Postcards from Australasia #14

We explored around the Geelong area and then headed towards the Great Ocean Road proper, visiting Cape Otway as one of our first stops. Helen spotted this Koala snoozing on a tree overhanging the road. I stopped to take a picture and soon a small herd of cars were parked up, everyone trying to use our car as a 'hide' to photograph the bear. Hopefully it wasn't too bothered.

The Great Ocean Road is in fact a road that goes via some stunning scenery, in particular these sections of eroded coastline, which are frankly stunning. The lookouts are well placed and being off peak season accessible. Apparently in the summer it's bumper-to-bumper. Instead we enjoyed the relative quiet and the onshore winds blowing consistently over 50/kmh!

It seems everywhere we go in Australia we're reminded of home. This inlet is called Loch Ard.

Having finished the GOR in a couple of enjoyable days driving, hiking and exploring we settled into Portland, which is a lovely spot. The staff at the visitor centre told us about a Australasian Gannet colony, we rolled with it and ended up spending a wonderful couple of hours getting to within a few metres of a small breeding colony, under the supervision of volunteers, and photographing the birds as the soared in the thermals.

We also visited the Pertified Forest (no such thing, it's actually limestone chimneys that have been through a long and complex geological process) but it is a fascinating place.

We left Victoria and headed into South Australia, stopping at the Brands Laira winery in Coonawarra first, to pay homage as well as to pick up some special stuff for Christmas. Then it was on to Adelaide where we had a rough experience in a hotel in Largs then moved quick-style to a house in a suburb to hide from the unseasonal cold and rain. After Adelaide and frankly some well needed rest on this trip, we drove up to the Flinders Ranges, stopping to refuel in Quorn, the site of a 'heritage' railway and a post-boom town if ever there was one. A nice place though with very friendly people. You get the scale of the drought though, they have huge concentrations of Galah and Corella and are using gas guns to scare the birds that are desperate for food and water. A fairly grim situation as the birds really don't have anywhere else to go. 

We stayed in Wilpena Pound, a story of human greed, ignorance and stupidity if ever there was one. It took just fifteen years for the settlers to completely degrade the land, wipe out more than half a dozen mammal species, and then everything, including almost all the 120,000 sheep they'd been raising, died in drought. Despite repeated attempts the land proved unliveable thereafter. Now the parks service and government are trying to eradicate feral sheep, goats, rabbits and foxes to give the native species some room to bouncebak, all in the teeth of an unseen-before drought. Complicated... We did however really enjoy our visit to the area, seeing lots of Australian Ringneck parrots, this one a sub-species local to this area.

Stubby-tailed Lizard

We got up early each morning to get as much done as possible before the real heat kicked-in. A stunning place to visit and explore.

This is one view of The Flinders Ranges in the Park taken just after sunrise:

The local Western Grey Kangaroos appreciate the morning sun:

Having a morning routine of their own before the heat of the day:

On one drive into some equally gobsmacking gorges we saw a small group of endangered Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies, we think this one had found a bees' nest and was taking honey hence he didn't disappear when we entered the area:

On our way out of Flinders Ranges National Park we took in a trail to some Aboriginal rock art, finding some of the naughty feral goats living on the trail:

We headed down in to Port Augusta, the view here across the plain is of the space-age power station that has replaced two coal-fired plants, this one being a large tower with an array of mirrors pointing sunlight onto a receiver to heat water to steam and generate electicity that way. I remember reading about this as a theoretical power source not so long ago....

On arrival in Port Augusta we immediately visited the Arid Land Botanical Gardens, reputed to be excellent for birding given the reliable water supply and therefore live trees and shrubs, some flowering, etc. I was absolutely chuffed to see this male Crimson Chat, one of a breeding pair, magic! Tomorrow the forecast is 43c, so we're out early to visit the gardens again in the hopes of seeing a few more arid land specialists before hiding from the sun and heat in our eco motel.