Sunday 25 June
Another fine morning and hot shower in Blackall. Fantastic chorus of kookaburras at breakfast. Left at 9:10, expecting to drive 122 km to Isisford, then around 304 km to Noonbah.
I was thrilled to see a Bustard beside the road 7 km from Blackall.
We also saw Apostle Birds, crows, Emu, Magpies, Magpie-larks, 7 live kangaroos alone or in pairs, some cattle. The road was bitumen. We reached Isisford at 10:50, altitude 210m, 40 less than Blackall. We had a problem using credit card to get fuel at the unattended bowser. Rang for help and a NZ lady came. She told her story of coming here in 1987 with her husband who could no longer cope with the climate in western South Island. He died in 1991 but she stayed on because it was a safe place to live.
Drove for some hours on a reasonable dirt road through mostly treeless plains until we came to the Thomson Development Road where we turned left. David had used GPS coordinates to tell our X-Trail navigator where to go. This led us at least 70 km out of our way to Stonehenge. We retraced our steps and turned into the road for Lochern National Park, 44 km away. The sign also indicated that Noonbah was 54 km from there.
By 5:15 we had set camp in afternoon shade overlooking paddocks.
The 31 participants were:
Peter
& Lynette Haselgrove Terry
& Sally Johnsen Murray
& Jeanette Watson
Judy
Haines & Barbara Bradford Barry
& Marjorie Jahnke Susan Nelles
Harry,
Finan, Amelie Hines Dick Copeland & Ron Carr
Eric
Andersen & Diana O'Connor David & Bernice Shaw
John Moss & Kathy Marchant Peter, Sally, Tasman, Banjo, Mulga
Hines
Barney Hines, Thuy Dinh, Kayla & Nina Hines
All
5 bedrooms in the cottage were eventually occupied, with its laundry, 2
bathrooms, 2 toilets available for all to use. Lynette
& Peter, our leaders, set up a meeting in the big loungeroom at 7:30 that
night.
Monday 26 June
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| Finan & Amelie hanging around waiting for the 8:30 am start |
American
teacher/tourist guide Ken who was staying with Angus joined us.
Out
in cars by 9am to lay 75 small mammal traps in a restricted area. Each group, led by Harry, Finan or Amelie,
placed traps under shrubs or in rock fissures 10 metres apart. Bait was peanut butter & oats. Traps had to be protected from heat using cow
dung, grass, leaf litter and marked with pink tape.
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| Buds on Corymbia terminalis |
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| Rat tails Dysphania rhadinostachya |
Some lucky ones including David saw a Spotted Bowerbird before returning to the cars.
Then we walked through nearby scrub – little to see except for animal tracks and an ant nest.
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| Spinifex pigeon droppings |
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After lunch, we went to another area.
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| Gidgee Acacia cambagei |
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| River Red Gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis |
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| Acacia cyperophylla - note the minniritchi (red & curly) bark |
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| Warrior bush Apophyllum anomalum |
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| Neat mud nest |
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| Mistletoe Lysiana exocarpi |
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| Harry digging for frogs |
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| Ghost Gum Corymbia aparrerinja |
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| and the Nats keep wandering and wondering ... |
Tues 27 June Lochern National Park
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| Lochern Ranger Headquarters |
The ranger, Peter, met us and gave an interesting talk before we explored the park. He spoke of having 10,000 kangaroos there in a drought, but they did not eat out the Mitchell grass as happened on neighbouring properties. The roos threw sand in their faces to get rid of sandflies. They died in droves later.
Dingo numbers spike when kangaroos are plentiful. Dingos are important in controlling feral cats and
piglets. Pig hunters lose dogs which breed with dingoes.
4 or 5 years ago there were foxes in the park. No camels here. Rangers have got rid of goats and there are just 7 cattle - used to be 300. Good relationship between rangers and graziers - National Parks supply materials and graziers build fences.
Parkinsonia is the worst weed species here. Grasses suffer (but not chenopods and herbs) if there is no summer rain. Burrs occur on alkaline soils.
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| Eric talks about Downs Lignum Eremophila polyclada |
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| Eremophila binnoniiflora |
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| Eremophila duttonii |
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| Seeds from the high Sensitive Plant, Neptunia monosperma |
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| Eucalyptus coolabah |
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| Acacia stenophylla |
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| Resin on Acacia stenophylla |
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| Gecko Heteronotia binoei |
This old dam has been drained to create a more natural environment which encourages native fauna.
Archidendropsis basaltica, Red Lancewood, is commonly known as Dead Finish. The name may come from Aboriginal pidgin - "when this tree die, this country, him dead - finish." It is endemic to Central Queensland and a problem on sometimes on grazing land, growing to 10 metres. The timber is prized by woodturners, very hard but turns and sands well. (from www. ttit.id.au)
Wed
28/6 Noonbah
spinifex area
This day we spent the morning at an area of spinifex on Noonbah.
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| Casemoth on Gidgee, Acacia cambagei |
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| Lynette and Peter Haselgrove |
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| Gomphrena sp. |
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Owenia acidula Close-up of leaves below
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| Eremophila mitchellii |
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| Lunch time |
I was told the item below is a comet ???
We returned to camp and around 4pm went to an area near the airstrip where a magnificent flowering gum had attracted a variety of honeyeaters
and bird-watchers.
Thur
29/6 Noonbah
At 10am we had a session looking at Angus’ study/lab which was crammed with interesting exhibits and books, including a live Black-striped Dunnart awaiting release.
The afternoon was spent exploring the area close to the house and dam with John & Kathy. Birds were the main focus, particularly a large flock of Major Mitchell Cockatoos, some of them pictured below
Other birds seen were Apostlebirds, Masked Lapwings, White-faced Heron, Jacky Winter, Willie Wagtail, Yellow-throated Miner, Crested Pigeon, Corellas, Magpies, Magpie-larks, Australian Raven, Zebra Finches.
Fri
30/6 Mt
Felix
Worried
about my ability to climb up, I set off at fast pace and saw nothing en
route. Stopped at the 2-car parking spot
and waited for DPS. He checked the next
part of the climb to the flat-topped mount.
Decided I could do it but I found it quite difficult.
An ABC reporter joined our group for this day.
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| Wedge-tailed Eagles |
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Crotalaria sp
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| Senna sp |
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| Ready for the ascent |
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| They soon found items of interest |
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| Climbing up |
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| Isotoma petrea |
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| Fearless young Nats |
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| Harry found this bat in a cave up Mt Felix |
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| View to the north-east |
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| View to the west with Jundah Road in centre |
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| View to the north |
Back at Noonbah:
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| Corellas at Noonbah | | | | | | |
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Waterloo 1/7
Angus led us to 'Waterloo', a red soil region on Noonbah. It was named after an incident when a drover met his Waterloo after losing 8000 sheep over the first channel. In 1956 there were floods and 3 good years, but the Coolabah trees are now 4m taller after 60 years. He referred to a patch of Gidgee so thick that a dog's got to back out before it can bark (perhaps the sanitized version of the saying?).
At a waterhole we saw many Spinifex Pigeons, a dead Owlet Nightjar, Red-capped Robin, Jacky Winter, Zebras Finches, a female Brown Songlark, Cockatiel, Crested Bellbird and Australian Raven.
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| Owlet-nightjar |
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| Acacia cambagei Gidgee - flowers below |
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| Black-fronted Dotterel |
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| Eagle nest with Zebra nest underneath |
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| Zebra Finches |
