Fungi at Mt Wilson and Mt Tomah – 28 May 2015

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Dave Noble

I was up the mountains with Digi Dave. The day before we had gone to Coachwood Glen to photograph the amazing fungi there. After that we had gone to the Family Hotel at Katoomba for dinner and then camped near the barrier on the Narrow Neck Road.

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I got up early, hoping for a good sunrise. I thought my hopes were bit unrealistic, as it had been quite windy during the night, and wind means no valley mist. This was almost right – there was a tiny bit of mist in Megalong Valley and some down over Lake Burragorang, but almost none in the Jamison Valley. Nevertheless, I walked a short distance to a lookout and waited for the sun to rise. The sunrise was nice but not super spectacular. Continue reading →

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More Fungi at Coachwood Glen – 27 May 2015

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Dave Noble

I went up the mountains with Digi Dave for two days of photography. The first day we spent at Coachwood Glen – a small reserve in Megalong Valley, just below the cliffs of Medlow Bath.

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In the first few metres of the track we spotted some nice fungi out, but then things seemed to dry up a bit. It didn’t seem as good as our earlier visits. But with careful looking we found more and more things out. You nee to be patient and super observant when looking for fungi. Its often that you only notice some of the fungi when you are low down on the ground, waiting for your camera to finish taking a photo. Continue reading →

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Looking for Frank Walford’s Cave – 26 May 2015

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Dave Noble

Bob and myself travelled up the mountains and headed out the road at Medlow Bath past Katoomba Airport and parked at the lookout at Point Pilcher. Our object was to find an obscure old cave used as a retreat by the former bushwalking mayor of the Blue Mountains – Frank Walford.

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Frank Walford (1882 – 1969), was a journalist and author. Some of his novels are still in print. He lived at Katoomba from 1919 and edited the local newspaper. He was an expert bushman and spent a lot of time exploring the local area. He was friends with Eric Dark and Eric Lowe, two other local identities involved with the outdoors. Continue reading →

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Blue Gum Forest Walk – 25 May 2015

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Dave Noble

Wendy had invited me to join her on a walk in the Upper Blue Mountains. She wanted a fair leg stretch so suggested a walk from Govetts Leap down to Blue Gum Forest and return.

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As it turned out, we had good weather for walking – fine and cool. We set off from the carpark at Govetts Leap at about 9:45 am and after 30 minutes arrived at the base of Bridle Veil Falls. Continue reading →

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Bola Creek Fungi – Another Look – 24 May 2015

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Dave Noble

I went down to Bola Creek in Royal National Park again to see how the fungi was going. I thought there may be a bit out after fairly recent rain. There was more fungi out than my last visit but it still was not as good as earlier in the year (or compared to last year).

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A Bola Creek, I met up with Atli again, The visiting nature photographer from Iceland, who was also on a photographic visit together with his girlfriend Erin. Their extra eyes and experience where handy to spot the often difficult to see fungi. Continue reading →

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Vivid Light Festival – Visit 2 – 23 May 2015

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Dave Noble

Coming back from Lane Cove Bushland Park, I got off the train at Milsons Point and waited till 6 pm when the lights of the Vivid Festival where turned on. My plan was to wander around near Luna Park and then around the nearby foreshore and across the Harbour Bridge for more photos. This gave me quite a different perspective of the Vivid Festival then what I had obtained the evening before.

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Here are a few photos – Continue reading →

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Colourful Fungi in Lane Cove Bushland Park – 23 May 2015

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Dave Noble

Lane Cove Bushland Park is well known for its colourful Hygrophoraceae fungi. It was one place that I regularly visited last yea during the fungi season. This season, the fungi there seemed fairly slow to appear.

Hygrocybe lanecovensis

Hygrocybe lanecovensis

I went and had a look yesterday afternoon – and found that quite a lot of fungi was out. I arrived in the middle of the afternoon. I should have arrived much earlier as there was still much to see as it got to dark to see it. As well as Hygrocybes and related genera, I saw a few types of coral fungi. Continue reading →

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Vivid – Sydney Light Festival – 2015

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Dave Noble

This was my first visit to Vivid for the current festival. It was the opening night and there was a little rain at times – but this did not seem to deter the visitors – it was packed! Lots and lots of people seemed to be enjoying the light festival.

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I started at the Opera House and then made my way to Circular Quay and then past the Overseas Passenger Terminal, under the Harbour Bridge and around the Walsh Bay and then back to the Quay. On my way I saw a fair few of the exhibits but no where near all of them. I will have to make another visit or two. Continue reading →

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More Local Stinkhorns – 22 May 2015

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Dave Noble

A little bit of rain can facilitate the sudden appearance of stinkhorn fungi. A lot more of the Sea Anemone Stinkhorn – Aseroë rubra had emerged from the wood chips in the park at Dulwich Hill so I thought I would wander up and take some photos.

Phallus rubicundus

Phallus rubicundus

I also thought it worthwhile to see if any were out along the Cooks River. There were – more of the phallic shaped Phallus rubicundus. Continue reading →

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Sassafras Gully – Orchids, Fungi and Slime Moulds – 21 May 2015

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Dave Noble

Sassafras Gully has been one of the places I have been visiting this year on a regular basis to document its fungal resources. This vista I was accompanied by Atli, a nature photographer from Iceland. He also takes very fine fungi photographs and it was interesting to see that he could identify a lot of species here based on his European knowledge. He was also very good at spotting the interesting fungi in the gully that is often hard to see.

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Like my previous visit, we entered the gully via the track at Sassafras Gully Road, walked all the way to the Glenbrook Creek junction and then walked out via the Wiggins Track and Bee Farm Rd. Continue reading →

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