A special resident

Eastern Blue Tongue Lizard

Eastern Blue Tongue Lizard

My son and daughter-in-law live in a lovely part of Sydney, the northern suburb of Artarmon. They have an interesting array of birds that visit their garden and the surrounding district. They also have some other resident animals.

The Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard shown in the photo above is a long-term resident of their garden. It is often seen basking in the sun near the front steps of their home. When approached it will scuttle under the bottom step where there is a gap large enough to hide. Not that we are a threat to its survival but I wouldn’t be so sure about all the Laughing Kookaburras that frequent the area.

For more information about Blue-tongue lizards click here.

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, St Ives, Sydney

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney

Our holiday in New South Wales

September 2007

One of the places we wanted to revisit during our stay in Sydney was the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens. These gardens are in St Ives, in the northern parts of Sydney. They abut the Ku-ring-gai National Park, another great place to visit for the wildflowers, birds, bushwalking and picnics.

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney

On arrival we had a picnic lunch in the grounds of the gardens near the Visitor Centre. Two Laughing Kookaburras kept a close eye on our lunch, we kept a close eye on them. We didn’t share any with them. The bird watching was a little slow during our visit but I did see a few good species. I have good memories of a visit seven years ago.

Laughing Kookaburras

Laughing Kookaburras

After looking at the displays in the Visitor Centre we spent several hours wandering the various paths around the gardens. Many of the paths are paved roads making the walking easy. There are many other dirt tracks linking the paved roads and these take a little more care. Some sections are a little steep but most reasonably fit walkers would negotiate them with ease.

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney

While there were quite a few plants in flower for us to admire and photograph, it was a little disappointing. We estimated that we were about three to five weeks too early for the main spring flowering time. Despite this, we still enjoyed our time there. In fact we spent so much time in the gardens we ran out of time to visit the nearby national park. We will leave that for our next visit.

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney

Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Gardens, St Ives, Sydney

Images of Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Our holiday in New South Wales

September 2007

Today I have included more images of the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens. These gardens are in the blue Mountains west of Sydney.

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Click on any photo to enlarge the image.

See more photos on my photo gallery here.

Going botanical – more about Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Our holiday in New South Wales

September 2007

Yesterday I wrote about our visit to Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens. These gardens are in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. These extensive gardens are landscaped into the side of the mountain. The walking tracks, however, are not too steep. In fact many of the walking tracks are suitable for wheelchairs.

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

The gardens also include a restaurant, bookshop and visitor information centre. We didn’t try out the food but the bookshop stocks an extensive range of book, cards, paintings and other items related directly to things botanical.

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Going botanical – Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Our holiday in New South Wales

September 2007

One of the places we wanted to visit during this holiday was the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens in the Blue Mountains north west of Sydney. On the drive from Lithgow to the gardens we had driven through some quite heavy rain showers. It was looking gloomier by the minute, so when we arrived we armed ourselves with umbrellas expecting the worst. It never rained a drop while we were there.

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens, NSW

During our visit I was on the lookout for birds, especially those I hadn’t seen on the trip to that point. I chased a beautiful Superb Fairy-wren around some bushes but he was too slick for me, constantly hopping along the ground. I was also pleased to see some White-browed Scrubwrens but the photos didn’t turn out. They are also fast movers and hard to focus on. I heard an Eastern Whipbird but couldn’t find him in the undergrowth.

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens

Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens