A blue winged kookaburra.
Palm trees that have been scorched by fire.
El Questro Gorge.
Oliver hiking and climbing in.
Four wheel drive country.
A pair of brolgas.
A huge boab in our campground.
An agile wallaby.
Thursday, September 15th.
We
got up early as usual and had a cereal and toast breakfast. When I
went to the showers I saw a blue winged kokaburro which are a
different variety than the ones on the east coast. These are the
largest of the kingfisher family.
Then
we loaded up in the truck and drove to Zebedee Springs. To get to it
we had to take a short walk in through a lovely gorge. When we got
there it was really small and the water was only warm and there
wasn't much room so I walked back out again.
We
drove to El Questro Gorge for another walk through yet another
beautiful gorge. As we drove there I saw some big boab trees and
asked Damien to stop on the way back.
This
hike was long, about 10kms return, and involved a lot of walking on a
rocky river bed and climbing over rocks and wading through water to
cross the creek from side to side as we went in. There seemed to be
some drama with Tomo, and since I like to walk by myself to enjoy the
solitude and the atmosphere and to maybe see any wildlife, I left
before everyone else. There were a number of water pools along the
way. Ollie caught up to me
near the end and we made a wrong turn and had to double back, but we
still got there before anyone else. The final pool and waterfall were
beautiful and we quickly jumped in because we were hot. We all swam
for a while before returning. Damien only made it half way with his
crutch because of the rough terrain.
When
I got in the truck I reminded Damien about the trees but he forgot as
I was not in the front. When we got back we made lunch at camp and
then had the afternoon to ourselves.
I
decided to walk to the trees by myself. I started out going out of
camp the wrong way and went past part of the small grass airstrip
where some people are able to fly in. Then I retraced my steps and
started on the right path. I photographed some trees on the property
and then forded the river over the road and saw fish swimming across
the road.
Right
after that I came across two large brolga cranes. They didn't seem
too bothered by me and I watched them as them wandered past. I walked
about 6ks in the 35 degree heat along the dirt road. A couple of cars
going the other way stopped and asked if I was okay as I guess not
many people go for a walk out here. I found a good boab on a side
road and then continued to the cutoff to El Questro Gorge and here I
found the three trees I was looking for. They are truly beautiful,
majestic and strange looking trees. Unfortunately, since I was here
in the dry season the trees had no leaves and I didn't see any in
bloom. Then I walked back. I hoped to catch a ride with someone but
no cars came. It was amazing walking through the bush by myself
listening and absorbing the outback around me.
When
I got back I drank some cold water and then had a shower. I met my
German friends and we went to the bar for a couple of happy hour
beers. I showed them some photos of the day and the cottage. Then we
went back to the dark campsite to have an amazing roast lamb dinner
made on an open fire with carrots, potato and pumpkin all done in
tinfoil in the embers.
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