3 nights in the midwest, 2018
Over the Spring Equinox weekend we went to the Blues for the Bush festival at the Australian Bush Heritage's Charles Darwin Reserve.
As it was almost just across the road (Great Northern Highway), we had booked to spend the first night at the Australian Wildlife Conversatory's 1,300km2 Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary. But as we had the whole place to ourselves, with fireplace and firewood, we stayed another night there. Both properties have very high diversity of life as they lie on the edge of a north south climate divide.
We had driven up with Deidre from number 1 who has a sizeable 4WD. While access to the campsite is available to 2WD, going anywhere else requires 4WD (or mountain bikes). We got there late afternoon and had the tents up around dusk.
The camp site is well equipped!
21/09/2018
Friday was a short '4WD' drive out to Mushroom rocks with a walk out to Red Dunes, along a modest section of the feral proof fencing. This is a cat and fox proof, electrified and some 43km long costing $2 million fence protecting an area of around 7,800 hectares and installed just a few years ago. Australian Wildlife Conservancy is planning to release such raries as Bilbies and Numbats into this area, while the Greater Stick Nest Rat, Woylie and Red Tailed Phascogale are currently being reintroduced.
Nearby, we heard this Pallid Cuckoo on a dead branch of a York Gum, quite common.
Despite a cold night, it was over 30, so we took it easy.
Susanna and Deidre at Mushroom Rocks, and a closeup of a tiny succulent on the river bed.
The 'river' flows into Lake Moora, a rather large saltlake that borders the eastern side of the property.
Back to camp for a late lunch then a walk out and along Quartz Ridge and then across the valley to the hill opposite on the Homestead Ridge Walk.
View looking south above, and the view of the lake looking east, below.
Suz at the top of Quartz Ridge (Photo by Deidre)
Just past the road to the fence, Suz heard a noise and discovered this dragon.
Just 20m further on, I spotted this quite rare Western Spiny Tail Skink.
We arrive at the 'Tour Ends' sign not long before sunset, the view looking north.
22/09/2018
On the way out on the Saturday, we stopped just past the Research Station for a walk before heading out to Charles Darwin Reserve and the festival. The research station that was just a artist's impression on a 2014 issue of AWC's Wildlife Matters, now exists and houses eight researchers all year round.
Of course, we are in a wildflower area during peak season after an exceptional winter. And the wreath flower . . . was all along the road to the Charles Darwin Reserve.
We booked ourselves into a birdwatching tour for 1 hour to be followed by a 2 hour bus tour of the property for Sunday morning. We got out a number of times, and managed my first sighting of a cockatiel in Austalia.
Just about the last to leave, we continue east to Perenjori before heading south, through the middle of the very salty Lake Monger.
These funny looking nuts appeared on some of the bushes along the road aroudn Watheroo, some kind of Hakea?
We took the lesser Bindoon-Moora Road south of Moora. Last photo, from when we drove past Betts Nature Reseve as the sun went down and the mosquitoes came out.
