Erskine Creek Walk – 18 – 19 April 2015

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

Keith had invited some friends to help celebrate his birthday by going on a walk to Erskine Creek. Erskine Creek is in the Blue Labyrinth and can reached along fire trails and then a choice of several tracks from Glenbrook. The eaiest way to the creek is along the Jack Evans Track, but the better place to go to is at the junction of Erskine Creek and Lincolns Creek where there is a very nice campsite and a really great swimming hole.

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Its a very short track to reach this part of Erskine Creek but you do need to scramble down a series of short cliffs. The scrambles can be a bit tricky and this is probably the reason why the area is not too crowded. Continue reading →

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Cataract Falls – Lawson – A Look for Fungi – 18 April 2015

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

I was up the mountains with Digi Dave. Later in the morning we sod be meeting friends at Glenbrook and joining them for a walk to Erskine Creek. We were at Lawson and had an hour or two to spare – so we headed down to the carpark above Cataract Falls and set off for a look for fungi.

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I had been along the track past Cataract Falls a week before and knew there could be some more Cordyceps out. There was and a lot of there interesting fungi too. Continue reading →

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Return to Coachwood Glen – More Colourful Fungi – 17 April 2015

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

I was keen to head back to Coachwood Glen just off the Megalong Valley Road for a fuller visit. I went up again, this time with Digi Dave and we both took cameras and tripods. There had been a fair bit of rain the day before, and the forecast was not too good. It was a dull and gloomy day. But, as it turned out, we had very little rain while we were there. The gloomy lighting did make macro photography a bit challenging and also the tripod seemed to slowly sink into the soft ground during the long exposure photos.

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But there was an amazing display of fungi, and it was good to take our time and wander around with our cameras. Continue reading →

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Lane Cove Valley Walk – Looking For Fungi – 16 April 2015

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

I went on a very pleasant walk down the Lane Cove Valley from Thornleigh to Macquarie Park. I want to explore the valley a bit more and also to look out for fungi.

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I started from Thornleigh Station and I walked along the street to the trackhead at Short St. My intention was to walk down the track going down Boy Scouts Creek to the Lane Cover River. A track is marked going this way on the STEP map of Walking Tracks in the Upper Lane Cove Valley. I found the start of the track easily enough, but as I followed it – it didn’t seem to be going the right way. It followed the creek at the start and then crossed it and climbed up on the far side and then started going back up the valley. I decided the original track was either overgrown or didn’t exist, so I back tracked an climbed up a side track to the ridge out from Thornleigh Oval – out to a nice lookout. I then backtracked again and join the Great North Walk Track as it descended to the valley. Continue reading →

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A Day at The Zoo – Taronga Zoo – 13 April 2015

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Dave Noble

A group of us – John, Jasper, Ruth, Joey and myself had a very enjoyable day at Taronga Zoo.

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Here are a few of the photos I took – Continue reading →

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Hassans Walls – Nature Walk – 12 April 2015

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Dave Noble

Don Cameron had invited me to come along on the nature walk at Hassans Walls near Lithgow. This was an activity organised by the Native Plants Study Group of the Blue Mountains Conservation Society. Hassans Walls is a reserve at Lithgow on the western side of the Blue Mountains.

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I went along to the walk with Wendy, who has a keen interest in learning about native plants. We were lucky to have along with us botanical expert Margaret Baker and also Suzanne Lollback, one of the authors of the recent book on the Native Plants of Hassans Walls. Continue reading →

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Coachwood Glen – Fungi, Slime Moulds and a Rare Plant – 11 April 2015

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Dave Noble

I attended the Sydney Fungal Studies Group Inc Field Activity at Coachwood Glen last Saturday. Coachwood Glen can be found in Megalong Valley, not far from Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. There is a short nature walk in the rainforest at the glen, which can be found near the bottom of the hill before the road emerges from the first into the open farmlands of Megalong Valley.

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This are turned out to be a fungi paradise! We only walked a few hundred metres along the track over a period of two hours or so. There was so much fungi to see. As well as fungi – we also saw a number of slime moulds and a recently discovered plant.

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The activity began with a short workshop in macro-photography conducted by Helmut, from the Central West Bushwalkers from Bathurst. Then we began searching the forest to see what was there. A lot of fungi was out – and we were spoilt with photographic opportunities – even with a large number of people wandering around with cameras and tripods. Continue reading →

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Lawson and Hazelbrook Waterfall Walk – 10 April 2015

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Dave Noble

I spent a very enjoyable day in the Blue Mountains – looking at waterfalls, fungi and slime moulds.

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I started at Lawson, on the north side and went down the track to Fairy Falls and then around a loop to the creek and then upstream to St Michaels Falls and then to Dantes Glen and back to the start. The waterfalls were nice, but not spectacular. I didn’t take any photos of them because I had seen them much better with higher water flow. But I did also look out for fungi. On this side of lawson I did not spot too much. Continue reading →

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Lane Cove National Park – Fungi and Slime Moulds – 8 April 2015

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Dave Noble

Last year I had been along the Great North Walk track enjoying the walk and looking for fungi along the way. Also, I had admired some fungi photos taken by Ken Beath in the Lane Cove area. I had been in touch with Ken, and he suggested a good place to look for fungi – between the Porters Creek Bridge and the De Burgh Bridge – along the Riverside Walk.

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So I set out for the Lane Cove National Park. It was about a 15 minute walk from Macquarie Park Station to the entrance gate and then from there a short walk to the Riverside path. Continue reading →

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Wolli Creek Fungi – 7 April 2015

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Dave Noble

I had been along the Two Valleys Track down Wolli Creek on a few earlier occasions looking for fungi without any success. The area seemed to be very dry. I thought I would give it another go – after all the rain we had had over Easter.

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Continue reading →

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