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Hattah-Kulkyne National Park
Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, Victoria
Sydney Trip June 2010
On the last day of our trip home from visiting family in Sydney earlier this year we planned to spend a few hours in one of our favourite places – Hattah-Kulkyne National Park. This park is south of Mildura in far north west Victoria. The park has two predominant habitats: eucalypt mallee scrubland and large eucalypt riverine vegetation around the creeks, river and lakes. The park contains over a dozen ephemeral lakes which fill when the nearby River Murray is full, or in flood. In recent decades the lakes have been artificially allowed to fill.
On this visit we came in from the Mildura, or northern, end. We left the Calder Highway and followed the route of the old highway through the mallee section of the park (see photo above). When a section looked promising for birding, we stopped for morning tea and a spot of birding. (Go to Trevor’s Birding for details.)
Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, Victoria
Emus on parade at Stenhouse Bay
Emus, Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula
On our recent holiday on the Yorke Peninsula we had lunch at Marion Bay, visited the visitor centre of the Innes National Park and then continued on driving through the park near Stenhouse Bay. We stopped many times to admire the scenery, take photos of landscapes and seascapes and check out the bird and plant life.
One species of bird virtually came to us. A small flock of 5 juvenile Emus wandered along the side of the road quite unconcerned that we were only metres away. They are certainly unafraid of vehicles passing by as this happens many times every day in parks like this. They just went about their business finding their lunch.
This group consisted of juveniles probably about 18 – 24 months old. The female Emu lays up to about a dozen eggs in a shallow nest on the ground. The male then incubates the eggs and looks after the young for up to 2 years after hatching. The birds we saw were over half grown and independent of the father, so I’m guessing they’d have to be at least 18 months old.
Emus, Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Emus, Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Kangaroos, Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Western Grey Kangaroo, Pondalowie Bay, South Australia
Just as we were leaving the camping grounds at Pondalowie Bay we came across a small mob of Western Grey Kangaroos right next to the road. Being in the Innes National Park this would be quite a normal sighting. In fact, this group was not at all perturbed by our car just a few metres away as they are quite used to vehicles moving through the park every day. During the summer months vehicles probably pass this way every few minutes.
Various forms of kangaroos and wallabies abound in rural Australian regions (pun intended). They are a hazard to fast moving vehicles on country roads, especially at night when they tend to come out to graze. I have experienced first hand the damage a ‘roo can do to a car with no protective bars. The damage is not only to the car; many hundreds, perhaps thousands of kangaroos and wallabies become road kill statistics every year. Sad but true.
As we drove back to our motel in the dusk that evening I slowed done. I didn’t want to add to those statistics.
Western Grey Kangaroos, Pondalowie Bay, South Australia
Western Grey Kangaroo, Pondalowie Bay, South Australia
Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula
No Comments »19th June, 2011; Category: Beaches, Camping, National Parks, Trip report, Yorke Peninsula
Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Pondalowie Bay on the extreme south-western coast of Yorke Peninsula is favourite destination for campers, tourists and anglers. It is quite remote but the sealed road to Marion Bay and other towns further up the peninsula mean that facilities are not all that distant. Warooka is only about a hour away.
The bay has always been a popular place for people wishing to feast on the abundant fish life in the sea. In fact, although this is all part of Innes National Park, there remains a small fishing village at the bay, the small collection of beach shacks being private dwellings. A short distance back along the access road there are two camping grounds set up by national park authorities. These sites have public toilets but no other facilities, including no electric power or water.
On the day we visited recently we encountered wild gale force winds along the coast and headlands. On the other hand, the camp grounds, although windy, were quite sheltered from the worst of the gusty conditions.
Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula
Cable Bay, Cape Spencer, Yorke Peninsula
Cable Bay and Cape Spencer, Yorke Peninsula
The south coast of Yorke Peninsula features many rugged vistas, ideal for the photography enthusiast like me. Unfortunately the weekend we visited this area recently was wild and windy with many showers. On the afternoon we visited Innes National Park the sky cleared enough for a time to enable a few good shots, including these of Cable Bay and Cape Spencer.
Cable Bay and Cape Spencer, Yorke Peninsula
Near Cape Spencer, Yorke Peninsula