Nhill - Little Desert Nature Lodge

1 – 4 April 2023

After leaving Horsham we drove on to Dimboola where we stopped for a coffee and a walk around the town. We had time to kill so spent a good bit of time looking into lots of interesting shops and getting a last few grocery supplies. We continued on to look for somewhere to have lunch. We had intended to stop at the pink lake but the place was packed so we drove on to a rest area near Kiata. We had our lunch and Mick spent some time wandering around the adjacent bushland reserve looking for birds.

From there we stopped in at the Visitor Information Centre in Nhill to use up some more time until we could check in at Little Desert. We finally decided it was time to head to our final destination and arrived just after 2:00pm.

We’ve stayed at Little Desert Nature Lodge several times and it has been a favourite since our first visit. We were a little apprehensive as it has changed hands several times, and been closed for a time since we were here last, but Mick had phoned and asked about the bird hides and was reassured that they were all still in place and the water points continued to be maintained.

Once we were settled into our room, Mick set off to visit one of the hides, and spent a few hours there. Bird photography was our reason for visiting so he was determined to get the most out of it. The following morning I went for a walk with him to locate the second hide, and also so he could set up some perches. He revisited in the afternoon, again for a few hours.

We first met George in 2014
so I guess you could say we are old friends

The next morning we went out for a walk to the waterhole which is in the opposite direction to the hides. It’s another great spot for birding. Mick again spent the afternoon at the hide. I spent my time relaxing with a good book and enjoying the peace and quiet. For the last two nights of our stay it was just us and George, the resident emu.

On our final morning we had calculated we needed to leave before 8:00 so were up early and on our way to Bendigo.