Category Archives: Excursions

We’d been in Mallee country for several days and not had even a glimpse of a Mallee Fowl.  We were keen to see one, especially as we are familiar with both the other megapodes in Australia and were curious as to their similarities.
Mt Crozier camp-ground was our choice for a 5 day stay, it is quite a few kilometres into the park along a sandy track but well worth the drive.  We had several days totally on our own,  it was very peaceful, no road noise at all but there was some distant air traffic so we were not really isolated!  There are some good walks in this park as well as several long, overnight hikes for which we are not equipped and not particularly keen, physically or mentally.  The Mallee vegetation and birds provided plenty of interest for us and on our first driving excursion further afield we did indeed see a pair of Mallee Fowl.  They crossed the road quite quickly and once in the low vegetation their attractively patterned feathers provided an excellent camouflage as they moved away.  Our second sighting occurred just as we had passed by a sign informing us of the Mallee Fowl and its life cycle.  The bird walked across the road just a short distance in front of us then froze in position on the very edge – not a good survival tactic against vehicles!  It did, however, give us a wonderful photo opportunity so we thanked the bird and wished it well.

Everywhere we walked we were conscious of a variety of ant hills – in this dry, sandy environment ants take over from worms as the great recyclers of materials. I was fascinated by the many different varieties of ant as well as by their constructions.  The top photo shows some ‘ant apartments’ or strata title residences and the lower one a small suburb built around a shrub.

And getting back to the birds:  amongst one mixed group of blossom feeders we came across a party of Miners on a windy afternoon, presumed they were Yellow-throated Miners without looking carefully, as the wind was increasing in strength and it was very cold. Allen thought about it overnight as there were several features that, on reflection, didn’t seem quite right.  So the next morning we drove back to the same area and there, feeding on the same tree was a group of Black-eared Miners.  We carefully checked each feature and they conformed in every way.  A week later we arrived in Gluepot and discovered that some of the Gluepot Black-eared Miner population had been translocated to Murray-Sunset National Park as a safety measure in case of wildfire causing major damage to this threatened species. No photos of the BeM as we were too far away and they move fast.
This tiny Liliaceae caught my attention, a solitary plant growing in the sand.  I later found large areas of it growing amongst other grasses and low herbs.  It goes by the delightful name of Early Nancy which flows more easily than its botanical nomenclature Wurmbea dioica.
It is a challenge to pick out one or two highlights when we had so many wonderful experiences here so I’ll finish off with some colour. The parrots in this part of the country are an absolute delight. The Mallee Ringneck has probably been our most frequent parrot sighting during this trip but we never tire of them.
And we still reach for the binoculars to enjoy any sighting of the gorgeous, multi-coloured Mulga parrot.  This male was patiently sitting about waiting for his mate to emerge from a nesting hole nearby.
Even when he turned his back he was still gorgeous!

It was only a short drive from Hattah-Kulkyne to the Pink Lakes in the Murray-Sunset N.P. – we had time to buy a few provisions and still be set up in a new camp in the early afternoon.
As we drove along Pink Lakes road White Chats dashed out in front of us so we enjoyed their company for a moment before we each continued on our separate ways.
The Pink Lakes are quite extraordinary, although the colour of the water does vary considerably depending on the weather conditions, we were lucky enough to see them looking quite pink……its a challenge to capture it and I have resisted any temptation to ‘enhance’ the pink hues in the photograph.

An incredible 800 times saltier than sea water means that as the water evaporates salt crystals form on the surface of the lake – the salt from Pink Lakes has been tested as 99% pure and salt was commercially harvested from 1916 to 1979.  Much of the work was done by hand with the workers shovelling the salt into wheelbarrows which were then pushed across planks to the shore.  Hard labour indeed with the Mallee summer sun reflecting on the white surface of the lake and temperatures frequently over 40 degrees.

Dunaliella salina, a microscopic, single-celled alga, is one of the very few things that can live in this extremely salty water.  This alga, which flourishes under warm conditions, secretes beta-carotene the red pigment which gives carrots, oranges and egg yolks their colour and casts a pink glow across the lakes.

Plant species must be highly specialized to survive in this extreme environment; they need to be able to cope with the high salt levels as well as with a lack of water and vital nutrients like nitrogen.  Chenopodiaceae is a widely represented plant family in these conditions, this Tecticornia is one which has the ability to take advantage of the beta-carotene as a food resource and an aid to photosynthesis.

On our last day at the Mt Crozier camp there was a tremendous storm during the afternoon and into the evening, bringing very strong winds and some rain. It had blown over by the next morning for which we were very grateful as it is always much easier packing up camp in fine weather.  Our way out of Murray-Sunset took us past the lakes again, it was fascinating to see quite a wide rim of salt along the shoreline glittering in the morning sun.
The storm would have been spectacular to witness down by the lake with the wind whipping across the water but for us it was quite enough just to see its effects.

Broken Hill was interesting to explore and we enjoyed our morning at Silverton, especially sighting the Chirruping Wedgebill on the way there, but after two nights in a van park we were well and truly ready for some bush camping.

Our journey continued on the Silver City Highway, heading south – through Wentworth where we crossed the Darling river and then just a few minutes later we were crossing the mighty Murray and entering the state of Victoria.  Mildura provided us with an opportunity to restock provisions but as we set off down the road again we saw dark clouds gathered on the horizon.  As we drove towards the clouds the sky became darker and we were soon driving through a heavy shower of rain.
A lunch stop was postponed and snack bars consumed as we continued towards Hattah-Kulkyne.  By the time we entered this well known and loved National Park the rain had eased and the beautiful sight of Regent Parrots feeding on the roadside we took as a very welcome sign.

Majestic old River Red Gums lined the edge of Lake Mournpall but the camping areas are set away from these well known ‘widow makers’ and amongst the much safer Black Box – (Eucalyptus largiflorens), still with a lake view from the tent.  There are so many suitable nesting holes in all those fabulous ‘Gums’, it was a delight to watch Mallee Ringnecks, and Galahs checking out holes and taking in some leafy material to make a comfortable nest.  Yellow Rosellas were also present in large numbers, they have the most delightful bell-like call, another new species for us.
 While Lake Mournpall was home to Australian Shelduck, Grey and Chestnut Teal, Pelicans, Australasian Grebes, Black-winged Stilt and Wood ducks, they were few in number.  Late one afternoon we visited Lake Hattah which has much less water remaining and many, many more birds.  Hundreds of Red-necked Avocet, Black-winged Stilt and Grey Teal moved across the shallow water feeding.  Neither of us had ever seen Avocet and what a fabulous sight they were, we stayed until the sun went down just enjoying the spectacle and watching them feed, preen gather together, fly up across the water and then alight to begin feeding again.

We covered quite a lot of the tracks in the park, by vehicle as well as on foot,  we saw some wonderful birds and enjoyed the scenery tremendously.  The weather, although cold didn’t stay wet and we made the most of every ray of sunshine!  Although both ex-Victorians we had quite forgotten about the vagaries of the weather in this southern state. We had another couple of special moments of seeing a ‘new’ bird;  Chestnut-backed Quail-thrush – a long look at both male and female, and a good look at male and female Gilbert’s Whistler.

There was 3G coverage at our camp so when the forecast of yet another cold front appeared we decided to move our base on a fine day and set off for Murray-Sunset N.P. – just down the road.