Bushwalk Australia

Hi everyone,
with the last leave days of my current contract, I had the choice between going back to the mallee country, and discovering a region of Australia I've never seen, the South-West part of NSW. What made me choose the latter option was the possibility of renting holiday houses for less than 100 $ a night in winter, with the added bonus of being able to relax in a huge beach or lake house all for myself. The program was simple : explore the national parks of the coast, and a bit of Morton National Park (at first it was supposed to be only the Pigeon House and a glance at Fitroy Falls).

The first day was all about driving from Melbourne to Tathra, so let's skip to the second day. It was pouring rain in the morning and I was really worried, but right before 10 am it stopped and I drove to Ben Boyd NP. I explored it timidly at first, fearing new showers, but the sun pierced and everything was fine. I hadn't the time for long walks, so I decided to explore all the lookouts I could : the lighthouse, city rocks, the pinnacles, Boyd's tower, Haycock Point, Barmouth, and I even had time to throw in the Southern part of Bournda national park, and Mimosa Rocks. I was alone on almost all the walks/lookouts, and the views were great. Being winter, no luck in the reptile department, but many kangaroos and wallabies.

The second day I planned to do the Pigeon House. Although advertised as 3 to 4 hours return, it took me only 2. I guess most experienced walkers would do it in less than 2. It's only a 5 km walk after all, even though it's steep. The views at the summit were great, and it changed my plans a bit : now I wanted to explore more of the Morton area.

In the end of the afternoon, I got to my accommodation near Berringer Lake. Great location, plenty of wildlife. Before sunset, I decided to explore Cunjurong point and Bendalong and that was a great idea. The day was partly cloudy which made it perfect for great photos, I could see the Pigeon House from almost anywhere.

On the third day it was time for Jervis Bay, mainly Booderee NP. I started with the full circuit at Steamers Beach. Although advertised as 5 hours, I thought it would take me less. As it turns out, it took me exactly that time. The heat, the sand, and the constants ups and downs of the track made it quite exhausting I must admit. But the views were great, I spotted 4 or 5 White-Bellied Sea Eagles, the water took all shades of blue, and almost no one was there. In the late afternoon, I had time to explore Murray's Beach, and the Cave Beach area. I was very lucky it was so sunny, but apparently winter isn't that bad around here.

More pictures from that day.

4th day was spent exploring Kangaroo Valley and its surroundings. I liked the feel of this place, very laid back countryside. I did the Three Views Trail, near Tallowa Dam. The book I had, Take A Walk In Southern NSW and the ACT, described 4 lookouts. The 4th one is down an overgrown path marked by a cairn. It's a bit painful to get there, but this is the only lookout showing a view South so I guess it was worth it. The best lookout of the 4, by far, was the closest one to the road, the Lake Yarrunga lookout. Indeed, the other 2 I haven't mentioned are more or less ruined by the view of the dam, while this one isn't. It's almost as good as the Pigeon House lookout and way easier to access. The only trouble with those lookouts is the number of pads at the end of the track, so you don't know where is the best vantage point, you have to find it for yourself. It was a bit hidden for the Lake Yarrunga one (you have to go right between boulders and zig zag down to a cliffs offering clear views) but worth it.

In the evening I decided to camp at Bendeela. It's a great free campground. Flush toilets, numerous wombats and birds, a huge number of grass sites, some views toward the mountains, and the nearby Kangaroo river.

Last day : before the daunting 7 hours of driving back to Melbourne, I decided to explore the Fitzroy Falls area. It's a really impressive waterfall I have to say, and the East Rim walk with its necklace of lookouts is great. To get the best photos of the falls, it's not a good idea to do it in the morning though, I couldn't get a decent shot. I also met with a friendly lyrebird on the track.
I drove back through Bundanoon and Tallong, the latter having a couple of great lookouts reachable by car.

All in all my first trip to the area, and a superb journey. Although the beaches were amazing, the star of the show was definitely Morton for me. I can't believe so many backpackers miss it on their trip to the coast between Sydney and Melbourne.

Edit gone wrong

LOvely part of the world nice pics

I've just found what the large trees with the red flowers are, they're Australian coral trees ( Erythrina x sykesii ) which apparently are a hybrid not native to Australia, and also found in NZ. They make really beautiful flowers. I've only got these : download/file.php?id=23867&mode=view and these : download/file.php?id=23879&mode=view to identify. The first one is found in coastal wet regions from Ben Boyd to Bundalong, and the last one was omnipresent on a walk near Tallowa Dam. Any idea anyone ?

It is quite laid back in the valley, I am glad you enjoyed it here. Morton national park is my favourite in australia, lucky it surrounds me! Those coral trees are are an invasive curse, very hard to get rid of. The lillies are also foreign and are found all along the shoalhaven coastal strip and south. I'll get back to you on the gum, the name escapes me right now, i have tried to grow it from seed collected from that locality but haven't had any luck.

OK thanks. For the lily, I think I've found it: they're Zantedeschia aethiopica, or white calla lilies. They're poisonous though, so I hope native animals don't try to eat them.

Some nice pictures there Hallu.

Very nice pics Hallu. I love the NSW south coast. Was the Euc a mallee? Looks like E. obstans (Port Jackson mallee) to me.

The white flowers in the tourist park are Zantedeschia aethiopica (arum lily). They are a bit of a weed around watercourses.

[quote="neilmny"]Some nice pictures there Hallu.[/quote
+1, especially the first pic....nice colours.

Thx I was very lucky with the weather and the light. A nice mixture of sun and clouds, almost no rain in those 6 days. Only the view at the top of Pigeon House would have benefited from more light.

Pteropus : the flowers indeed suggest the Port Jackson Mallee (it wasn't a big tree but a shrub, so yeah probably a mallee), but the buds looks like nothing I can find on the net, strange.

Try Eucalyptus burgessiana perhaps. Brooker and Kleinig classify E. obstans and E. burgessiana together. I think there are just some slight differences in leaf morphology.

I don't know. It seemed pretty common on that trail, here's another picture :

That pic makes it looks more like Corymbia gummifera (redbloodwood). Its hard to tell if the inflorescences are truly terminal or if they are axillary (in leaf axils) and the leaves have just dropped off. Also kinda looks a little snow gum like. Try C. gummifera or E. gregsonia or E. stricta too. That's about the best ideas I have for the moment.
(actually, I think C. gummifera have longer flower pedicels than in these photos)

Although it looks like Eucalyptus gregsoniana as well, it can't be as they open their flowers in clusters of 7 in summer. I believe it is a Eucalyptus obstans ( Port Jackson Mallee) after all, as they flower in winter/spring ( http://www.sydneywater.com.au/SW/your-h ... _DD_050376 ), and the flowers look exactly like that. All the other ones you suggested are close in terms of leaves and buds, but the flowers don't match.

I've also found 3 new ones I can't identify (although the third one is familiar) if you're keen to give it a try. They look easier. The first one was near the coast at Ben Boyd, the second one in coastal shrubs at Booderee, and the last one in a coastal forest at Booderee too.

Yeah, I still thought the euc was most likely obstans. The daisy is Coronidium elatum – paper daisy. It used to be Helichrysum, but I just went to check the spelling and found that the genus has been changed (grrrr taxonomists!). I’m fairly certain that the second plant is Sprengelia incarnata. The third one looks like Synoum glandulosum.

not helichrysum anymore? I agree, damn you taxonomists, i have three paper daisy species on my block in sassafras and it is gonna take years to rewrite my recall of their binomial now...
in regards to you gum, my seed tray labels indicate i keyed it out as a "mallee C. gummifera?" the question mark because it is nothing like the typical Corymbia gummifera specimens that grow in my backyard (which i note looking out the window are not in bloom), i recall the ones i collected seed from had enormous seed cases in comparison