With fungi, you need to be opportunistic – and be prepared to venture out not long after reasonable rain. I was keen to check out how Sassafras Gully at Springwood was. It was quite good – in particular for slime moulds.
On this trip – I set off down the track from Sassafras Gully Road, and walked as far as Glenbrook Creek and returned the same way. The abundance of fungi was not huge – but what I did find was interesting. More abundant perhaps were the slime moulds. Continue reading
This was an interesting and rewarding day where I was joined by Digi Dave. We headed down to Bola Creek in Royal National Park with our cameras.
Hyphomycetes
Like Ferndale Park, the day before, not a huge amount of fungi was out, but what we did find was interesting. And we also found quite a few slime moulds. Continue reading
I spent a pleasant few hours at Ferndale Park in Chatswood photographing the fungi and slime moulds. There had been recent rain, but despite this, there was not too much fungi out. But there was a lot of interesting slime moulds.
Here are some slime moulds – Continue reading
Soon after arriving home from Tasmania I was keen to explore the local area to see if any fungi had come out after recent rainfall. So I caught a train to Bexley North and then walked down the Two Valleys Track to Turrella.
There was some fungi out which was nice to see. But I think I was hoping for more. A lot of what I did see were growing from wood. Here are some more photos – Continue reading
This was the last part of our visit to Tasmania. We left Triabunna and drove down to Tasman Peninsula. On the way we stopped off at the usual tourist places – Tesselated Pavement, the Sea Arches near Doo Town and then headed down to the Remarkable Cave.
Tasman Arch
We camped overnight at Fortescue Bay, at the Parks and Wildlife Service campground – which was a very nice place. Then the next day we headed down to Hobart, staying overnight, with a visit to Salamanca and MONA before flying home. Continue reading
On the trip to Tasmania with Wendy, after visiting The Walls of Jerusalem, we were keen to head to the East Coast for some activities that would be a bit more relaxing. Wendy drove the hire car to Swansea, where we checked into a backpackers, that conveniently had a tavern, bottle shop and bakery attached. The weather was fine, and this allowed us to wash all our dirty clothes and then dry them in the Sun.
Next morning, we headed south towards Triabunna. From there, we could catch a ferry to Maria Island. On the way, we visited a quirky bridge – the so called “Spiky Bridge“. Interesting. Continue reading
Our third walk in Tasmania was to the Walls of Jerusalem. On the trip was Wendy and myself. We had farewelled Steph – she was heading up the Arm River Track to climb Mt Ossa.
We headed up to the carpark, and camped the first night there. The place looked quite busy – the carpark was quite full. And it would become even more full – with it being a long weekend in Tasmania. Continue reading
This was the second walk we had planned in Tasmania. On the walk, as well as Wendy and myself, we were joined by Steph, and also, from Pine Valley Hut, by Freddy.
The Du Cane Range is one of my favourite areas in Tasmania. The attractions of the range are many – rugged high peaks like The Geryon and the Acropolis, beautiful alpine gardens, spots of particular wild beauty like The Labyrinth, and also the incredible ancient forest in Pine Valley. I have traversed the range many times. My last trip from The Labyrinth to Falling Mountain was on a trip in 2001. But I have been on more recent trips to Mt Massif – one in 2006, where we crossed Big Gun Pass to Mt Massif and then descended down to Kia Ora, and a trip in April 2004 where we crossed Big Gun pass to camp on Mt Massif and then returned the same way. Continue reading
Wendy had invited me to join her on a holiday in Tasmania. Her main objective was Federation Peak, but recent bushfires resulted in that area being closed. To replace it, I had suggested a traverse of the Du Cane Range. Wendy thought that sounded good. In the original plan, the warmup trip was to Frenchmans Cap. That area was open, and it was also close to our starting point for the Du Cane Range.
It had been a long while since I had visited Frenchmans Cap. I had visited the Cap in May 1979 and then a few years later in January 1982. So a new visit was long overdue. In recent years there have been changes to the track. Suspension bridges replace the old crossings of the Franklin and Loddon Rivers. There has been a major track re-routing and upgrading along one notorious section of the old track – a very wet body section – the “sodden Loddon Plains” has been diverted to a new higher level route, partly financed by a generous donation by businessman (and bushwalker) Dick Smith. The new route is very preferable to the old route. And also, recently (April 2018), the Lake Tahune Hut has been replaced. Continue reading
I spent a very rewarding morning at Tempe Wetlands and the adjoining Tempe Reserve wandering around with my camera.
Australasian Grebe with chick
Things started off pretty quietly. At first, I didn’t see or hear too many birds. It had been raining lightly. But patience was rewarded, and as I quietly walked around the three pools at Tempe Wetlands, I gradually spotted more birds. Here are some Black-faced Cuckoo Shrikes – Continue reading
