bobmcgee

Cygnet Bay …

We got home to Broome. I heaved a sigh and settled into a torpor.

There is a limit to how much torpor I can do. So the van was rolled out again for a short expedition up the Dampier Peninsula. Broome is on a little peninsula hanging, – like a little boy’s tossel, off a big peninsula. The big peninsula is named for William Dampier (1651-1715), the first English man to explore Australia. In January 1688 his little ship the Cygnet was careened near the tip of the peninsula.

Off to the east of Cygnet Bay is King Sound with Derby near the southern end, an area famous for it’s 11 meter tides. The other blue stuff on the chart is the Indian Ocean. Highway 1 comes up from Perth on the left hand side of the map then curves around and heads east towards the Northern Territory. The country enclosed by the highway is the Great Sandy Desert. The peninsula is not desert and therein lies much of its charm.

Until just a few years ago the road up the peninsula was dirt. It was a great adventure for the tourist in the dry but a nightmare for the aboriginal communities in the wet. It is now a beautiful sealed road. The drive takes you through savanna, a few patches of open grassland and, in places, genuine forest. The blacktop stretches out in front of you fringed by bright red dirt. The dirt gives way to spear grass, some of it twice my height and the trees. Soon the Woollybutts (Eucalyptus miniata) will flower and the scene will go from beautiful to spectacular.

At Cygnet Bay and in other odd places on the peninsula there are patches of semi-deciduous tropical vine forest. That’s quite a mouthful, unpack it if you will or just think – jungle.

This is the western end of the north coast and the western limit of a number of north coast birds. It is still in the Shire of Broome so guess where every Broome birdo worth their salt comes to add Rose-crowned Fruit Dove, Shining Flycatcher and Mangrove Robin to their year list? Pathetic isn’t it? There is a very pleasant campground, a restaurant and a pearl shop. The Fruit Doves can be found conveniently close to the bar, and there are plenty of other birds to find as well.

That’s a hermit crab in the Beach Stonecurlew’s grasp. I don’t know if it would crush the shell or just swallow the lot. It is a ferocious looking beak.

We spent three nights ay Cygnet Bay. On the way home we spent another night at Banana Well.

Broome Time …

The road trip comes safely to its end. The trip meter ticked over to 23,258km. The new van performed admirably. The binoculars feasted on 305 species of bird. It was a hugely enjoyable journey. The final few days looked like this …

Cyclone Errol did eventually fall in line with predictions (not hard for it. Just about every possible scenario had been predicted over the last few days). It had reached category 4 strength but was weakening as it headed for the coast north of Broome. We were bracing for possibly damaging winds and heavy rain but have only had overcast skies, moderate winds and high humidity. The top of the Dampier Peninsula was expected to take the brunt of it. Hopefully it has done little damage there.

It’s good to be home. Now to plan my next road trip.

Darwin …

Having succumbed to the temptation of Pine Creek what’s another 200km? And when it comes to additions to the year’s tally of birds Darwin has a few absolute gimmes.

Darwin is the capital and most populous city of the Northern Territory but still a modest sized town of about 140,000 people. Charles Darwin visited Australia on the Beagle in 1836. In a subsequent voyage (1839) the Beagle visited what would become Darwin. Captain John Wickham named Port Darwin after Charles Darwin long before he became famous. On the origin of species was published in 1859. The name of the city followed in 1911.

I believe Mark Twain made a visit to Darwin and I have read that Charles Darwin was fond of Twain’s writings for bed time reading.

The Overland Telegraph and Pine Creek had a lot to do with Darwin getting off the ground. The telegraph had to reach the coast somewhere. In 1872 gold was discovered in Pine Creek and that somewhere suddenly welcomed a major influx of people.

I have visited Darwin quite a few times and have a well worn track around the birding spots. This is the first time I’ve brought a dog with me and sadly half my regular places do not allow dogs. Add to that the persistence of the wet season and a few changes had to be made to the routine. The first afternoon saw a storm deliver 35mm of rain in about 20 minutes followed by another 25mm over night. Nonetheless the list was made to grow and a few nice photos have followed over the last few days.

Now we must head for home. Cyclone Errol may or may not complicate the journey to Broome. Predictions vary so greatly they are to all intents and purposes useless. We shall find out.

Pine Creek …

From Tennant Creek we headed north. We spent a night at Mataranka to soak in the hot springs. Hot springs were closed due to flooding. No soak. Shopping in Katherine then a diversion … to Darwin. We stopped two nights en route at Pine Creek.

Pine Creek owes its existence to gold. It’s now a very pleasant stopping point for the traveler heading to Darwin. For the birdo it has the special sauce, Hooded Parrot. These are savanna woodland dwellers restricted to a small part of the Northern Territory. They have declined in much of their range but are secure in protected areas and are not hard to find around Pine Creek. They nest in termite mounds. The boys are far better looking than the girls.

For the aficionado (should that be afflictionado?) Pine Creek also has a very fine sewage treatment plant. Pine Creek is a place where the twitcher can listen to the Yellow Oriole by day (a mellow al ca hol) and the Barking Owl by night (wook wook) and run around wildly with the camera. Paradise.

Letter-winged Kite …

I saw the the gorgeous and rare Letter-winged Kites at the Athelle Outback Hideaway where we stayed the night. Nice place, 28km off the Stuart Highway north of Alice. Naturally I posted the sighting on eBird. I got a phone call today from the owner of the camp ground to tell me that her phone had been running hot and asking for more information.

These birds are usually confined to a small area in central Oz where they enjoy a diet of rodents, especially the Long-haired Rat. If the rat population booms they boom. When the rat population goes bust they wander far afield in search of food and can even turn up at the coast.

If you’re in the neighbourhood click the link above and get out there before they are completely depixelated.

Friends …

Flies can be a problem in Australia, always have been in fact. During the Sydney Test of 1932, the infamous bodyline series (I’m talking cricket for readers in particularly foreign countries) the supercilious Pommy captain was trying to drive away the flies when an Aussie fan nicknamed Yabber called out from the hill “Leave our flies alone, Jardine. They’re the only friends you’ve got …”

In the last few days we’ve driven from Coober Pedy to Tennant Creek crossing the South Australia, Northern Territory border and then the Tropic of Capricorn (not guarded by a goat this time).

And friends we’ve had in abundance. Open the car door and in they flood. In complete contradiction to the principles of osmosis they quickly reach a density of one fly per cubic centimetre inside whilst outside there are probably no more than one per litre. Clearly there is some attractive force in play. I suspect it’s the accumulated residue of a thousand dog farts, or perhaps it’s simply because I haven’t showered lately.

The remedy is to roar off with all windows open. This quickly gets rid of the dumb ones. The smart ones hide in corners until the windows are closed before coming out to invade your nose, your mouth or, their favorite, the corners of your eyes. Under your sunglasses where they can safely ignore your hand swishing past. You chase them around until they land on the window, quickly open it, and with luck out they go. Or they disappear into the back of the car. Initially a few at a time then one by one you win the battle. By about 200km you think you’ve done it. Just in time to change drivers for which you must open the doors.

We’ve camped at a couple of spots along the way and tonight we are tucked away in the spinifex just outside Tennant Creek. This morning we found a trio of Letter-winged Kites, a tick for Gayle and this afternoon we encountered some Spinifex pigeons. And I’ve had some success with the camera.

We came through Alice Springs. We had no need to stop. Rain has closed a lot of the minor roads around Alice and the country side from then on was extraordinarily green. There were small flocks of Budgerigars passing all day. With so much water about they will soon be big flocks.

We are still following the line of the Overland Telegraph. News from the rest of the world reached Australia by under sea cable to Darwin and then by telegraph to Adelaide. It was completed in 1872 and served its purpose until the 1970’s. We paused at the Barrow Creek Telegraph Station today, one of only four that are still intact.

Tomorrow the road trip will pass the 20,000km mark and we will rejoin our outward track. The year’s bird list stands at 288.

Never Walk Backwards …

I never seem to visit Farina at New Moon. These shots were taken with a first quarter moon behind me …

Poor old Farina is north of Goyder’s Line and south of the Great Artesian Basin. It had a big problem with fresh water. Once the Ghan was rerouted and the Telegraph fell into disuse it became a ghost town.

Goyder was the Surveyor-General of the then colony of South Australia. In 1865 he made a journey on horseback crossing some 3200km to come up with a line demarcating land suitable for agriculture from land prone to drought. This followed the 10 inch isohyet which Goyder determined mainly by reference to the vegetation. Settlers ignored his advice to their cost – the buildings at Farina are accompanied by numerous abandoned farm houses north of the line.

A number of wells were dug at Farina with minor success. Sixty kilometres north and plenty of water lies just below the surface. The Great Artesian Basin underlies about 22% of the continent .

From Farina we traveled up the Oodnadatta Track to William Creek passing Lake Eyre South and spending the night at Coward Springs. There are quite a few springs along the southern edge of the Great Artesian Basin. As they bubble out of the ground they bring minerals that eventually produce a mound with a small pond on top. If the flow is strong enough a small wetland forms at the base. One can find water birds such as Spotted Crake right out here in the desert. Notable mound springs along the track are Blanche’s Cup and the Bubbler. I photographed a small, so far as I know, unnamed one just north of Coward Springs.

The Oodnadatta north of William Creek was closed to towing vehicles so we made a left turn and headed to Coober Pedy where there are opal mines and spoil heaps dotted across the landscape. A warning sign advised of open holes and sternly admonished the traveler “Never Walk Backwards”.

The road had not been as rough as we had expected. Cober Pedy is on the bitumen, the Stuart Highway. The next few days will be far less exciting than the last few days.

Farina …

The Flinders was as dry as a chip. We took the scenic route through the Parachilna Gorge – not as scenic as Glass Gorge but gentler on the trailer. Then north up the Outback Highway. There was some green pick after Leigh Creek, then some surface water and by the time we pulled into Farina actual grass and even some mud. And by all accounts there’s a lot more of that ahead of us.

This route north brings you face to face with history, John McDouall Stuart followed by the Overland Telegraph, then the Ghan, the birth and death of little towns like Farina. How could you not love this country?

A number of things had conspired to draw people north from Adelaide. As dry as it is, cattle and sheep can be grazed in the hinterland. The railway provided a good way to transport them to market. The telegraph and the railway provided employment. And of course, at the time it was thought that the rain would follow the plough. Plant your crops and the rain would come, a theory promoted by scientists of the day such as the noted American climatologist Cyrus Thomas. The settlement here was founded in 1878 as Government Gums. Its name was changed to Farina to reflect the intention to grow wheat. It grew to reach a peak population of approximately 600 in the late 1800s. It was the rail head for a time. In its heyday, the town had two hotels (the Transcontinental and the Exchange) and an underground bakery, a bank, two breweries, a general store, an Anglican church, five blacksmiths, a school and a brothel. Wild oats were sewn but no wheat was grown. All that remains today are the ruins and the cemetery.

It’s a great camp site and an excellent spot for birding. Inflation has hit, the fee is now $10 per person per night, a 100% increase in 9 years. The bakery has been restored and is in action during the winter months when the camp is busy. At the moment we have it almost to ourselves.

Flinders Ranges …

A few days ago We saw in the day on a friends property in the Victorian Goldfields …

and then headed west passing through Horsham which has grown some silo art since we were last there …

After a couple of nights in the west of Victoria it was on to South Australia and the Flinders Ranges. Matthew Flinders was the first to circumnavigate Australia and was also influential in having the name Australia adopted for good old New Holland. He sailed up into Spencer Gulf in March of 1802 and landed a party that were the first Europeans to encounter the rather spectacular mountain range now named after him.

This little party, two Australians and a Fox Terrior, have spent the day touring around spectacular landscapes and fighting off some spectacular birds. Wilpena Pound is perhaps the most famous spot in the range but we can thoroughly recommend the Glass Gorge route from Blinman to Parachilna and the Morelana Scenic Drive.

Along the way we stopped at the tree where Harold Cazneaux took a photo in 1937 that he titled Spirit of Endurance. It won him numerous prizes in photographic competitions. Unless you are prepared to climb a fence you can no longer stand down in the creek bed where Harold took his photo but I had a go at reproducing the shot. Here is my homage to Cazza …

Tomorrow we head north. Modifications are needed to plan A but according to a very helpful man at the William Creek Hotel we will probably be able to negotiate the southern section of the Oodnadatta Track but will have to divert to Coober Pedy at William Creek. The problem is not so much the flooding but the damage caused by people driving on it when it was wet and plastic.

The Todd River at Alice Springs actually has water in it – it does happen occasionally. While the Tanami is under water! Further modifications to our plan will need to be made in due course.