11. Australia - Not what you’d expect in Oz and getting Bluer

Covering 25 October to 2 November 2019

the estuary at Mallocoota just about dawn from next to our van

about midday, nearer the sea

and then after the afternoon rain

Very close to the Victoria/New South Wales border we spent a couple of days at a place called Mallacoota whose campsite sits looking east right on the edge of the most beautiful tidal estuary.  It was a huge site and in the office they told us that at Christmas it’s just manic with three thousand people booked in.  So definitely a place to be avoided in late December.

Mount Kosciuszko is just left of centre

Snow Gum trunk

After this we headed back inland again to visit something many people would not associate with Australia - Snow.  The highest peak in the country is in the Snowy Mountains and it’s called Mount Kosciuszko (pronounced here as Kozzie os co).  Most of the walks here were officially closed due to snow levels and work being undertaken before the summer tourist season gets underway but we were able to catch a chairlift to take us up a few thousand feet for a grand walk.  To begin with we were still just below the treeline which here means Snow Gums.  These are Eucalyptus with wonderfully coloured striped bark which grew in twisted shapes, presumably because of the weather conditions.  We were in snow as soon as we got off the chairlift and it really did not feel as if we were in Australia.  The route to the summit of Kosciusko was closed but we were able to walk for a couple of hours to a lookout with a view of it.  There is something very pleasant about walking in brilliant sunshine with snow underfoot and distant clear views although there was a keen wind to add a nip to the day.  The path climbed and twisted steeply through rocks and snow for a few hundred yards.  Then it changed into a proper walkway with a plastic grid all held a foot or so above ground level.   It made the walk easier and keeps people on one path instead of wandering onto delicate plants.  This Alpine  habitat is very unusual in the whole country and there were a number of rare endemic plants growing up here.  Through the snow ran streams of meltwater forming pools here and there, all desperately trying to get to lower altitudes. To our surprise we could hear frogs calling in the meltwater pools.

I got the OK to include this one, despite the hair !

obviously this must mean
something different here

Even though Australians speak English there are variations in the language just as there are between Brits and the USA.  Not so obvious or numerous but we’ve noticed that ‘Reserve’ often just means park and ‘Park’ sometimes means park and ‘Botanical Garden’ often means park.  I’m defining ‘park’ here as I understand it in England as a green space in town often with trees or shrubs.  Australians are very keen on their wordplay, for businesses, notices and anything really and I do like a lot of them.  We saw a kangaroo curry on one menu - a Vindaroo, a bookshop called Better Read Than Dead, a wine called Pressing Matters and a simply painfully atrocious name for a Sheep Farm - Eweherdus.  I did however like what I thought was a display of disarming honesty on a shop called Objets Junk.

at Cabramurra, Australia's highest town

There is much more traffic on the roads in New South Wales than we’ve seen in the rest of the country.  In Western Australia the traffic was so sparse we had vehicles stop to ask if we needed assistance when we were just looking at flowers.  I decided that “yes, what’s this orchid called” probably would have got less than a sympathetic response.  Nobody stops in the more populated areas.

White-bellied Sea Eagle

We dropped back down to the coast, mainly because so much of it is wonderfully scenic but our thoughts were turning to Sydney, some way north of us.  Before that we wanted to see the Blue Mountains.  These lie to the west of Sydney and it’s said that microscopic amounts of sap from the Eucalyptus rising in the hot air cause a bluish haze, hence Blue Mountains.

and a real sea-dog

For no real reason we stayed in Katoomba, another one of those names that seem somewhat odd to British ears (but not as odd as Numbugga*, a real town name).  It was a good location for a couple of areas of the Blue Mountains and a definite place to see the finale of the Rugby World Cup although only one of these was a terrible disappointment.

The Three Sisters, at Echo Point Katoomba

the view from Evans Lookout in the Blue Mountains

As with everything we’ve done in this huge country, we merely scratched the surface of the Blue Mountains.  One quite strenuous walk took us deep into a narrow canyon full of fallen rockblocks and overhanging cliffs.  Lots of tangled undergrowth, ferns, palms, a small stream running through and feeling primeval.  It was narrow enough to be the sort of place that would be dangerous in a flash flood.  Our highlight was seeing a Lyrebird feeding a young one.  The male is spectacular in breeding plumage and is an astounding mimic.  It will imitate other birds, car alarms, chainsaws, telephones and anything else that takes it’s fancy.  It really is worth searching the internet for some examples – do so and you will be surprised. 

The place recommended for seeing the rugby was the RSL (The Returned and Services League), a support organisation for service personnel whether currently serving or not.  Here it is a giant not

for profit club, not a small building with a bar like many British Legion places in Britain.  After the RSL in Katoomba was destroyed by fire in 2017, they spent AUS$12M on the rebuild !  It is simply a jaw dropping venue for what is a relatively small town.  Bars, Restaurant (v good food), lounges, events centre and lots and lots of TVs in different areas tuned to different channels.  We just had to show some id and we were in as temporary members.

just one of the bar/TV lounges

Eastern Spinebill Honeyeater

*Numbugga, NSW.  Pop 125 in the 2016 census.