The Riverland

Loxton Golf Club

We don't play golf, and don't hanker after a house beside a golf club like those at 13th Beach at Barwon Heads, but we got a taste of what it's like when we stayed the night beside a fairway at Loxton Golf Club. There are only about ten powered sites near the clubhouse so it was very pleasant. I was surprised to be serenaded by the persistent call of a Pallid Cuckoo (they only call in summer at home).

We had made soup with most of our vegetables before we crossed the border but lost a few apples and bananas at the quarantine station so we had to go shopping at Berri for fruit and vegetables to restock. We also took advantage of one of the numerous roadside fruit stalls to buy local oranges and pumpkin. And then on to Barmera for lunch beside the lake. About 50 years ago Phil's family started to regularly holiday at Barmera for waterskiing on Lake Bonney so we know the area fairly well. The foreshore area is much more upmarket now and the lake was looking beautiful in the sunshine.

Lake Bonney, Barmera

Lake Bonney foreshore, Barmera

The road took us parallel to the Murray via Overland Corner.

Murray River, Overland Corner

Murray River at Overland Corner

I start to feel like I'm on holiday when I see mallee trees, saltbush and succulents.

We crossed the Murray again via the Cadell ferry and camped by the river, just downstream. The cliffs are quite spectacular here and at night the cliffs, river and river redgums are spotlighted from the south side of the river. Serendipity is a marvellous thing.

Cadell Ferry

Cadell Ferry

Murray River cliffs lit up at night

Fishing club boats ready to leave first thing in the morning, Cadell campground.

Murray River, Cadell

Boundary Bend and Lake Cullulleraine

We're on the road again and will blog to record our adventures.

We left home a week ago but have only today left the state. We have visited our parents, three of whom are in their nineties, and Phil has installed a diesel heater in the van so we can freecamp in comfort. Last night we camped beside the Murray at Boundary Bend and we're well pleased - the heater is so warm and cosy and economical.

I asked a local resident at Boundary Bend if the fish were biting. He said the 'Bidgee was bringing down too much muddy water at the moment and that it wouldn't be worth fishing until about September. The Murray was flowing quite fast and was indeed muddy. There were hundreds of very noisy Little Corellas in the trees along the bank and our local informant told us that they appeared after the numerous plantations of almond trees started to mature a few years ago. But I also saw a beautiful Mistletoebird, Common Bronzewings, Superb Fairywrens and  Yellow Rosellas foraging in and around the eucalypts, a stately Great Egret waiting patiently in the shallow and several Pelicans loafing on the bank. It's a beautiful spot even on a cold and grey day.

Boundary Bend

A few hours later we stopped for lunch beside another stretch of water. Lake Cullulleraine is on the Sturt Highway near the border of Victoria and South Australia. The lake is in a natural depression that in the past only filled when the Murray River was in flood but the water level of the lake is controlled now. There is a walking track all the way around, 10.4 km in total, if one should feel inclined. The birds weren't on the lake, they were in a small pool beside the lake. It almost looked like they had their own infinity pool. Coots, Black Ducks and Eastern Swamphens were sheltering from the rough water on the lake itself and grazing on the mown grass of the picnic area.

Lake Cullulleraine

We are heading west, across the Nullarbor to Perth and the south-west. Hopefully the sun will shine more than it did today.

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

Farm life

Little Ravens

We pulled into the houseyard of the farm and I thought I'd accidentally driven onto the set of Hitchcock's The Birds. There were Little Ravens everywhere, dozens of them, in the trees around the house and in the paddocks, making a racket. They were still there the following day and the next. I estimated about 300 birds and I think they're feeding on the little grasshoppers and/or caterpillars that are in large numbers in the pasture.

The Yellow-rumped Thornbills are also feeding on the caterpillars. At least trying to ... I never saw one actually eat one.

Yellow-rumped Thornbill, with caterpillar in sight.

There are other insects on the grasses and a eucalypt in the yard that is flowering profusely.

And there are Tiger Snakes. We hardly ever see snakes around this house but in the last week we've seen three around the house and one near the entrance gate. It's a worry when there are grandchildren present as well but I keep telling myself many, many more people die on our roads each year. The Superb Fairy-wrens are excellent at calling the 'alert' signal so I just have to keep my ears open to their calls.

As well as the numerous kangaroos and wallabies that come out of the bush and bluegum plantations at dusk we have rabbits, a hare and a family of foxes. The Common Bronzewings feed under the wattle trees, the choughs call in the distance, two Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos fly overhead, the male koalas bellow loudly from their territories in the house paddock each night, and we enjoy the company of our resident Gang-gang Cockatoos, Galahs, Crimson Rosellas, New Holland honeyeaters, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, White-browed Scrubwrens and Superb Fairy-wrens.

Common Bronzewing

But best of all is a bird new to my farm list. I was totally surprised to see what I thought was a Latham's Snipe at a small wetland in the bush and took a photo. Can you see it?

Hint. Look on the far side of the wetland.

No, I couldn't either until I downloaded the photos to my computer. And there were not one but two snipes! I went back this evening to have another look. It's lovely to think they've flown all the way from somewhere like Siberia to spend the summer on our farm.

Closer. Look in the timber debris.