Wildflowers, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park
Wildflowers, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, Victoria
Sydney Trip June 2010
On our wanderings through Hattah-Kulkyne National Park I not only had my head held up looking for birds to photograph, I also looked around on the ground – well, below eye level, anyway – for any bushes and trees in flower. My wife spotted this beautiful example of an Atriplex plant (we’re not sure which species), a member of the saltbush family of plants.
It’s a very attractive plant, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Wildflowers, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, Victoria
Hattah-Kulkyne National Park
Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, Victoria
Sydney Trip June 2010
On the last day of our trip home from visiting family in Sydney earlier this year we planned to spend a few hours in one of our favourite places – Hattah-Kulkyne National Park. This park is south of Mildura in far north west Victoria. The park has two predominant habitats: eucalypt mallee scrubland and large eucalypt riverine vegetation around the creeks, river and lakes. The park contains over a dozen ephemeral lakes which fill when the nearby River Murray is full, or in flood. In recent decades the lakes have been artificially allowed to fill.
On this visit we came in from the Mildura, or northern, end. We left the Calder Highway and followed the route of the old highway through the mallee section of the park (see photo above). When a section looked promising for birding, we stopped for morning tea and a spot of birding. (Go to Trevor’s Birding for details.)
Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, Victoria
West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park
Barrenjoey Head from West Head Lookout
On our trip to Sydney earlier this year to visit family we spent an afternoon in the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. We stopped for quite a while at the West Head Lookout where we took in the extensive sights over the Hawkesbury River, Broken Bay, Barrenjoey Head and Pittwater.
We later took a short walk on one of the walking trails but ran out of daylight which is a shame as this is undoubtedly a beautiful part of the greater Sydney area. In fact, where I took these photos is less than an hour by car from the CBD of Sydney.
Click on any photo to enlarge the image.
Broken Bay from West Head Lookout
Broken Bay from West Head Lookout
West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP
West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park
On our trip to Sydney earlier this year we went for a drive from my son’s home to Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. It had been a rainy morning but the sky cleared around lunch time so went headed off, deciding to take a chance on the weather. As we drove north the sky cleared even more and we ended up having a very pleasant visit for the afternoon.
The West Head Lookout gives good views over the Pacific Ocean, parts of the northern beaches area of Sydney as well as the many inlets on this part of the coast.
View from West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP
View from West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP
View from West Head Lookout, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP
A brief visit to Tintinara, SE South Australia
Grain silos at Tintinara, SE South Australia
Last week I was asked to do a quick trip to Tintinara in the upper south east of South Australia. I had to deliver an urgent parcel for the courier company I do some deliveries for on a casual basis. It was a warm day but the clear skies and gentle breeze made it quite pleasant.
After delivering the parcel (on time what’s more) I had a good look around this lovely small town. Usually we just drive straight through on our way to Melbourne or other places in the south east. I had never taken the time to explore the town.
Information Centre and Art Gallery, Tintinara
The tourist information centre (shown above) calls this town “The Heart of the Parks”. Tintinara is centrally located for visiting a range of national and conservation parks in all directions, including the massive Ngarkat National Park to the east of town. Most of these parks have huge stands of mallee vegetation. The most interesting bird that is endemic to the mallee environment is the Malleefowl. Below I’ve inserted a photo of a simulated Malleefowl nesting mound. This display, complete with two metal cut-out models of the bird, is located in front of the Information Centre in the main street of the town. I’ve written more about the Malleefowl and its unique nesting habits on Trevor’s Birding blog here.
Simulated Malleefowl nest, Tintinara, SE South Australia
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