Tocumwal blowhole

Where I grew up a blowhole was where ocean waves rushed in to a cave and blew out through a hole in the ceiling of the cave. So I was intrigued when I saw that there was a blowhole at Tocumwal near the Murray river, a long was from the sea. We went to have a look of course.

It was a bit tricky to find because there aren't any signposts anywhere. And the granite outcrop is a minor bump on the horizon, just a few metres above the flat farmland that surrounds it.

View of Tocumwal Blowholes from the entrance gate.

The information board at the entrance calls are the area Tocumwal Rocks and describes the several deep holes in the top of the granite mound and Aboriginal legends associated with the area. They believe that the holes are connected to the Murray River about ten kilometres away, via a tunnel through which the spirit travels. It would have been a sacred place and I can see why.

There is a photo on the information board showing the deeper of the two holes when it is nearly dry.

Photo on the information board

When we visited the holes there was water overflowing from the hole and trickling down the granite slope, supporting a variety of plants. Even in times of drought and low water in the river, the hole will bubble and overflow with water, like a fresh water spring.

Tocumwal blowhole

A different (shallow) rockpool on the same outcrop.

So, we didn't see any 'blowing' but it was a fascinating area to visit.

Tocumwal

Sometimes (often?) I'm appalled at my ignorance.

I had no idea that Tocumwal was the biggest aerodrome in the southern hemisphere in World War II. It must have been an amazing sight, and amazingly noisy, when the trainee pilots were flying all over the local countryside. We went out and had a look at several huge hangers that still exist near the present aerodrome. They're on private property now but must be positively cavernous inside and we wondered if the farmer uses them for storage. 

WW2 aircraft hanger, Tocumwal

But I digress. I really wanted to chat about the Murray River. This section of the river has some beautiful sandy beaches and I was really pleased to see the amount of debris in the river. Fallen trees and branches lined the banks providing shelter for fish and other creatures that call the river home. 

Anakie Gorge

Folded rocks in Anakie Gorge

To walk back in time you only need to walk a short distance from the Picnic Ground at Anakie Gorge.

The Brisbane Ranges plateau was once, about 500 million years ago, submerged under an inland sea and the layers of sediment deposited on the seabed eventually compacted into slate and sandstone. The area became exposed over the years and under pressure about a million years ago the land east of  the Rowsley Fault that extends from about Bacchus Marsh to Geelong began to sink (Port Phillip Sunkland). The result was an impressive escarpment. Rivers like Little River and StonyCreek eroded deep valleys through the escarpment as they moved down to what is now Port Phillip Bay. Today we can clearly see the layers of ancient rock in the Anakie Gorge formed by Stony Creek.

And, as a bonus, I can promise numbers of birds all year round and a wildflower display in spring.

Banded Lapwings

Near Little River

It was the winter solstice, chilly but sunny. A beautiful day for a club excursion.

About thirty members of Geelong Field Nats gathered at the appointed meeting place before moving on to the main event. This was the view to the north, with the Little River in the middle distance, so most of us turned our backs, wrapped our scarves tighter and chatted in the sunshine. But not JN. He must have been scanning with his binoculars because when he announced quietly "Banded Lapwing" we all snapped to attention.

We grabbed our binoculars, a scope was erected and we scanned the paddock. The Banded Plovers were indeed in the paddock between us and the river, surprisingly well-hidden in the low stubble. In the photo above (on my computer screen) I can make out about ten birds but the final count was 23.