To Loxton via Banrock

Had a great day today. Got to Banrock Station for lunch which was delicious, with a glass of wine and then a walk through the wetlands, which now have a lot of water. Last time we were there, they were dry.

Back to Loxton by about 4.30.....easy peasy ! Just a light meal of leftovers tonight for the two pigs.

Devastated last night when couldn’t have the much anticipated whiting at the Port Augusta pub.....the blighters were closed ! Had to settle for Malaysian noodles.

A lot of water about, but none on the roads so far and not many water birds. They have so many places of interest to choose from.

We came to the Riverland via Crystal Brook and the crops are looking just fantastic. This is beautiful country, at present anyway, and the farmers must be hoping for an absolute belter of a harvest.

Horsham tomorrow, floodwater permitting.

Father's Day in Coober Pedy/Port Augusta

On the road we passed a sign

..no planes in sight.

Port Augusta seems to be the place for celebrations! My birthday on the way up, now Father’s Day on the way home. We didn’t have many stops coming from Coober Pedy so that we would have time for a coffee and a walk at the Arid Botanical Gardens– our favourite spot here!


A delightful walk – a lot greener and more flowers than when we were here 17 days ago. There were Sturt Desert Peas along the driveway...spectacular. We recognised more of the trees this time, having seen them at Newhaven and in Alice.

The White Winged Wren was in the usual area and Dad spent a long time trying to find a Pipit’s nest...he was unsuccessful and he said he’s tried many times before without success!

A Nankeen Kestrel was sitting on a post along the path just as we started,

and we saw White Browed Babblers, Singing Honeyeaters, Spiny Cheeked H/eaters, Greenies, no Mulgas this time.

Its strange to think that we were in Alice Springs for Father's Day 32 years ago! Dad was 38 then!

Looking forward to a fish dinner at the pub – it was delicious last time!

Reflections as we head home.

Most of the road from Erldunda to Coober Pedy is very barren...

and is in stark contrast to Newhaven.

As we near the end of our time in the arid lands, we feel so glad that we had the opportunity to visit Newhaven after such a wet season, when the flowers and birds were in abundance, and the freshwater and salt lakes have been filling. Lake Bennett is vast – 100sq km!

It is amazing the way the ephemeral plant populations explode after the rains, and populations of birds then explode, presumably as a result of increased food, water and breeding opportunity. The total number of bird species on our list for Newhaven was 80+ and the total including Alice was 90+.

Even along the road in areas where it is very barren, the grasses grow because of the run-off from the road. This green feed attracts cattle (no fences in many sections of the highway) and results in rather a lot of dead cattle on the roadside verges – probably hit by road trains which are 53.5m long! We were surprised that there are very few kangaroos in these habitats – a few Euros and wallabies in the rocky areas - and subsequently only a couple of road kills.

The Todd River in Alice only had a few puddles in it. Apparently it flows on an average of 2.5 times per year, but in 1974 it flowed for 300 days!

The drinking water in Newhaven is absolutely beautiful and is in abundance. It is taken from an aquifer in calcrete, only about 3 m under the ground. The water here at Coober Pedy is desalinated bore water and is also beautiful drinking water.

No way we would spend time walking around the town, hence we are catching up on phone messages and the blog!

Back in Alice Springs

Alice Springs is no longer the small town it was 32 years ago!
It has a shopping centre and is a real tourist town in every way. The streets are neat and attractive and all the visitor attractions are well organised, with lots of interesting information available.

The walkway to the Ghan is a Cultural walk - it has information boards all about Alice Springs - history, explorers, geology, plants and animals etc

First up, we had dramas with the computer crashing, but it turned out ok thanks to Rob B's help!; then we blew a tyre in a car park and spent a few hours trying to organise a replacement.. unavailable in Australia at the moment! Final solution is to go home without a spare, and RACV will rescue us if necessary!

We had a lovely lunch at the Olive Pink Gardens and then took our picnic tea to Emily Gap...a beautiful spot and the stars are unbelievable! A nice way to end the day.

It was rather hot yesterday and windy at times; we went to Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm

                                                picnic lunch at Standley Chasm

 then took our bbq etc for dinner at Jessie Gap...what a perfect spot!

Surrounded by beautiful trees along the dry creek bed and a background of the bright red rock of the Gap.

There were Western Bower birds feeding on the native figs, and Budgies were nesting in River Red Gum hollows.

Rob S went home today, and we head off in the morning. What a great holiday!

Newhaven

Newhaven was absolutely fantastic!

We loved every minute of our time, and the weather was perfect except for the day after we arrived, when it was drizzling all day. Although the temp was about 15 to 19, it was really sunny and warm a lot of the time..the sun is so hot.

Newhaven is 360km NW of Alice...the Tanami track was sealed almost to our turn off (unexpected) and it was about as straight as a road could be. Some way along the dirt road, we started to see so many birds flying off the side of the road and also there were lots of wildflowers so there was great anticipation of things to come!  Some sections were corrugated, some deep sand and a few parts with water to go through but quite ok.

Although the camp itself is very basic, it has one area with hot showers and the other (where we went) with a cold shower and composting toilets.

There are 2 volunteer rangers who do a month stint at a time, and 2 managers who are employees of Australian Wildlife Conservancy..impressive young people with a very professional, scientific approach to its management.

AWC took over the management from Birds Australia.

There is also a man there who has a dog that is a dingo/kelpie cross...not sure of his role, but he was very entertaining!

 He said one day that he and "Sandy" have a cup of coffee together - the dog has a small cup with milk and 2, and that he had to give him the frisbee to play with because he had spilled the coffee !

When he goes to town, he and his dog swap their neck wear - the dog wears a bow tie and the 'dog man' wears the collar..he said it is rather confronting for the people in Alice!!
He lives in an OKA, which is an enormous military vehicle.

Bird highlights:
On the way in, we had terrific views of Crimson Chats bathing in a puddle in the middle of the road and subsequently we saw them many times.
The Diamond Doves were everywhere we went, in big numbers...also Budgies and Zebra Finches and Woodswallows. We saw Pied and Black Honeyeaters, Cockateils.

Birds of Prey highlights- Black Breasted Buzzards; Brown Falcons sitting above the camp each day

Pallid cuckoos were abundant along "Cuckoo Road"! and also in other places.
Papa went to have pee right at camp and disturbed a Button Quail which, strangely, didn't fly off....then he saw little babies!
The Pied Butcher bird sings all night - in bright moonlight...Rob S said it sings the Muppet song!!

Animals:
We saw lots of camels, (which they are trying to control as they do quite a lot of damage,) and a dingo.

There were Military Dragons in the sand among the spinifex, and we also saw a pale bluetongue lizard and a spotted snake.

Do you know whaat made this track?

A python on the side of the road and a gecko resident in the loos!  and, unfortunately, a cat. We went through a swarm of locusts in one area...a bad sign.

Termite mounds are small, and in fact most are subterranean in this area.

Flowers:
Honey Grevilleas were spectacular as were several other types of Grevillea;

and many different coloursof Eremophila

 and a Striped MintBush was often in the rocky areas too

and so many other species!

A hakea

There are wonderful tour notes for several drives through changing landscapes and varying vegetation.

The colours of the rocks and the roads...the flowers and the sky...magic!

A day in Alice

We have these birds around the camp. Can you identify them Davo?

The Robs had  good sightings of White winged wren at the Sewerage works this morning. Also Avocets and Stilts and Black-tailed Godwits and Variegated Wren.

We really enjoyed our visit to Olive Pink Botanical Gardensthis afternoon. We had great views of Cockatiels, and a Western Bowerbird.

Some beautiful flowers and a panoramic view from the top of the hill.
The Holly leafed Grevillea was stunning.

Rob S spotted a wallaby on top of a rocky hill and set off to try to get a better look!

Now we are planning our trip to Newhaven ... apparently it is amazing up there .....excited faces!