Zig Zag Climbing Day – 17 May 2014

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Dave Noble

Here are a few photos of  nice day at the Zig Zag climbing area at Mt Victoria in the Blue Mts. The climbers are Chuin Nee, Stu, Brent, Su Li, Enmoore, John and Jasper.

ZZ 1

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New Fungi Resources

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Dave Noble

Three resources that provide information about fungi and help you identify them have recently become available.

A new guide was published in Tasmania – A Field Guide To Tasmanian Fungi by Genevieve Gates and David Ratkowsky. This guide is relevant not only to Tasmania but also certainly to the wetter regions of South East Australia. It has over 600 species and is very well illustrated and has excellent notes that help you distinguish one fungus from another.

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It can be bought online from the publisher – the Tasmanian Field Naturalists.

Another very useful resource is a iPhone app called iFungi AU. This was prepared by Gregg Cook with help from members of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group. It can be purchased for $2.99 from the iTunes store. Continue reading →

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Faulconbridge to Glenbrook Walk – 15 – 16 May 2014

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Dave Noble

Wendy had two days off and wanted to do a walk. After some discussion, we decided that a walk in the Lower Blue Mountains from Faulconbridge to Glenbrook would be good.

Wendy admiring the view. Dawn - Lost World Lookout

Wendy admiring the view. Dawn – Lost World Lookout

I met Wendy at Springwood, and after a coffee break, we headed up to Faulconbridge and parked near the track head. We then set off down the Victory Track which leads into Sassafras Gully. Continue reading →

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Fungi at Lane Cove Bushland Park – 13 May 2014

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Dave Noble

I thought it was time to return to Lane Cove Bushland Park to check out the fungi once again. It was very wet for my last visit. This time it was much drier – and there did not seem to be so much fungi out.

LanCBP 1

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Morels at Engadine – 12 May 2014

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Dave Noble

Morels are an unusual type of fungi. I had never seen them before and was quite intrigued when Brian Everingham of the National Parks Association posted some shots on Facebook of some he had recently spotted near where he lives at Engadine. I got in touch with Brian, and he went out of his way to tell me where they were and to also take me to the location. Many thanks Brian.

Morel 2

Morchella esculenta

The morels were growing very close to the Woronora Dam Pipeline – and very easy to walk to. Continue reading →

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Lawson to Hazelbrook Walk – Fungi and Waterfalls – 10 May 2014

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Dave Noble

I completed a nice walk on the south side of the mountains between Lawson and Hazelbrook.

LHW 6

After the mandatory stop at Lawson Bakery, I walked down to the track to Adelina Falls. The falls were rather low – so not too many waterfall shots this visit. There is a very moist patch of rainforest below Adelina Falls and this provides good conditions for fungi. On this trip – there were a few nice things out. Continue reading →

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Fungi Hunt – Bola Creek, Royal National Park – 7 May 2014

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Dave Noble

Digi Dave and myself headed down to Bola Creek for an afternoon of fungi hunting. Compared to our previous visit there was much less out. No logs covered with fungi this time.

BCFu 15

We headed down Lady Carrington Drive and then on the track that goes upstream along Bola Creek. We crossed the creek on the first crossing and then continued along the track through the beautiful rainforest. Continue reading →

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The Overland Track – Tasmania 14 – 27 April 2014

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Dave Noble

The Overland Track must be one of the most well known bush walks in Australia. It passes through a wide range of beautiful scenery – past alpine peaks, through open wind swept and bleak moors, through ancient forests.

OTr 39

Even with repeated trips, it is still a very fine walk. I think this may have been my ninth time on the track (previously – four summer trips, one winter trip, two April trips and a May trip, two of these have been from south to north). So this was my third April trip. Why walk in April? A quieter track? No! Now you have to book online to do the Overland Track, and it is best to do this well in advance. I booked not long after my summer Tasmanian Walk, and found that during April, the track was almost filled booked. I was lucky to find a single spot in the week before Easter. It seems that this period is as busy as any time on the track. For a quieter track – then you need to do it in the non booking period (June – August), although perhaps May would be a bit quieter.

OTr 1

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Wolli Creek – another visit – 9 April 2014

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Dave Noble

Wolli Creek is very easy for me to get to – so I thought another visit may be worthwhile to check out how the fungi was going. This time I walked down the valley from Bexley North Station to Turrella Station – a very convenient way to see the place.

An unusual stinkhorn

An unusual stinkhorn

Most, or all of the fungi from my last visit had gone – but a new lot was out. At the start I noticed a lot of puffballs, like the ones I had seen earlier in the week at Lane Cove. And plenty of the usual white mushrooms. There were a lot of very tiny red Mycena fungi out, and nearby were many patches of coral fungi – either white with sharp points or a larger brown-purple species.  Continue reading →

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Lane Cove Bushland Park – 7 April 2014

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Dave Noble

Lane Cove Bushland Park is a remnant of bushland along a tributary of Gore Creek. It is supposed to be a good place to see fungi, and being a wet day – I thought it would be a good place to visit.

LCBPa 17

It is easy to get to – being about a 15 minute walk from St Leonards Station. Not long after I arrived at the top end of the park, it started raining. I sheltered and waited for the rain to pass. I did after half and hour or so. While it was raining, I did wander around a bit – and did locate some interesting fungi nearby.

LCBPa 3

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