Yesterday, Wednesday, was a beautiful, warm day. Unlike Monday-see previous post-there was no cold wind. It was 24ºc -ideal for walking-so I decided to walk up the Coast Track in Wyrrabalong National Park just a 20 minute drive from home to hopefully see the displays of flannel flowers along the track.
Flannel flowers -Actinotus helianthi- are found on sandstone heathland in small areas around Sydney and the coast of New South Wales and they briefly bloom in the spring.
I drove to Bateau Bay and then walked up the Coast Track to Crackneck Lookout and then along the track towards the Wyrrabalong Lookout. As the first part of the walk is a steady uphill climb I decided to take only my water bottle and the light X-Vario camera. A sensible decision.
The flannel flowers did not disappoint. I only saw the displays along the track on the ridge but was told by some walkers that there are equally impressive displays further along the track which involves going down -and then coming up again- a long steep set of steps. I passed on that one.
I did not see any snakes which are now starting to come active in the warming weather and I did not even see any snake trails in the sand on the track. However I did see a large bluetongue lizard which unfortunately did not stay around long enough for me to take a photo.
 |
The beautiful walk up the hill through eucalypts and scrub. The large dark bulb up the tree is a termite colony.
|
 |
180º views from Crackneck Lookout. This is looking north. The pristine sand beaches extend into the distance
|
 |
| Flannel flowers |
 |
The scrub vegetation is bent over by the wind which blows off the sea onto this cliff top location
|
 |
| Typical sandy heathland vegetation enhanced by flowering flannel flowers |
|
 |
The flannel flower lined Coast Track.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment