I like walking down the coastline at Royal National Park along the Coastal Track. There is always so much to see and enjoy. Whatever the season. Always a lot to photograph. On this trip – I walked down the northern half of the track – starting at Bundeena and finishing at Curracurrong.
After recent rain – the track was quite wet. Very wet and muddy. It is only after rain that you realise that a lot of work is needed to fix the track to prevent the erosion from getting worse. Continue reading
In recent days the abundance of fungi near Sydney has been amazing. I’m not sure whether it is due to suitable weather for fungi fruiting (cool and wet) or due to better observing and increased knowledge of what and where to look for on my part. Probably a combination of both.
In particular, it now the best time to see waxcaps – members of the family Hygrophoracae. On these trips I was very fortunate to observe not only some very beautiful fungi but also some species that are very rare and are critically endangered.
Anyway here is a summary of some recent trips –
Magdala Creek – Springwood – 19 June
Just after rain – so the creek was high. Lots of orchids and a fair amount of fungi. I am starting to learn the best places in the upper part of this creek to find fungi. Continue reading
After recent rain another trip to the Lane Cove area was warranted to look for more fungi. I particularly wanted to see more species of the family Hygrophoraceae. This family of fungi are the so called “waxy caps” and includes the genera – Hygrocybe, Hygrophorus, Humidicutis and Porpolomopsis (amongst others). Many of these fungi are very brightly coloured – red, orange, yellow with some green or other shades. Some go through a series of colour changes as they age. Their gills tend to be thick and distant.
Hygrocybe arcohastata
I was very fortunate on this trip. Note only was a lot of colourful fungi out, but I met Ray and Elma Kearney also on a fungi documentation trip, and they took the trouble to show me some of that wonderful fungi that I am sure I would have missed if I had just been by myself. Continue reading
I headed up the mountains with Bob to Medlow Bath. Bob was keen to check out some of the old walking tracks behind the Hydro Majestic Hotel. I had been on those tracks once before and I too was keen to visit some of the places that we missed on that earlier trip – in particular the Colleseum (this is the spelling on the topo map), a large cave below the lower cliff line near the Hotel.
Marks Tomb
It was also forecast to be a wet day, and this walk offered a number of overhangs in which we could shelter from the rain from time to time. It turned out to be a good choice – there was a fair bit of rain on the day. Continue reading
We had two birthdays to celebrate – Jasper’s and Digi Dave’s, so we headed up to the Blue Mountains and out into Wollemi National Park to set up camp at the head of the Dry Canyon. There is a nice sheltered campsite, not too far from where we parked he cars. A short way from the campsite is to be found the interesting Dry Canyon.
After setting up tents, many in the party set of down to the canyon. This is an easy 15 minute walk along a track through open forest. Gradually the pagodas on either dies of the valley draw closer together and then the valley drops suddenly and surprisingly into a nice canyon. The Dry Canyon is usually completely dry – you don’t even get your feet wet! It is also quite spectacular – with two sections of constriction – a short upper one and a longer, darker one a short distance downstream. Continue reading
After Sassafras Gully, my next fungi trip was to the Lane Cove area again to see how things were going there.
Hygrocybe erythrocrenata
I found a lot of fresh fungi out, and I was also very fortunate to bump into Ray and Elma Kearney doing a fungi survey. They took time out to show me some of the interesting hygrocybes that were out and also explained what species they were. I say “explained” rather than “told” because with hygrocybes and red hygrocybes in particular, it is very difficult to identify them. You need to carefully look at the colour of the caps, how rough the caps are, how vicid, the gill shape and colour, the edge or the cap, the shape and colours of the stipe etc. A lot of features can give you some pointers. However, you also need to be aware that a particular fungi will change both shape and colour as it ages or dries out. Continue reading
After a recent trip down Sassafras Gully, I was keen to return to see how the fungi was going. I had found some strange fungi on the last trip and I was interested to see if any more was out.
I set off down the track from Sassafras Gully Road and soon arrived in the rainforest section of the creek. A lot of the fungi I had seen on the last trip had deteriorated – it had dried out and was falling to bits. I still found a few interesting ones but not as good as previously. So I continued on past the junction with Glenbrook Creek and went out via Magdala Creek. Continue reading
The original plan for the June Long Weekend was to head out to the Gardens of Stone. However, some of the other people on the walk got sick at the last minute, so I had to change plans. On the Friday night I caught a train up to Katoomba and then walked out to Cliff Drive and camped out on Malatia Head.
My plan was to get up early and take some dawn photos and then head down Furber Stairs and walk around to the Ruined Castle via the Federal Pass Track and then climb onto Mt Solitary and camp at Chinamans Gully. On the second day, I would continue along Mt Solitary, drop down off the Col and then head down to the Kedumba Campground and spend Sunday night there. On the last day I would walk out via Kedumba Pass. Continue reading
I went back to the Lane Cove Valley area to see how the fungi was going and to take photos.
Hygrocybe taekeri
Here is my latest set of photos – Continue reading
Digi Dave and myself went back to Bola Creek in Royal National Park for some more fungi photography. After finding a lot of good fungi out in Sassafras Gully the day before I was hopeful that Bola Creek would also be good. I was hoping that recent cold weather would have brought out the colourful Hygrocybes.
But, the very heavy rainstorms in Autumn seem to have scoured out the creek banks a bit, and since then it has been fairly dry, so things were not as good as they could have been. I had to hunt around very carefully to find fresh fungi. Continue reading
