A birdyfull day at the Laverton Creek Estuary.

It’s a glorious late autumn day on Port Phillip Bay.

The Altona wetlands on Port Phillip is one of the 65 RAMSAR listed sites in Australia. RAMSAR sites are critical for supporting wetland and migratory birds around the world.

Today the birds were there in force many feeding up for migration north as the southern winter approaches.

The Pelicans hunting as a pack scooping up the shoals of pilchards in their huge bills.

Egrets were flying in to join the feast.

The Herons were also there for the hunt.

It truly was a very birdifull day to be out by the bay – to be out in nature.

Meanwhile back home summer time ends on a beautiful autumn day – time for bird watching

Summer daylight saving time has ended on the east coast of Australia.

The autumn sun and still  mild days are welcome.

I took my long lens and bicycle and went bird watching on a near perfect day.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

White Faced Heron

Spoonbill

Australian Pelican

Black Swans

And some passing ducks

The Darling River and Lake Mungo

The Murray and Darling rivers converge at Wentworth. These rivers form the Murray – Darling Basin which is an area important for both food production and environmental diversity.

The Murray starts in the Australian Alps near Mount Kosciusko fed by snow melt and Alpine rain. The Darling is fed by the monsoons of northern Australia. In the photo you can see the muddy water of the Darling in the foreground as it mergers into blue water of the Murray.

I camped 20km down stream of the rivers junction on the banks of the Murray.

Beside the Murray River as it slowly rolls south west to the Southern Ocean around 500km away.

In many ways the Murray forms the southern boundary of the Outback or at least the southern east corner of the hot dry lands that are the outback.

I had ridden up from a cultural holiday in Adelaide and this was the first stop on the edge of the outback that would lead me to Mungo National Park (my next stop) then up the Darling to Bourke (previous post).

Leaving the banks of the Murray it was onto the dirt roads to get out to Mungo National Park – A World Heritage area.

It was hot and I was happy to set up my tent under a shady tree

The Park was once sheep station and the old shearing shed a relic of those times.

Mungo National Park has both colonial and aboriginal history. The colonial history goes back a century or so. The aboriginal history is an over 46,000 years continual association with the land.

This long association was confirmed with the finding of the remains Mungo Man and Mungo Lady. These remains that have been dated as 46,000 years old. These are the oldest homosapian remains found on the Australian Continent. These are also some of the oldest examples of ritualistic burial any where in the world. If you want more information follow this link: https://learn.culturalinfusion.org.au/story-of-mungo-man-and-mungo-lady/

Another feature of Lake Mungo is the sand dunes that stretch for 135km across the horizon like the walls of China, but nature made.

Areas of dunes are called Lunettes because of the luna type landscape. But in these dunes are artefacts tens of thousands of years old.

At sunset the dunes tale on a redish hue as the sun burns the sky orange and red.

That night I slept with wonderment of the place and what a tiny spec modern humanity is on the universe while sleeping under the milky way.

In the morning I did a tour of the dunes with an aboriginal ranger. As part of the tour I help artefacts 10,000 years old and heard stories of the land, this place that had been passed down from generation to generation in the oldest continuous culture in the world. Stories and rituals that had their origin back 46,000 years ago.

As I left Lake Mungo there was a Sand Goanna on the side of the road.

I thought it was wishing me a fond farewell but, looking back, I think that it was a sign that the 350+km of dirt road I had before me to get to Bourke was going to be a difficult and sandy ride.

Day trips around Melbourne – Queenscliff

My home town is Melbourne, Australia and as summer rolls along its a good chance to do day trips and overnight stops. Queenscliff is an historic town at the entrance to Port Phillip.

Being close to the Southern Ocean the weather can be a little unpredictable. The entrance to Port Phillip is known as The Rip due to the strong currents that rip through the narrow entrance.

The lighthouses stand sentry.

They guide vessels large and small through thr treacherous waters of The Rip.

Day and night the light houses shine their guiding lights.

Standing steadfast while the stars turn.

The waterways around Queencliff are a haven for waterbirds. Even this late in summer some swans have cygnets. Of which they are protective!

The Wood ducks and Spoonbills beautiful to see.

Another feature of Queenscliff is the grand old buildings. From the towns glory days.

Along the bayside the beaches and piers are perfect places to fish or promenade.

One of the attractions of Queenscliff is being able to swim with seals. Unfortunately the strong winds meant that wasn’t possible. Therefore there will be another day trip!

The Sub- Tropical Mountain Gondwana Land Rain Forests On the Great Dividing Range of Australia. -1

I take a few backroads avoiding the main highways and the traffic. Especially the big trucks. Ah the aptly named Black Stump Way.

Coolah is a small town a bit over half way on the trip and the hotel a good place for a night stopover.

The painted silos at Barabba are worth a stop on the Fossickers Way that leads up into Queensland.

The King and Queen Parrot giving me a welcome to Queensland.

Tambourine Mountain sits just west of the Gold Coast. Its a pleasant tourist destination and Queensland’s first National Park. Established in 1905.

A beautiful place to walk in some gondwana rain forest.

As well.as the parrots the kookaburras were a plenty.

And as the night fell the lights of the Gold Coast twinkled in the distance.

Definitely a very different place and seemingly a world away.