I am SO glad that I'm not camping. During the night, on and off, the rain was absolutely torrential. And I awoke to more of the same. Nor is it particularly warm and there is snow forecast down to 900 m. I retrieve my winter walking trousers from the car. Weird to think that a few days ago I was wondering if I could stay cool enough.
It seems my original intent was to have diverted to all sorts of interesting spots yesterday on my way from Mallacoota but I didn't get round to that little bit of planning. Agnes Falls and Welshpool Long Jetty would have been good little diversions but I'm not going to backtrack to see them. And I don't think with the forecast weather that planning to see sunrise from Mount Nicoll is going to be particularly rewarding.
I note there's a Foster Flora Reserve with some walks I might need to investigate.
I just looked carefully at the Wilsons Prom maps, with little walks around Tidal River and Lily Pilly Gully and I note the camping areas where I was thinking of camping have a number of avenues; I suggest it's potentially row after row after row of campsites. Ick!
I head down towards Wilson's Prom a little later than intended and once on the Wilson's Prom road and in the park, there's some lovely wild flowers along the side of the road. I travel through some rather delightful areas of Eucalyptus Forest (Manna gums rings a bell) and then I start getting to the views with some drop dead lovely beaches, granite outcrops and offshore islands. In some ways, the hills/mountains remind me of Freycinet.
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| view as I head into the park |
Once I find the beginning of the Lillypilly nature walk, (always the hardest part of a bushwalk in my view) I set off very slowly because there's lots to distract me, including what I later have confirmed as wattle mat rush, Lomandra filiformis.
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| Lomandra filiformis |
And a big variety of Epacris colours.
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| Pale Pink Epacris sp |
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| White Epacris sp |
Some lovely little birds are flitting around, including some delightfully flirty fantails, but not staying still long enough for me to photograph of course.
And then some Kunzea which makes its presents felt by its scent.
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| Kunzea |
And of course the trees for which the gully is named. I look at them hoping that the one in my front garden never reaches that height!
My very slow pace is rewarded by spotting some bird Orchid leaves, first with a very tight bud, then with a bud growing taller and filling out.
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| First a little Chiloglottis valida bud |
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| Then a larger, fatter, Chiloglottis valida bud |
Then finally one with a flower. They are later confirmed as large bird orchids, Chiloglottis valida. I've gone less than a kilometre and it's taken me goodness knows how long, and I don't care.
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| large bird orchids, Chiloglottis valida |
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| large bird orchids, Chiloglottis valida |
As I photograph the taller bud, a small group passes me one young man in t-shirt, no jacket and we've just had a very short, sharp hail shower. I'd say that's not dressed for the conditions.
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large bird orchids, Chiloglottis valida
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large bird orchids, Chiloglottis valida
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Once the first one is spotted, it's a case of but wait, there's more for the bird orchid flowers, including colour variations.
A little further on and I spot helmet orchid leaves, while I see leaves on and off during the day, not a flower is to be spotted.
While watching for helmet flowers, I come across a small patch of green hoods potentially cobra green hoods, Pterostylis granidflora and they are rather lovely. Quite big flowers.
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| cobra green hoods, Pterostylis granidflora? |
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| cobra green hoods, Pterostylis granidflora? |
The short Boardwalk section has a rather pretty creek flowing through a swampy area and then some beautiful forest.
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| From the Lilly Pilly boardwalk |
To complete the return to the car park, I choose the circuit track and the first uphill section rewards me with a single green hood.
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| Cobra green hood, Pterostylis granidflora? |
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| Cobra green hood, Pterostylis granidflora? |
I perch on the bank on a corner of the track to eat my lunch, thinking how rather nice it is to have a fresh bread that I can comfortably eat and local ham that is probably quite low in preservatives. I am entertained by a flirty fantail flitting around in the bushes in front of me.
On the downhill stretch I find another green hood potentially Pterostylis williamsonii, but since that is a Tasmanian endemic, it's most unlikely to be that. Maybe P. tunstallii?
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| Pterostylis tunstallii? |
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| Pterostylis tunstallii? |
I also spot more bird orchids in flower on the way down.
So I've also seen leaves of sun orchids, a couple of different varieties I think, and seed pods of something as well as leaves of mosquito orchids. And now a most beautiful wax lip orchid, Glossidia major.
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| wax lip orchid, Glossidia major |
I finished the Circuit and decide to walk the Link Track and there's Glossidia everywhere and the colour's slightly different to the one I saw back on the Circuit track. Here is more the purple I'm used to it. Wheeras the one on the Circuit track was much more blue and I initially thought it might be a Caladenia.
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| Wax lip orchid, Glossidia major |
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| Wax lip orchid, Glossidia major |
I come across a grass tree that is in the flower in an area that's recently been burned.
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| Grass tree and mountain view |
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| Grass tree in flower and mountain view |
There are billy buttons and other little daisies also.
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| Grass tree flowers |
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| Billy Button |
I walk almost to the end of the link track because no real point in going to the end as the bridge has been deemed unsound.
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| Tidal River |
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| another view from the Link Track |
On the way back I do spot a couple of rather lovely Diuris orientis, the wallflower orchid.
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| Diuris orientis, the wallflower orchid |
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Diuris orientis, the wallflower orchid
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I also found a good patch of spider orchids which I had not seen on the way. They're under a bush and maybe it's just the sun's angle at this particular time of day that highlights them for me. They are just lovely! Later confirmed as the small spider orchid, Caladenia Parva
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| Small Spider Orchid - Caladenia Parva |
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Small Spider Orchid - Caladenia Parva |
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As I'm leaving I stop and pick up a wallet that has fallen onto the road. I'm guessing off the roof of a car as it pulled out from the car park, but trying to report that to police was not as easy as it ought to have been and was a little time consuming.
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| Hibertia sp. |
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| ? |
Back at my lovely little cottage, I try to figure out the electric barbecue and fail. I messaged my hosts and a few minutes later Bull comes across to tell me there's a koala in the tree. He's also received my message, but one has to get one's priorities right! So we check the koala before he sorts the barbecue; the problem was simple - the fuse had been triggered. That was reset and all was well. He asked if I needed more eggs from their chooks, so I said yes please and enough eggs for breakfast for the next 2 days where duly delivered, which was lovely
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