Some colourful fungi in the Lane Cove area –
Hygrocybe collucera
Most of the fungi I photographed were waxcaps – members of the family Hygrophoraceae. However, when compared to last year the number out was much smaller – both in total quantity and variety. I expect this is probably due to the season being much drier. Continue reading
This was a repeat of a walk I had done in 2012 along the Great North Walk track from Thornleigh Station to Hornsby Station. But my main aim this trip was to look for fungi that may be out near Waitara Creek which you cross not far before you leave the track and climb up to Hornsby. Last year I had done a walk all the way along Waitara Creek from it source. On that trip I had found a lot of fungi out along a section of Waitara Creek very close to a feature known as The Spa – where the creek is crossed by the Great North Walk. A lot of fungi that I saw on that trip were colourful waxcaps, including some quite rare ones. But that trip had been in late July and the fungi was well past its prime. So I thought it about time I had another look.
The Spa – Waitara Creek
I set out from Thornleigh Station around 11:30 am, a bit late perhaps, but the walk is not that far. After a short walk along streets I was in the bush. Early on I saw a big group of RFS personnel – it looked like they were on a training activity. Also, it was a nice sunny winter day and a lot of other walkers were out and about. Continue reading
I went on a walk along the Two Valleys Track along Wolli Creek between Bardwell Park and Tempe.
Hygrocybe aurantipes
My main aim was to look for and photograph the fungi, but I also spent time looking for orchids (There were lot of Greenwood Orchids out) and photographing the flying foxes. Continue reading
This was the next in my regular series of walk to Sassafras Gully to check out the fungi. The day before, I had been to Bola Creek and the fungi there had been quite good. In particular, a lot of waxcaps were out. Compared to that, Sassafras Gully was quite poor. This trip, I could find no waxcaps at all despite a lot of looking in places I had seen them before.
On this trip, I went down via the track from Sassafras Gully Road and then along Glenbrook Creek and out via Magdala Creek and Fairy Dell. Continue reading
A field trip to Bola Creek by the Sydney Fungal Studies Group Inc had been canceled the previous Saturday because of bad weather. I thought I would be worth having a look to see what fungi was out when the weather improved. So I set off by myself for a trip to Bola Creek for a look.
I rode my bike down from Waterfall Station (a short ride, but it a big climb back up later on) into Royal National Park and then down to Bola Creek. Wandering around I found a fair bit of fungi out – including a good range of waxcaps. Not large numbers, but a good variety of types. Continue reading
Doug had a a few days off work and wanted to do a walk and invited Bob and myself to join him. However, heavy rain on the weekend led us to change plans. Our original intention involved crossing some rather large creeks and that did not seem a good idea. So I had suggested the Blue Rocks area – in particular – a walk along part of the Wolgan-Capertee divide.
Looking towards Mt McLean. Gardens of Stone National Park is beyond the far ridgeline. The area we are looking at should be added!
This turned out to be a good choice. The weather over the two days was quite cold and windy and it was raining most of the first day. Along our route – there was a bit of shelter, a rough track most of the way and no scrub for the last off track part. Also, it was quite a short walk to a reasonable camp cave and from there we could do short walks to explore the country nearby. Continue reading
On this visit I shot lots and lots of stills that were combined together to make a time lapse video. Here is my final effort –
The video features Sydney Harbour, The Opera House, The MCA and the Botanic Gardens.
Following my walk down Wolli Creek, the next day I did a similar walk down the Lane Cover River. I started at Thornleigh and walked down the Great North Walk track to the De Burgh Bridge, then crossed the river and walked down the Riverside Track to Porters Creek then back along roads to Macquarie Park Station.
And like the day before, I found a medium amount of fungi and also orchids out. But unlike Wolli Creek I spotted no waxcaps and the orchids were mainly different. I saw only one Greenwood Orchid, but found quite a few Acanthus fornicatus orchids in several spots. Continue reading
I thought it was about time to see if any new fungi had sprung up along the Wolli Creek valley following the big storms two weekends earlier.
I wandered down the Two Valley Track from Bexley North to Tempe. Not that much fungi was out, but I think things will improve. The fungi seemed better lower down the valley. Continue reading
Narrow Neck is the peninsula of sandstone that juts out from Katoomba and separates the Jamison Valley and Megalong. It has long been a popular place for bushwalking. For a long time a track along the Neck was used as a access route to the Greater Southern Blue Mountains. In the early 1060’s a fire road was bulldozed all the way along the plateau to its end. This somewhat lessened its appeal as a bushwalking destination in its own right. A pleasant track walk had become a road bash. Despite this, the great views remained. It was still a gateway to a great area for walking.
Bushwalkers on weekend trips, would catch a train to Katoomba and then walk out Narrow Neck on a Friday night and camp in a cave at the end. This would give them a good start for walks in the Wild Dog Mountains or beyond. Perhaps the “Neckbash” became a lot less popular when a road to Mellow Gap was opened up, but that road was later closed to bushwalkers, and so Narrow Neck regained its use. Perhaps in more recent times, many walkers approach the Wild Dog Mountains via the Dunphy Campground at Carlons Farm in Megalong. Continue reading
