Warrumbungle National Park - Road trip with Danish visitors - Part 5

Warrumbungle National Park is one of those places that just feels really right from when you first enter the park. Great nature, some of the most spectacular views NSW has to offer, a good selection of wildlife and lovely campsites - all in all an excellent place for a long weekend. The only negative thing I can say about Warrumbungle National Park, is that as a bird habitat it is not different enough from areas much closer to Sydney to support more rare and "exotic" bird species. My Danish visitors were, however, not too concerned about the lack of ticking possibilities and frankly, I enjoyed being able to concentrate on doing some good bushwalking rather than having to stand and examine any scrub or bush that had managed to produce a chirp - lovely to know that there was no chance of the LBB (little brown bird) that had produced the sound would be new on my list. The creature that can get those fresh of the plane Danes fired up is the kangaroo! After nearly six years in Australia, I had forgotten how strangely different these jumping marsupials are compared with the fauna at home. Maybe as a consequence of the new found attention on their behavior, we managed to experience something I have only seen very briefly before, kangaroos fighting each other. Two younger males from a little group of kangaroos were on their back legs circling each other while punching with their front legs and once and a while trying to land a kick from those powerful hind legs.
At first it seemed much like a part of a game, but as it continued it was pretty clear that it was not just for fun and that "the game" would continue till a winner was found. White-winged Choughs greeted us when we returned to the campsite - indeed they greeted us wherever we walked - warning everyone about our arrival. The Leaf-curling Spider below is always a good photo opportunity. Its ingenious way of recycling leaf litter allows it to sit protected while keeping watch over its web. Many other spiders do not dare to be actively hunting during the day, since the roles can easily change and they would become the hunted. Notice how the leaf-curling spider sits with a few of its legs gently placed onto the web, ready to strike as soon as it registers vibrations caused by caught prey. The drive from Gundabooka to Warrumbungle had taken quite a bit of the day and we decided to have an early night, the following day we would do the Grand High Tops circuit, which is best done well rested. We had arrived late at the campsite and had had some difficulty in finding good flat areas for our tents - at least flat areas in safe distance from known snorers. I had, after quite some time, found a great spot away from other tents and had happily pitched my tent. Crawling into my tent that night, my head torch pointed straight down into the ground and I noticed a few circular holes with shiny reflections in them .. I had apparently camped in the middle of a spider colony! I was unlikely to find a better spot for my tent in the darkness and the action packed dirt just outside my tent gave a fantastic opportunity for playing around with my macro lens (the Sigma 150mm f/2.8) trying to get focus (and flash) on the spider sitting approximately 5 to 10 centimeters deep in its burrow .. It took quite a few attempts before I got the one above.

Gundabooka National Park - Mulgowan Aboriginal Site - Road trip with Danish visitors - Part 4

Back at Dry Tank campground after an eventful day, it was pretty clear that we were all up for a less stressful afternoon. Outback summer hiking is pretty demanding and we all had that good honest feeling of having had a bit of a workout. After spending a few hours leaned back in a camping chair only managing to get a photo of a curious Common Bronzewing and discussing the fine art of managing your water ration while hiking - should you drink it all in the beginning to save weight up the hill or is there a hint of sense in keeping a few milliliters for the last three hours of the walk? - Both tactics had been tested that morning with various success! :-) Finally, we were ready to explore a little again and took the car to Mulgowan Aboriginal Site, close to the entrance of Gundabooka national park. Water is life in the outback and if there is water there will be signs of life. Mulgowan is such a site, walking along the path you only slowly realize that you are brought into a very shallow gorge. Water has over time carved a strip through the rock and left a little oasis, where plants, animals and humans have been able to find shadow, shelter and reliable drinking water. It is in no way an impressive majestic gorge, but considering the dry sandy landscape surrounding it, you understand the importance of the place. The caves bordering the gorge display a good selection of Aboriginal rock art and we saw significantly more wildlife surrounding the site, than we had seen hiking across the dry plains during the scorching midday sun .. those kangaroos seems to understand water ration managing and Australian weather much better than a gang of Danish tourists! Bird life was not as good as I had hoped for. The most likely reason is that a wetter Australia allow the birds a much wider selection of places to drink, therefore they are not forced to all journey to those secure waterholes that so many birders take advantage of at sunrise and sunset in the dry outback. Abundance of water allows life to flourish and spread, but strangely enough it also makes it harder to see those hard to find species at their usual secure habitats. After a good solid day we could all sleep. Early next morning I took the macro lens for a little trip to the bush toilet. The humidity generated in those bush dunnys attracts an excellent selection of exciting creatures, and this morning was not different. Highlight was the close-up of the Mantis above. After a few days of outback loveliness the part of our little party that had the joy of sharing a tent were quite adamant that any change of a close encounter with some water and a bathroom without Mantises would be appreciated. Having seen some red dust it was time to see what else NSW had to offer and I decided, that Warrumbungle National Park was just the right place to setup camp for the remaining part of our journey.

Gundabooka National Park - Road Trip with Danish Visitors - Part 3

Summit day! Not too bad using a day off climbing an outback mountain. I had done it before and I can promise that I would love to do it again. After a great nights sleep we got up, had some porridge, filled the water bottles and the fresh-of-the-plane Danes had to use some time getting their virgin skin covered in a protective layer of sunscreen. While all that rubbing was going on, I gave a little 101 on how to walk in the bush, what species of animals we were likely to encounter and that we would not see. I used quite a bit of energy explaining that we would not(!) encounter snakes and therefore we very perfectly safe walking through high grass and scrubby bush. I think, I even managed to state that seeing a snake under these conditions would be as lucky as winner the big one in Lotto .. after approximately 100 meters of walking the little fella below tried to cross the path in front of us. According to my previous statement it could obviously not be a snake - that would be too lucky - so I mentioned that there was a good chance of it being a legless lizard ... having had a bit of time looking at photos and a visit to the the website for the Atlas of NSW Wildlife, I must admit that Gundabooka is inhabited by two types of snakes with black heads, the Monk Snake and the Mallee Black-headed snake, my best guess is that our little friend is a juvenile of the latter. Crossing the scrubby flats is warm and tedious work, but the reward is well worth it, as soon as the landscape start rising the bushes and trees disappear and you start climbing Mount Gundabooka. There is no well defined path to follow and if you get to eager and try to gain high too fast, you are likely to be find yourself stuck in a dead end having to backtrack, but as long as you take it easy and just follow the flow of the landscape it is an easy climb. Taking your time on the way up gives you the possibility of observing how plants, insects and animals change as you leave the grassland below and get some rock under food. The views change as well! What a lovely way to spend time with some good friends! Sitting on a big rock in the middle of nothing, with wood swallows circling around you, skinks curiously peaking out from their small caves and a wedge-tailed eagle hovering high above trying to spot dinner or just out stretching its wings. The raw landscape of Gundabooka national park and the views from the mountain makes it one of my absolute favorite national parks in Australia. If you live in Sydney and have visitors flying in, that are willing to (and capable of) doing a good hike/climb, I think Gundabooka is their best chance of getting a feel of what the Australian outback is about .. unless you splash out and fly.

Gundabooka National Park - Road Trip with Danish Visitors - Part 2

Next stop was Gundabooka National Park, one of my absolute favorite national parks in NSW. Back in 2009 I visited a very dry Gundabooka with the Amoores and was immensely impressed; 1,2,3,4. In 2010 I had planned to visit again during my drive north to Bowra station, but Gundabooka was flooded by torrential rain and I could not enter! This time around I had heard that the Bourke region had had a fair amount of rain and I was looking forward to see a much greener desert. Gundabooka is far enough inland to have the feel of proper outback and still it is reachable from Sydney within a good solid day of driving, or as we did, easily reached from Capertee Valley with some of the day to spare. The Australian outback did indeed given us a very rare display of lush green colors and a feel of life that I have never seen as strong before. Despite of us doing our journey midday we managed to see lots of wildlife along the road, indeed it got a bit of stressful with hordes of goats being attracted to the green grass growing along the road and not showing great respect to the traffic rules. I ended up sitting with a food ready on the break and no time to see what type of woodswallows it was darting around up above the treetops. Soon after leaving the bitumen we got ourselves the first great nature sighting - A Varanus Gouldii walked across the road in front of us, with as little respect for traffic laws as the goats had displayed. What a great spot! Great to show my Danish companions a good size proper reptile and good for me to see a monitor that was not a Varanus Various. Red dust all over, some scrubby mulga and mulga ants - Dry Tank camping ground always delivers :-) I had been very careful in keeping this trip pretty luxurious, I had even chosen a campsite sporting a bush toilet, since I was not aware of how accustomed my companions were to camping life. Clearly my efforts were recognized and appreciated ... The cheers would hardly stop after we realized how exceptional good an insect (and insect eating creatures) selection there was to find in the little shed, one of us was so concerned about the well being of the inhabitants that he straight away proclaimed that he would rather die than use the little room ... what a noble way of trying to avoid stressing those small insects! :-) - I am sure the Gehyra variegata Tree Dtella below appreciated the privacy.

Capertee Valley - Road Trip with Danish Visitors - Part 1

A visit by a couple of good lads from back home is always an excellent excuse for an excursion. These lads in particular being keen campers and having a a healthy interest in nature, there was no doubt that we needed to go bush. During their first week in Sydney, I kept working and they could potter around at the beach, loose the first layer of Danish winter skin and cover most of what city has to offer. At the beginning of the second week, we found ourselves in the roaring Magna with that long, shiny, masculine bonnet pointing in the direction of the outback. Capertee Valley was once again the perfect pit-stop for a straight-from-work Sydney departure. Apart from the months of darkest winter Capertee can easily be reached before night fall as long as you get out of Sydney in decent time - and it is advisable, since the drive into the valley is winding, narrow, dark and teeming with wildlife. We arrived in good time, despite of the obligatory bumper to bumper driving across the Blue Mountains - believe it or not, they have been fixing that road all of the years I have been living in Australia - 6 that is. Capertee Valley was firing on all cylinders though, as the sun sets in the west the shadows move longer and the cliff wall comes alive in orange, red and brown. An excellent spot for three hungry Danes to consume some camping tucker. Capertee Valley always delivers on the wildlife front, having used most of the afternoon getting sorted with the tents, dinner and wandering around town, we very left with the (smaller?) creatures of the night. There was a superior selection of insects about and with a fast macro lens, a fully charged flash and someone to help holding the spotlight, I at least had heaps of fun. Highlight of the night happened while we were gathered around the camping table. There we were telling each other the usual good(!) old stories and sorting out all the trouble of the world, when suddenly in the moon light (supported by the faint light from a couple of head torches) a shadow dropped from the roof above us - it was one of the largest huntsman spiders I have ever seen - I think it took first place for both of my friends :-) The huntsman seemed surprised about the attention it received. After having reached the ground it decided to sit still and we managed to get a few photos before we left it to go to bed. I am sure those tent zips where checked more than once that night.
The humidity and light at a campsite bathroom creates an absolute tip top hotspot for a bit of insect photography. The entire food chain is represented from the smallest tiniest flying fluff to larger fluff eating creations ... I am absolutely aware that this is a pretty poor naming efforts, my only defense is that no matter how much I love my insect book, I could not justify to include it in my only 23 kg of luggage when I left Australia - I am sure that it will make it next time around though. Great sleeping in the bush! .. and great waking up there as well, some porridge in the morning and a coffee while the sun rises, pure joy! We still needed quite a few hours of of driving before we would arrive at our furthest away destination - Gundabooka National Park. Early morning at the campsite bathroom we spotted another top predator insect - one of those eating the ones that eat the flying fluff - a praying mantis. What more can you hope for? :-)

Blogging Again :-)

Finally, I feel that I have time for blogging again. Quite a few things have happened over the last half year or so, and I have found myself in a situation of having fantastic exciting things happening all around me and no time to write about them. Luckily, I have managed to take photos of most of the shenanigans and with a Danish winter approaching there will be many dark hours to kill in front of the little computer. Since my last post I have finished my job in Sydney, used 2 months traveling around Australia and moved to Denmark, where I now live and work. Much of my Danish life does, luckily enough, not qualify for the blog, hence I will have more time writing about those amazing two months of exploring Australia. I took close to 15000 photos (14418 to be exact), drove just over 20000 km and had more gnocchi dinners than I will admit. I had snow on the tent on my first night in the Blue Mountains and had a swarm of mosquitoes attaching a month later in Kakadu National Park. I saw the whitest beaches of Australia, the reddest dirt WA has to offer, the darkest green Queensland rainforest and a sky so blue that I sometimes still wonder how I could leave :-) All good, I will get cranking and get some blog posts flying. There will be a few posts before I get to tell about my big trip, hopefully I will be up to date soon. Happy reading and thanks for tuning in - Cheers Allan