city on our way to Sydney, or on our way home. On one occasion we did stay over one night but didn’t see much of the city. We must rectify that someday and really investigate this wonderful place.
Several times we have stopped for a meal or a short break, usually heading for the botanic gardens which are a short two minute drive from the main route through the CBD. On this occasion it was getting late in the afternoon and was very cold, but we decoded to stop for a cuppa anyway. we also needed a toilet break, and to change drivers.
Despite the late hour I was able to get a few quick photos of some of the plants and flowers in bloom. despite it being mid-winter there were some highlights which I will show today and tomorrow.
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Wagga Wagga Botanic Gardens
Lameroo, South Australia
Lake Roberts, Lameroo, South Australia
Earlier this year my wife and I drove from our home in Murray Bridge in South Australia to Sydney in New South Wales. We were going there to play with our precious grandson – oh, and see our son and daughter in law. On our first day of travelling we left early and reached Lameroo in the Murray Mallee region of eastern South Australia.
We stopped at our favourite place on the edge of town at Lake Roberts. Here we had morning tea and a cuppa. The sunshine was lovely but the breeze was bitterly cold. I managed a few photos of the local birds before we headed east again. We had a great distance to cover before bed time.
Grain silos, Lameroo, South Australia
Lameroo is a small town in a prominent farming region. The main agricultural pursuits are wheat and barley crops with potatoes grown at nearby Parilla. Many farmers also run sheep and cattle on their farms.
After leaving Lameroo we continued driving for about an hour and half before finding a convenient roadside parking area where we stopped to have a picnic lunch. There was a interesting patch of scrub next to the car park, complete with a short walking trail featuring a good range of local native flora (see photo below). This was of particular interest to my wife but the bird life was keeping a low profile and rather quiet so I didn’t get a long list species seen in this location.
Roadside walking trail between Lameroo and Ouyen
Edithburgh Nature Reserve
No Comments »27th June, 2011; Category: Birds, Botanic Gardens, Holidays, Parks and Gardens, Photos, Plants, Yorke Peninsula
Eucalyptus erythrocorys (red-capped gum), Edithburgh Nature Reserve
On the last morning of our recent holiday on the Yorke Peninsula we stopped for about an hour to wander through the Edithburgh Nature Reserve. This reserve, set up and maintained by a local community group, has been a focus of ours every time we visit the small coastal town. The reserve is at the western end of the main street and is open at all times to the public. Several excellent gravel paths suitable for wheelchairs meander through the reserve.
The reserve is not great for checking out a wide range of Australian Native Plants which interest my wife, it is also a good place within the town to see many of the local bush birds. Being only about 500 metres from the coast it is also possible to record a few sea birds flying overhead. My brother in law used to live opposite this park so we know it and its inhabitants quite well.
Apart from the birds I also enjoy the challenge of taking photos of wildflowers. I’ve dedicated this post to the plants in flower that we saw.
Calothamnus quadrifidus (one-sided bottlebrush), Edithburgh Reserve
Grevillea flower, Edithburgh Nature Reserve
Hakea laurina, Edithburgh Nature Reserve, Yorke Peninsula
Edithburgh Nature Reserve, Yorke Peninsula
Captivating correas
Correas growing in the dunes at Marion Bay, South Australia
Whenever I go out birding, or when we are travelling out in the country and my wife is with me, I keep one eye on the birds and the other on the vegetation. Being a little cross-eyed like that probably means I miss a few plants or birds and sometimes nearly step on venomous snakes. Joking aside, I once had a red-bellied black snake crawl over my boot while checking out a birding spot. I swear that my feet didn’t touch the ground for at lest five metres!
On our recent visit to Yorke Peninsula here in South Australia we were on the lookout for flowering plants of any description and especially these delightful bell shaped correas shown in the photos. We were not disappointed and saw plenty. The photos on this post are all in a small area on the sand dunes at Penguin Point near Marion Bay.
Correas growing in the dunes at Marion Bay, South Australia
Correas growing in the dunes at Marion Bay, South Australia
Correas growing in the dunes at Marion Bay, South Australia
Coastal vegetation in the dunes at Marion Bay, South Australia