On the road again - Murphy's Creek and Stanthorpe

Murphy’s Creek

29 – 31 October

Mick had read about a spot just out of Laidley where there might be some good birdwatching so we headed towards Toowoomba and on to Gatton where we stopped for coffee and a look around the visitor centre. We picked up some brochures including one for Lake Dyer where we hoped to stay. Mick’s calls went unanswered so he tried the number for the other place he had brochures for – Murphy’s Creek Escape. We booked a spot and almost immediately after he hung up, the gentleman from Lake Dyer called back. Oh well, Murphy’s Creek had answered first so that was to be our destination even though it meant some backtracking.

A pair of goannas sunning themselves in front of our camp

It was only a short drive really and we were set up with a view of the (mostly dry) creek and the hills beyond in time for lunch. This place has something for everyone – powered and unpowered camping, luxury tents, remote camping, a spring-fed swimming hole as well as adventure activities (ropes, abseiling, and flying fox). Even though there were quite a few people here it still didn’t feel crowded. We had originally only intended to stay for one night, but decided to make it two.

This is a nice place to stay though nothing really special as far as birding goes. Still, I am breaking in a new camera, a Canon 5D Mark 4, and there were plenty of welcome opportunities to practice. There is an area where the staff feed the birds at 4pm each day and there were some pigeons around that area most of the day. Lorikeets wait for the designated time to come in. After the rush, when the lorikeets have left, Pale-headed Rosellas and Australian King-parrots came in for their share.

The highlight for me was the presence of small flocks of Little Lorikeets feeding high up in flowering gum trees. I suspect that these little parrots are rarely seen by non birders as they are barely larger then the leaves they feed among and are all green except for a red face. This was a new bird for me and it was a huge challenge to get a decent photo of one. Apart from the extreme height and diminutive size, the constant movement made capturing the birds very difficult. To make things worse, aggressive Noisy Miners would often chase the lorikeets at a crucial time. Mick

Little Lorikeet

Little Lorikeet. It's difficult to catch them without their face buried in a flower.

Crested Pigeon

Common Bronzewing

Rainbow Lorikeet down for some free seed

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

After a bit of a sleep in and a cooked breakfast we set off to walk up the hill behind the main camping area in search of birds. We had been warned that it was quite steep and this was accurate. We took it easy and enjoyed the surrounds. We only walked about 400 metres of the walking and mountain biking track before meeting up with the 4WD track. We decided to walk back the way we had come as the 4WD track looked extremely steep and the surface was very loose. The short distance we walked did have an elevation rise of 60 metres. There are a couple of remote campsites up on the ridge which would be very nice for self-sufficient campers.

Pacific Baza from the 4WD track behind the camp.

We made a leisurely start to the day on Monday. Mick took some time to stake out some birds up on the ridge and we had a coffee before we set off again, bound for Stanthorpe.

Storm King Dam – Stanthorpe

31 October – 2 November

We decided to take the back roads to Stanthorpe instead of going back up the range to Toowoomba so we set off towards Gatton again, turning on to Highway 80 just past Granthan. This turned out to be a beautiful drive through farming land and up into the mountains. Although windy in parts, it was not a difficult drive and we reached Warwick by lunch time. After lunch in a park on the highway, we made our way to Storm King Dam, just out of Stanthorpe.

Eastern Rosellas are common around the campground.

The caravan park is well laid out with lots of room between sites. We settled into one with a very nice view of the dam, and with lots of trees nearby, but little shade. The lack of shade wasn’t a problem as the weather was cool (and cold at night) despite the time of year. We came south to escape the heat and it certainly worked.

We headed off to town in the morning, starting with the visitor information centre, then the op shops and a coffee shop. Unfortunately the deli from which we had been hoping to purchase some goodies was closed for Melbourne Cup Day. Instead we headed north back to Thulimbah and Vincenzo’s. There we found some tasty treats which we supplemented with some lovely cheese from Stanthorpe Cheese.

We returned home for lunch and spent the rest of the day around the caravan park. As the wind had come up we retreated to the communal kitchen / lounge area for dinner and some TV – a real treat. This area is very well set up with 4 kitchenettes as well as a spacious lounge and two dining tables.

In the morning we set off for Girraween National Park, taking the back road through Eukey.