Busselton

24 - 29 October 2018

The drive to Busselton was less than 3 hours so we arrived with plenty of time to choose a caravan park. We settled on one with ensuite sites that could accommodate us for 4 nights - which we later extended to 5 nights. We enjoyed beautiful weather and the opportunity to do some touristy things.

Red-capped Parrots around the caravan park late in the afternoon.

Common Bronzewings were, as the name suggests, common.

Busselton Jetty Underwater Observatory - this really is a great place to visit. It costs $34 per person, which includes a ride along the jetty to the observatory, and back, in the train. Once at the observatory visitors take part in a 15 minute guided tour then have another hour or so to wander around revisiting the various levels. The guide was available throughout to answer questions, identify creatures and to share the excitement when something unusual is spotted.

 

Pylon covered in soft corals.

Wrasse

I'm not sure what this one is.

Crested Morwong

Trigger fish

Busselton Jetty -  saved from destruction by a community group and now administered by a not for profit organisation. The small fee - $4 per person - allows visitors to walk the 1.84 kilometre jetty. This jetty is the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere and the second longest in the world.

The little engine runs passengers out to the end of the jetty and back.

Coming back in the train. It would have been a great walk but we chose the easy way.

We were lucky to have perfect weather.

A beautiful day to be at the beach.

The end.

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse - Mick had a tip about a possible bird sighting within the lighthouse precinct so we drove over for a look. After taking the lighthouse loop walk which went around tne headland, we paid our $5 per person to enter the lighthouse precinct. An extra fee is payable if you want to do the tour and climb the lighthouse.

 

Lots of flowering banksias on the lighthouse walk.

First view of the lighthouse.

A different view on the walk

Pioneer Cove Bird Hide - located in the Vasse River Delta, we found the hide following some directions we found in a birdwatching brochure. This is one of the better hides we have visited - it had a screened entrance as well as lots of interesting and useful interpretative information. It was also fairly clean and tidy. Someome must be looking after it. 

A couple of good birds to be seen close by but too high for good pics.

Blue-billed Duck

Hoary-headed Grebe

Markets - we always look out for local markets when we visit a place. Over the weekend we found the Lions Market in Dunsborough, as well as the Dunsborough Men's Shed sale on Saturday and the Busselton Rotary Markets on Sunday.

A little bit south-east - Wickepin and Dryandra Woodland

Wickepin

20 – 21 October 2018

Mick had been in touch with a local birder who suggested a visit to Toolibin Lake, so a stop in nearby Wickepin was next. We drove through drizzling rain, and more wind. After a late lunch stop in Narrogin we arrived in Wickepin. We found the small council caravan park, but the caretaker was out and not expected to return until 6.30pm – a sign on the gate suggested phoning her for the code for the amenities if required. I phoned but the call went to message bank. Debating what to do, we decided to try calling again, then drive out to Lake Toolibin.

The caretaker returned my call when we were just out of town, so we continued on to the lake knowing that we could stay at Wickepin. The lake was a winner, with the birds Mick was after in the trees as we pulled in to the car park. Lake Toolibin is the last seasonal lake left in the Wheatbelt of WA and is a RAMSAR listed site. We spent a while there before returning to Wickepin.

The information I received from Greg was spot on. We saw Elegant Parrots as soon as we arrived at Lake Toolibin.

The Elegant Parrots were very shy so this is taken from some distance.

We drove out to the lake again in the morning and were rewarded with clear skies and more birdy action. From there we drove the back roads into Narrogin and went to the Visitor Information Centre where curiously, the volunteer didn’t seem to know anything about the nearby Dryandra Woodland. I found a brochure with information and a map, so we were on our way again.

Dryandra Woodland - Gnaala Mia Campground
21 - 23 October 2018

On the way to the campground we made a couple of short stops within the woodland - at the Old Mill picnic area and the Arboretum. We arrived at Gnaala Mia campground and took a drive around to find the best spot. There are two "loops" with camping for caravans and tents scattered around. Each loop has a couple of toilet blocks and also a camp kitchen - covered BBQs, tables and food prep area. We chose a site in the first loop and had the place to ourselves for most of our time there.

Colourful new growth on a Banksia.

Grevillea flower

Beautiful wildflowers were plentiful.

Juvenile Western Spinebill.

Western Thornbill

Black Honeyeater.

A WA endemic, the Gilbert's Honeyeater .

Grey Currawong.

Rufous Treecreeper.

Western Yellow-robin, another WA endemic.

Juvenile Red-capped Parrot, a WA endemic and new bird for me.

Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo

Mick was happy with the birding and spent a lot of time in and around the campground. We also went on the 3 km walk that took us through a couple of different looking habitats. Before we left on our second morning we drove over to the Lions Dryandra Village for one of the walks there that a fellow birder had suggested. The Kawana Walk is a moderate (Class 2) 3.3 kilometre walk though brown mallee plantation and kwongan heath. It wasn't as productive as we had hoped but the big bonus was, on the way there, we saw a numbat run across the road in front of the car. Fortunately it was close enough for a good look, but far enough away that there was no danger I would hit it. Once on the other side of the road Mick saw it stand up on a log, but it had disappeared into a hollow before he could get the camera out.

We set off after lunch for the drive back to the coast and a few days in Busselton.

Making our way back to Perth - Ellendale Pool and Northam

Ellendale Pool

18 – 19 October 2018

Driving south we considered the option of leaving the coast for a bit, in the hope of getting away from the wind. This seemed like a good idea, so we drove towards Geraldton, where we turned inland towards Ellendale Pool. This little campground was part of a sheep grazing property in the early 1900’s and became a popular picnic spot. Today the Geraldton City Council looks after it as a picnic area and campground. Campers are asked to pay $5 per person per night into an honesty box. It’s great value as the area is very tidy, with flushing toilets and lovely views of the pool and the cliffs beyond. There are also picnic tables and rubbish bins. Visitors are, however, warned not to swim when the water temperature exceeds 24° as it may contain the amoeba which is responsible for amoebic meningitis. Definitely not worth the risk.

Ellendale Pool

A perfect location for a pair of Peregrine Falcons.

A Peregrine Falcon on top of the cliff opposite the campground.

Rufous Whistler along the river walk.

We went for a walk along the creek before packing up and heading south, again staying inland.

Northam

19 – 20 October 2018

The drive through wildflower country did not disappoint. Even though it was quite late in the season for this part of the country, there were still lots of flowers in bloom as we drove along. We stopped for coffee in Mingenew and lunch in the park at Moora before arriving at Northam. As we were checking into the caravan park, Mick noticed a photo of the bird he had come here for – the Mute Swan. He was given directions to the nursery and so, after setting up our camp, we headed to the river. There were a couple of swans in the nursery area which Mick was able to photograph, and one further along the river, but too far away for the camera.

Mute Swan. There has been a self sustained, breeding population here for over ten years making this bird tickable.

We visited again in the morning as we had plenty of time to get into Perth for the night. We had picked up a flyer for the Wundowie Iron Festival so we detoured there for a look on our way into the city. Strangely, there were no signs on the highway, or even on the entrance to the town, so we figured this was one of those things you just had to know about. There wasn’t much iron work, but quite a few market stalls, and lots of interesting food vans – shame it was only morning tea time.

Perth

20 – 21 October 2018

We returned to Perth for Saturday night with friends Mark and Suzy, and to return snorkelling gear we had borrowed. This was just a quick trip with a few drinks on Saturday night and breakfast at Hillary’s Boat Harbour on Sunday morning. We also picked their brains for local knowledge of the South-West and Margaret River region. Armed with lots of touristy information, we stocked up, fuelled up, and hit the road again in a south-easterly direction.

Suzie & Mark looked after us again on the way through Perth.

Francois Peron National Park - Big Lagoon Campground

16 – 18 October 2018

From Monkey Mia we drove in to Denham for a quick look around before heading back towards Monkey Mia, on our way to Francois Peron National Park. This fairly new park was only established in the 1990’s and was not open to the public when we first travelled this way in 1991. An entry fee of $13 per car is payable at the entry station, as is the $11 per person per night camping fee. We decided on two nights, made our payment and drove the 7 kilometres to the Heritage Precinct. From there we stopped at the tyre pressure station. The rest of the park is strictly 4WD only and visitors are advised to reduce tyre pressure to at least 20psi. 

National Parks advise that a high clearance vehicle is essential. Low clearance vehicles, caravans and large trailers cannot be used on the deeply rutted roads.

After reducing our tyre pressure we set off to Big Lagoon Campground, about 12 kilometres away. The drive wasn’t too difficult, but the road is narrow and windy in parts. There is one section that traverses gypsum clay and can be impossible to pass after heavy rain. Fortunately it was quite dry when we visited. On arrival, we drove around the campground looking for the perfect spot, which we found easily. Our site was close enough to the toilets (although there were a number around the camping area) and also a short walk to the day visitor area which included a couple of picnic shelters with BBQs, tables, chairs and a view to die for. Also near our camp was a viewing platform and a track to the beach. We felt like we had found the perfect place for a couple of days.

View of the campground.

On arrival, the first local we saw was this goanna. It upset the little birds as it searched through the thick heath for food.

'Is the tide gonna reach my chair'

Blue water, red dunes.

Flowering succulents.

Dragon in the sand.

Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo.

White-breasted Woodswallow.

Singing Honeyeaters are always around.

Variegated Fairywren male race bernieri.

Variegated Fairywren female.

Yellow White-eye.

Yellow White-eye.

I have seen photos of Southern Scrub-robins and Western Grasswrens hopping around the campsites here. Although these pics were from about five years ago I was really hoping it was still the same. No such luck, I saw neither species. There were lots of male Pied Honeyeaters seen on the drive in but always from a long way off. The most interesting bird was probably the vulnerable bernieri race of Variegated Fairywren. The male was way harder to get a shot of than the females. I imagine their bright breeding plumage must be worn with a good deal of caution. Mick

The weather was windy, but not as bad as we had experienced in some places, and we did have some rain overnight and on out last morning, as we were packing up, but that didn’t detract from our enjoyment of this great place. With only a few other campers, it was very peaceful and relaxing. We did go for a few walks along the beach, and to the top of a dune for magnificent views of the lagoon.

Breakfast at the day use area.

Stunning views only metres from camp.

After packing up between showers, we set off for Denham, stopping to re-inflate the tyres at the Heritage Precinct. From there we drove south with no firm destination in mind, but a couple of possibilities.