Fungi at Ferndene – 8 May 2021

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Dave Noble

I had finished the walk in Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park with Roger. He was heading back to Sydney. I was in Tasmania for an extra week and this gave me a chance to spend some time visiting my sister and brother in law at West Ulverstone. While there, the weather was mixed, but we made the most of it – visiting some nearby sites to photograph fungi on some of the days.

The first day, I headed out with my sister, Alicson, to the Ferndene State Reserve at Penguin. This is at the base of the Dial Range and is excellent fungi habitat. Recent rain should mean we could expect good fungi. The fungi turned out to be very good indeed.  We were lucky to time our visit between rain storms. Continue reading →

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The Larrairremener Tabelti Walk – 6 May 2021

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Dave Noble

We had to wait at Cynthia Bay at the south end of Lake St Clair until the mid afternoon for our minibus to Launceston. After a hearty breakfast at the cafe, I thought it would be nice to walk around the loop of the Larrairremener Tabelti – the Aboriginal Cultural Walk again.

I was nice to repeat this short walk. The conditions were nice with mist between the trees and some great fungi to observe on the forrest floor. Continue reading →

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Back to Cynthia Bay 4 – 5 May 2021

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Dave Noble

Roger and myself had left the Labyrinth and were now on our way south to Narcissus Hut, where would spend a night, and then to Cynthia Bay at the south end of Lake St Clair.

The weather was fine, mainly overcast but no rain – good weather for walking in valleys and in rainforest around a lake. Continue reading →

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Some Time in the Labyrinth 1 – 4 May 2021

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was on a 7 day walk with Roger, and the highlight was our visit to the Labyrinth. We camped for three nights at Lake Elysia. It was nice to enjoy the beauty of this place in a range of weather conditions.

While there we didn’t do anything too strenuous in terms of side trips. We wanted to experience the maze of lakes, the surrounding peaks and the very special vegetation. And amongst that special vegetation was the fagus – the native deciduous Beech – Nothofagus gunnii. It was possibly a little past its best – but still very good. Continue reading →

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Pine Valley and The Acropolis 29 – 30 April 2021

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Dave Noble

Roger and myself left the Narcissus area and started walking to Pine Valley. The valley us one of the most amazing and beautiful parts of the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park. It is a very special place. The valley was carved out by glaciers in past ice ages and is now occupied by an incredible range of vegetation. The most common trees are the evergreen beech – Nothofagus cunninghamii. Towering above them are some huge Eucalypts. There are also native pines – King Billy and Celery Top Pines. As well there are the strange looking Pandannis (Richea pandanifolia). Further up the valley is the deciduous beech – Nothofagus gunnii. On the floor are some amazing fungi. The whole valley is surrounded by the rugged peaks of the Du Cane Range. It is one of my favourite places.

The way to Pine valley involves walking north along the Overland Track for an hour or so, then leaving it on a side track that crosses some buttongrass moors and then passes through forest as you enter the valley. In the centre of the valley in the refuge of Pine Valley Hut. This would be our base for the next few days. Continue reading →

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Near Narcissus 28 – 29 April 2021

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was on a walk with Roger to visit Pine Valley and the Labyrinth are of Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park. Because of Cod restrictions, we could not all up to Pine Valley on the same day as we arrived at Narcissus at the north end of Lake St Clair. So we stayed in the Narcissus Hut that night, but before that we went on a walk – along part of the Overland Track back towards Echo Point.

The weather was not real great, but it was ideal for fungi photography – nice soft even light. Continue reading →

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Tasmania – Fungi and Birds at Lake St Clair 17 – 28 April 2021

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Dave Noble

It was great to be in Tasmania again. I was on the first part of a visit to the state with good friend Roger. We had originally planned to visit last year for a bushwalk, but had to cancel because of Covid. We had made new plans after restrictions for interstate travel were lifted, and had timed our visit for the Tasmanian Fall – the changing of the leaves of the native deciduous tree – Nothofagus gunnii. I was also hoping some nice fungi would be out.

Mt Olympus

There were still some Covid restrictions in place. Some of the huts in the Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair National Park need to be booked, and there are limits on the total number of people and the duration you can stay. Roger had been able to book three night at Pine Valley Hut and we had planned our trip around that. After flying down to Launceston, the next morning, we got picked up by a transport operator – Overland Track Transport  and went by minibus to Lake St Clair. We were dropped off at the Visitor Centre at Cynthia Bay and then after getting our National Park Passes, we enjoyed lunch at the cafe, and then checked in to our accomodation at the Drumlin Bunkroom at the nearby campground. Continue reading →

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Wolli Creek and Cooks River Walk – 25 April 2021

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Dave Noble

I decided to make a visit to my local area to look for fungi and birds. Not that much fungi was out – but I did better with the birds.

Golden Whistler

I started by catching a bus to Bexley North and then set off down the Two Valleys Track, and walked all the way to Tempe.  At one spot, I looked for an interesting polypore fungus – and found it was sill growing at the base of a tree – Continue reading →

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Birds and Fungi at Sydney Olympic Park – 24 April 2021

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Dave Noble

A small group from the Sydney Fungal Studies Group Inc were conducting a fungal survey at the Newington Armory area of Sydney Olympic Park. The survey would take a few hours in the morning, so I decided to make a full day – by taking an earl train to Concord West, then walking to the Armory slowly via the wetlands to see what birds were out. After the survey, I would return to Concord West but follow the foreshore for the first part.

So here are some birdsI saw walking to Newington Armory. Most were at the Waterbird Refuge at Bicentennial Park – Continue reading →

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Brownes Path and Blue Gum Forest – 22 April 2021

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Dave Noble

I was keen on doing a longer walk with a few hills, and so Bob and myself decide our walk this week would be along the Bald Head Ridge to Bennett Lookout, then a descent of Brownes Path to the Grose River. Next we would follow the track downstream to Blue Gum Forest, and walk back via Perrys Lookdown.

We had excellent walking weather – cool and sunny most of the day. Bob parked near Hat Hill and we were soon walking along the track towards Bald Head. Continue reading →

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