Tasmania – Central Plateau Walk – 30 December 2019 – 5 January 2020

Posted on January 17, 2020 by Dave Noble

I headed up onto the Central Plateau for a very pleasant walk in one of my favourite environments. I was walking by myself and wanted a relaxing walk that would give me a lot of time to explore the environment.

My sister and brother in law dropped me off at the start of Higgs Track near Deloraine. It was forecast to be a hot day, so I only intended to walk up onto the plateau and stay in or camp near the Lady Lake Hut. This is a climb of around 550 m, but only takes about 90 minutes or so with a few photo breaks. Continue reading →

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Tasmania – Black Bluff Walk – 28 December 2019

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was another pleasant walk in Tasmania with my sister and her husband. Our plan was to visit Black Bluff which is the highest point between Cradle Mountain and the north coast of Tasmania. It also lies just off the Penguin to Cradle Track.

For our day trip to the bluff, we walked via different route via Winterbrook Falls. This had the advantage of being largely in shade, which would be much more pleasant on a hot day. Continue reading →

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Tasmania – Turrana Bluff Walk 21 – 23 December 2019

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Dave Noble

I was visiting Tasmania for a few weeks, the plan being to spend Christmas at my sister and brother in law’s near Ulverstone. I was able to do a few bushwalks while I was there. The first was a nice walk to Turrana Bluff in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park.

This was being led by my brother in law, Shane, for the North West Walking Club and he invited me along as a visitor. In the party were Shane and my sister, Alicson, and Cathie, Sonia, Joshua and myself. We set off from the Walls of Jerusalem car park. Continue reading →

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Bushfires

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Dave Noble

I have recently returned from a few weeks in Tasmania. Before I write up some trips there, I need to comment about the bushfires.

I spent my childhood in the Blue Mountains, so grew up familiar with bushfires. One summer a fire burnt out the gully behind our house. Another time, a very large fire had been burning way out in the Grose Valley but was slowly getting closer. It eventually approached the street where we lived – and was successfully fought and no houses were lost. Then a day or two later things changed. I can remember being at school, and the day finished early with a special assembly. Our headmaster advised us that the bushfire had suddenly become much worse. It had jumped the railway line and in one day had burnt out a huge area. A lot of houses had been burnt down, and consequently, students living in some towns would not be going home. Instead, their school bus would take them to the local civic centre which would provide emergency accomodation. Quite a number of students at the school found their homes had been burnt.
Continue reading →

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Sydney University Bushwalkers – Xmas Walk – Sassafras Gully 14-15 December 2019

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Dave Noble

About this time of the year, Sydney University Bushwalkers have an easy Christmas Walk to the Coxs River close to the Six Foot Track. However this year, the Six Foot Track was closed due to bushfire close to it, so the trip leader, Ashley, moved the walk to Sassafras Gully at Springwood.

The campsite, was a large flat area at the junction of Sassafras Gully and Glenbrook Creek. At the junction, as well as the campsite, is a large pool – known as “The Lagoon” which is great for swimming. Continue reading →

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Birds at Tempe – 14 December 2019

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Dave Noble

I joined the Tempe Birdos for their monthly bird survey at Tempe Wetlands and Reserve. It was fairly quiet at the Wetlands, but some interesting birds were observed. This included a Nankeen Night Heron –

A Rufous Fantail was also seen, but I didn’t get any photographs of it. Here are some of the birds I did photograph – Continue reading →

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Birds of the Northern Beaches – 13 December 2019

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Dave Noble

This was another full day of bird photography spent in the Northern Beaches area. On the day I spent most of my time at Warriewood – visiting Rat Park, Lakeside Park, Warriewood Wetlands and Irrawong Reserve, and then visited Long Reef.

Grey Plover

After catching a B-line bus to Warriewood, I first maddest a quick visit to Rat Park – no sig of the Ospreys. So I then went to Warriewood Wetlands. A visitor the day before had observed a Little Bittern and a Pacific Baza with a juvenile. I was not so lucky – despite a fair time spent observing. Continue reading →

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The Great West Walk – Toongabbie to Mt Druitt – 12 December 2019

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Dave Noble

Bob and myself competed another stage of the new Great West Walk. Earlier, I had walked from Parramatta to Toongabbie (and Bob had also completed that section by himself). We had originally planned to go canyoning, but with most canyons closed and a cooler weather forecast than we had expected we thought a walk may be a better option.

So we caught a train to Toongabbie and then started walking. The first bit was back out to Girraween Creek, a major tributary of Toongabbie Creek, where we joined the main route. Then we crossed back over the railway line and followed an open park towards Seven Hills. Continue reading →

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Greenway, Botanic Gardens and Coast – 11 December 2019

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Dave Noble

This was a full day spent at three venues – the Greenway, between Taverners Hill and Hawthorne with the Greenway Bird Group, then I went to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Sydney to look for the resident Powerful Owls. I had not luck in than endeavour, but I took the opportunity to have another look at the amazing Carnivorous Plant display in the Calyx. I then caught a ferry to Watsons Bay and walked along the Coastal Path to Dover Heights.

The Greenway Continue reading →

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Back to the Lane Cove River – 8 December 2019

Posted on December 10, 2019 by Dave Noble

I had recently seen some photos of Powerful Owls in the Terrys Creek area, and was keen to try and find them. So I decided to repeat a walk I hd done the week before, but in the reverse direction. I also walked from Eastwood to Epping (rather than Cheltenham to Eastwood).

I walked from Eastwood Station to the small park at the top of Terrys Creek then set off down the track. I looked up in the trees for Powerful Owls and also on the ground for their “whitewash” – a clear sign that they may be perched above. I didn’t spot at, but did see some other nice birds and plenty of orchids. Continue reading →

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