October Creek and the Zig Zag Walk – 26 – 27 November 2016

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Dave Noble

John and Chuin Nee and invited me to join them and their boys, Jasper and Sebastian, on a camping trip up the Blue Mountains. We discussed places to camp and decided to visit the campsite at October Creek.

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October Creek is a tributary of Du Faurs Creek near Mt Wilson and is often used as an access route into Clatterteeth Canyon. The usual route starts from a fire road that branches off the from Du Faurs Rocks lookout road. But for our trip, we started from the other end of that fire road – where it meets the Mt Wilson Road before it climbs onto the basalt. Continue reading →

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Wollangambe Canyon – 23 November 2016

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Dave Noble

I headed up the mountains with Bob planning to do a canyon near Mt Wilson. We had ropes and abseiling gear and also lilos – so had the flexibility to do a range of canyons depending on the conditions. We ended up deciding on the tourist section of Wollangambe Canyon – thinking that it would be nice and quiet on a mid week day.

Water Dragon Canyon

Water Dragon Canyon

At the carpark at Mt Wilson, there were three other cars – so we knew that others were out and about. It was a quick walk down to the start of the canyon. I had been hoping to spot some orchids – but saw none out in flower. It was the same later for the walk out. Continue reading →

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More Birds of the Cooks River – 17 and 20 November 2016

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Dave Noble

I spent a few hours on two days recently along the Cooks River and (on the second trip) at the Landing Lights Wetland (which is in the catchment) photographing birds and other animals. On both trips I looked to see if I could spot either of the sets of Tawny Frogmouth parents and their chicks – but without success.

Striated Heron

Striated Heron

Here are some of what I found on the 17th –  Continue reading →

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Woronora River Ramble – 18 November 2016

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Dave Noble

I spent a pleasant day with Digi Dave at the Woronora River recently. We were mainly looking for birds and orchids to photograph. We found quite a few birds – but none of them were really interesting and no orchids in flower. But we had a pleasant time wondering around.

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We did venture up the track behind the RSL Club up Forbes Creek which is often an interesting place. There were lots of wild flowers out and lot of pollinators. Continue reading →

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The Pterodactyl Cave and a Short Canyon – 16 November 2016

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Dave Noble

I had recently seen some photos of The Pterodactyl Cave on social media (such as this one taken by climbing photographer Kamil Sustiak) and it was featured in a story in Vertical Life online climbing magazine. But it didn’t seem to match any feature in the Blue Mountains that I knew. I mentioned it to Bob and we both speculated about possible locations.

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It is a current climbing development site – and climbers like to protect the secrecy of their locations until they have put up their climbs. Fair enough. But, with a bit of investigation both Bob and myself independently found out the cave’s location. It is actually a natural arch and has been known about by non aboriginal visitors since at least the 1950’s.  Continue reading →

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Photographing The Supermoon – 14 November 2016

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Dave Noble

I was not very hopeful I would be able to photograph the Supemoon. Not long before dusk it was raining. But when I checked the weather radar, the rain seemed to be rapidly moving offshore – so I though it may be worth a try.

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I caught a train to Circular Quay and then considered options. I had used a Moon Calc website, and was after a photo with the moon rising near the Opera House. The best places seemed to be near the Overseas Passenger terminal or on the Harbour Bridge. As there was a massive cruise ship at the Terminal, I headed to the bridge. Continue reading →

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Nature along the Cooks River and Wolli Creek – 14 November 2016

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Dave Noble

On this day, in the morning, I headed down to the Cooks River to see if I could locate the two sets of Tawny Frogmouth families. I could only find one of them – two chicks with one of their parents.

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Later in the afternoon I caught a bus to Earlwood and then walked down the Two Valleys Track to Turrella. I wanted to see if some orchids I had spotted on an earlier trip were in flower (they weren’t), and then I spent a fair bit of time trying to photograph the flying foxes. I wanted in particular to get some shots of the mothers flying with three babies hanging on underneath. I did manage to get a few shots – but none of them very good. Continue reading →

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Waterfall to Heathcote Walk – 10 October 2016

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Dave Noble

I forgot to record this walk I did over a month ago. It was a fairly ordinary walk from Waterfall to Heathcote via Uloola Falls and the Karloo Pool but there was a fair bit of nature on display – including many species of orchid.

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The orchids were really nice – many Caladenia Orchids, many Bearded Orchids, One Flying Duck Orchid and one Sun Orchid. Continue reading →

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Karloo Pool and Kangaroo Creek – 12 November 2016

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Dave Noble

Another hot day was forecast, and I accepted an invitation to join friends for a walk from Heathcote to Kangaroo Creek in Royal National Park. In the part were Su Li, Brent, Steffy, Martin, Chuin Nee, John, Jasper, Sebastian and myself.

The Karloo Pool

The Karloo Pool

We walked down to the Karloo Pool. I had been this way about four weeks earlier and had seen quite a few orchids out. This trip I found none. Continue reading →

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Erskine Creek Walk – 12 November 2016

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Dave Noble

Bob was back from a trip overseas and was keen on a walk. He had Saturday free, so we met at Glenbrook and then headed into the national park. It was quite a hot day, and our plan was to walk down from Pisgah Rock to Erskine Creek where there are plenty of nice swimming holes.

Erskine Creek

Erskine Creek

It didn’t take long to scramble down the track from Pisgah Rock to Erskine Creek. Straight away we had a swim in the huge pool at the junction with Lincoln Creek. After looking at the nearby rapids, we walked up to the campsite and then headed upstream to the Dadder Cave. Continue reading →

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