Trevor's Travels

A new town, a new park and a new bird

2 Comments »14th September, 2007; Category: Birds, Holidays, National Parks, New South Wales

Cocoparra National Park, central New South Wales

Our holiday in New South Wales

September 2007

Our destination on day two of our holiday was Lake Cargelligo. The quickest way would have been to go from Hay straight to Rankins Springs, but we had travelled that route several time before. We’d never been to Griffith so we took a slightly longer route. This route also took us past the Cocoparra National Park which we had missed on our previous trips in this area.

We stopped briefly in Griffith to refuel. The size of this large rural centre surprised me. It has a population of over 24,000 and looked interesting enough for a return visit in the future. With the Cocoparra NP only 25km to the NE it would be good to be based there for a few days. After refueling we headed out towards the national park. We had an enforced stop for five minutes at a red stop light in the middle of nowhere. Roadworks can do that to you.

On arrival at the Cocoparra National Park for the very first time we stopped to survey the map at the entrance and then we chose Jackâ€™s Creek picnic ground. Unfortunately we only had time to visit one spot in the park. As we drove into the picnic area we were immediately greeted by a family of White-winged Choughs, a group of noisy Apostlebirds and a Peaceful Dove calling somewhere nearby. The Choughs were feeding young in a nest in the car park. The Apostlebirds objected to our visit and the Striated Pardalotes just kept on their incessant calling in the tree above.

Cocoparra National Park, central New South Wales

We went for a walk along a walking trail for about an hour. This took us through a rocky gully with sandstone rocks being the feature. There were enough plants flowering to keep my wife happy and enough birds singing and flying around to keep me happy. I was delighted to see a Speckled Warbler for the very first time. It is always good to add a new species to my life list (a list of all the birds I’ve ever seen).

After our walk we had afternoon tea and then headed off towards our destination for the night.

Wildflowers at Cocoparra National Park

A Birdcage with the birds on the outside

No Comments »13th September, 2007; Category: Birds, Holidays, New South Wales, Picnics

Our holiday in New South Wales

September 2007

On day two of our holiday in New South Wales we drove from Balranald to Hay in the morning. When I say “to Hay” that is strictly not true. We actually drove “past” Hay not stopping at all. The main highway we were on skirts the southern edge of this large rural town on the Murrumbidgee River. We had no need to stop. This lovely town serves a vast tract of grazing and farming land in the western part of the state of New South Wales.

Birdcage Rest Area, east of Hay NSW

As we drove on from Hay the countryside started to change. We had driven across the saltbush covered Hay Plains earlier in the day where there are few trees and bushes. Now we were seeing taller trees, especially along water courses.For lunch we stopped at the oddly named Birdcage Rest Area, shown in the photo above. There were many birds in the trees all around, but I didn’t see any cage.

Yellow Rosella

For our picnic lunch we made some delicious sandwiches using the tailgate of the Mazda Bravo as a table. The folding chairs came out from the back and we enjoyed the birdlife all around us as we ate. My attention was divided between eating my lunch, watching the birds with the binoculars and taking photos of the birds. Somehow I managed to juggle all three tasks without spilling any food.

Some of the birds seen include Laughing Kookaburras, White-winged Choughs (feeding young in a mud nest (see photo below), Apostlebirds, Yellow Rosellas (see photo above), Willie Wagtails and Galahs.

It was another wonderful lunch break.

White-winged Choughs' nest

To make Hay with the sun shining

2 Comments »12th September, 2007; Category: Holidays, New South Wales

Our trip through New South Wales

September 2007

On day two of our holiday in New South Wales we travelled from Balranald across the unbelievably flat Hay Plains. The road here is quite straight for long distances and very flat in all directions. The sun was shining brightly but the wind was bitterly cold.

Hay Plains, western New South Wales

At one point my wife asked me to stop so that she could photograph some of the plants and wildflowers on the side of the road. I took the opportunity to do a little birding. At first glance this area may seem to be birdless, but on closer inspection is is alive with many interesting birds. Twice we saw Emus, one of them with about a half dozen half grown chicks in tow. We also saw many raptors – birds of prey like eagles, hawks and kites.

Hay Plains, New South Wales

This place may seem rather desolate and a lonely place miles from anywhere. In reality it is a very busy highway. We later stopped for a half hour at a roadside parking bay complete with public toilets. The provision of such stops along our major highways has improved long interstate travels over recent years. While we were stopped over fifty cars, trucks and motorbikes passed us. This is one of two major routes from Adelaide to Sydney and is shorter that the other route through Broken Hill.

The meandering Murrumbidgee

No Comments »11th September, 2007; Category: Holidays, New South Wales

Murrumbidgee River, Balranald, NSW

On our trip through New South Wales last week we stayed one night in a cabin in the Balranald Caravan Park. The town of Balranald (population about 1200) is situated on the banks of the meandering Murrumbidgee River, one of the major rivers that flow into the Murray River.

The caravan park is at the south eastern edge of town and the bank of the river forms one boundary of the park. The photo above shows a part of the river next to the park. The photo below was taken in the middle of the park. It shows the lift section of the historic old bridge that once spanned the river here. One section of the bridge had to be lifted to allow the old river boats to pass under it. A new higher bridge has recently been built.

Balranald Caravan Park, NSW

Travelling from Lameroo to Balranald

No Comments »10th September, 2007; Category: Holidays, New South Wales, Victoria

Balranald Caravan Park, NSW

On the first day of our 2007 holiday in New South Wales and Victoria we travelled from home in Murray Bridge, South Australia, through to Lameroo where we had a picnic lunch. After lunch we travelled on into Victoria. We drove through the small towns of Murrayville, Underbool, Ouyen and Manangatang, where we stopped briefly to refuel. Several times we stopped on the side of the road for my wife to take photos of native plants flowering. I took the opportunity during these short breaks to take a short walk and to observe the birds along the way.

At Tooleybuc we crossed a very narrow bridge over the Murray River. This bridge allowed only one vehicle at a time to cross. Fortunately the town is rather small and the traffic is never heavy, so it would be rare to have to wait more than half a minute for the bridge to clear. Crossing the river meant we were now in the state of New South Wales. That meant we had been in three states of Australia in about three hours.

We pressed on towards our destination for the night. Originally I had planned to reach Hay by sunset, but our late start in the morning meant we would be about a hundred kilometres short of there. We settled for a cabin in the caravan park of the small river town of Balranald. This park is right next to a busy interstate highway. The heavy trucks roaring past all night were a little disturbing, far noisier than what we are used to at home. Despite that we managed a reasonable night’s sleep.

One disturbing sight just before reaching Balranald was a dead kangaroo on one side of the road and a dead Wedge-tailed Eagle on the other. This is the largest of our birds of prey and a magnificent bird to see soaring on high. This unfortunate bird must have been feeding on the carcass of the kangaroo and hadn’t flown away in time to avoid being hit.