A study in red (and grey)

I was tempted by delightful coastal footpath on the west bank of the Spencer Gulf at Port Augusta but I only had time to check out a short section where it wound through saltmarsh. The busy railway lines are an ever-present background because these lines head in all directions for thousands of kilometres.

Saltmarsh and mangroves, Port Augusta

From a distance the saltmarsh looks like a sea of red but actually there are a number of species. The mangroves were looking very healthy as well.

Baby Grey Mangrove

Adult Grey Mangrove (click to view large to see the pneumatophores)

None of the succulent saltmarsh species were flowering unfortunately but they are still very beautiful when looked at closely.

And this one has me puzzled as well. I have no ideas on what it might be but the spiral leaf pattern is spectacular.

And one more, green this time.

Breamlea Flora and Fauna Reserve

Suaeda australis

Thompson Creek estuary, Breamlea

Part of the charm of Breamlea is that you have to deliberately go there. In other words, it's off the beaten track. It's not on a main road. There is a surf club and a beach, there are a few houses, there is a caravan park and there is a sports reserve.

And there is, for me, the main attraction - the saltmarsh of the Flora and Fauna Reserve - at any time of the year.

A saltmarsh is not the most attractive EVC* on the block but it really shines when you get down on your knees. The colours of the plants are spectacular, the flowers intricate and varied, the leaves amazing. And there are always birds on the estuary and some of those birds have flown all the way from the Alaska or Siberia for the summer. The saltmarsh that we have left (after years of abuse) is under threat from developers, weed invasion, rising sea levels and human activities. We need to stand guard for all the saltmarsh areas that remain.

Tecticornia pergranulata

Disphyma crassifolium

Sarcocornia quinqueflora

Frankenia pauciflora

Wilsonia rotundifolia

* Ecological Vegetation Class

Precious saltmarsh

As you drive to Geelong from Melbourne on the Princes Freeway you cross over Hovells Creek near Lara. Look to the east and you see a path that follows the creek to the estuary in Limeburners Bay, Corio.

Today we explored sections of the creek, including the boardwalk into the mangroves. We concentrated on the precious saltmarsh areas.

Saltmarsh at Limeburners Bay, Corio. You Yangs in the background.

Beaded Glasswort Sarcocornia quinqueflora

 Shrubby Glasswort Tecticornia arbuscula (Syn. Sclerostegia ) and a Garden Mantis

Nardoo Marsilea sp.

Rounded Noon-flower Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum