Lake Mungo

We've been to Lake Mungo before but it's a magnet really. You cannot be anywhere near the place and not go there, so we called in on our way to Broken Hill and ended up staying the night. Pink Cockatoos and Apostlebirds entertained us while we ate breakfast, Mallee Ringnecks searched for seeds on the ground near our campsite and a Pied Butcherbird serenaded beautifully. We have plans to go back with friends in spring (one day) to explore the park properly. It deserves more than a fleeting visit.

On the way in we drove though Lake Arumpo (don't worry, it's been dry for thousands of years) and then drove over the highest lunette in world (if the tourist brochure is to be believed) that embraces the eastern side of the lake.

And wasn't the mallee a 'sight for sore eyes'! It's looking good. Some of the plants are flowering, including several of the mallee eucalypts, a ballart and a senna. I breathe in deeply and feel like a real Aussie.

Then today we met the Darling at Pooncarie and drove north on the floodplain to Menindee Lakes and then to Broken Hill. We saw quite a few emus north of Menindee so they've managed to survive the drought or breed up quickly since it started to rain again. The plains are covered in saltbush of various colours and we carefully crossed the grids that separated each large paddock and avoided several mobs of sheep along the way. North of Pooncarie we tuned our UHF to a light plane pilot guiding several motorbike riders as they mustered sheep for shearing - one guy kept leading his mob off in the wrong direction and had to be corrected several times. We agreed that the pilot's language was a lot less 'colourful' than that of the truckie we'd heard earlier in the day!*#^@

Geocaching

This one's for Uncle Arthur and cousin Julie. They'll get a laugh out of this because they're geocachers and I said I might have a go at it while I was on holiday.

Most caches are hidden and have to be found using a GPS reference. This one was part of a trail set up by Museum Victoria to commemorate the Burke and Wills anniversary and it's a virtual cache, meaning you just have to be there and take a photo to prove it.

I've discovered that quite a few of the geocache webpages have some very interesting information attached and some follow themes. I could get interested in following the geology-based geocaches. Oh dear! Not another 'interest' - I already haven't got time to do everything I want to.

http://geocaching.com.au/cache/ga2336

Town Swamp, Kerang (again)

On 16 May this year I wrote a blog about the Town Swamp at Kerang and mentioned the bird hide there. Well it no longer exists. I was planning to do a quick walk there this morning before we crossed the Loddon and my plan was thwarted when I read in the local paper that it was burnt down last week. The article didn't say so but I presume it was vandalised - a perfectly harmless bird hide attacked for no reason. Hopefully it will be rebuilt because it's in a very good spot for birdwatching.

Today we drove through Swan Hill to Balranald in New South Wales and knew I was on holidays when I saw mallee scrub, and callitris on the sandhills. The number of trees were flowering and the River Red Gums had lots of new growth - the wet year after years of drought has been very beneficial.

We're camped in a lovely spot next to the Murrumbidgee River. We didn't get here until almost dusk so I haven't had time to explore yet but it should be worth a look in the morning. Tomorrow I may even get my binoculars and camera out!

Off to the centre

OK, we've got the 4-wheeler (a Pajero), we have a window of about seven weeks (our grandchild is due in September), we've managed to clear the decks of all those little and big commitments, we've delegated, I've charged the camera batteries and downloaded some podcasts, we're almost packed and tomorrow we head off to explore the red centre.

We have no plan as such but will probably go to Broken Hill then north through the Sturt National Park to Cameron Corner, the Dig Tree and Birdsville then through Boulia to Mt Isa, across to the Stuart Highway and down to the Alice Springs area (Newhaven, Kings Canyon, Palm Valley, Uluru, the Macdonnells east and west) and home through the Flinders. What we actually do will depend on the weather, what roads are open (there are still roads closed because of floods and flood damage) and what, along the way, tempts us to change direction or stay longer.

I'll keep you posted.