This was a very pleasant trip to camp on a ridge in the Upper Blue Mountains with a group of friends. Wendy had suggested the trip and Don had organised it. We were joined by Digi Dave, Enmoore, Pete and Stephanie.
The weather was a littler rainy, but that did not hold us back. We didn’t have far to go and we soon reached the high top on the ridge. We then walked around a bit looking for a good campsite.
In the process, we spotted a small cluster of Large Tongue Orchids (Cryptostylis erecta)
We also found some nice open rock shelves.
On one of these we found a lot of Aboriginal sharpening grooves.
This one rocky area had four seperate groups of sharpening grooves.
Some of the other rocks also had great beauty.
We soon found a nice place to camp. There was little wind and the showers seemed to ease.
That evening, we had a pleasant time sharing food and drink.
We then decided to look at some nearby Aborigianl art that Pete and Stephanie had seen on a previous visit. They showed us three Kangaroo footprints.
The sharpening grooves also stood out better when viewed by a head torch at a low angle.
We awoke next morning, not to rain but to mist.
Wandering around bit more revealed some Aboriginal wells.
And Pete spotted this nice Midge Orchid (Corunastylis sp.)
And near the Kangaroo footprint engraving we found a few more Aboriginal wells.
There were also a set of stone arrangements.
We found some small marks. Could these be engravings?
Pete suggested they may be caused by roots. But the one below does look like an Emu footprint.
And not far away was a single sharpening groove.
Then a Nankeen Kestrel appeared.
It flew past.
The Kestrel came back and hovered hunting for prey.
It was time for us to head back towards home. Sine we had camped at the Kestrel’s home, we decided to call our campsite “Kestrel Ridge”.
On the way back, we saw this White-cheeked Honeyeater.
And near the road was this Leek Orchid (Prasophyllum sp.) –
Some of us then decided to climb a nearby mountain. On the way we saw this Eastern Spinebill –
And on the way up, we deviated to a rock platform and look for more Aboriginal art. No engravings, but we did find two sharpening grooves.
And we spotted a White-eared Honeyeater –
Thanks to Michael Crawley for correcting my id for this bird.
On top of the mountain we good views – both of close up things and distant vistas.
It was a short walk back to the cars.
This was a great overnight camping trip to a particularly beautiful spot. A new campsite for me and a good one at that with lots of interesting things to see nearby.