Mountain Valley

Posted on July 1, 2016 by kathy

Mountain Valley is a secluded retreat in the Loongana Valley, we first discovered while on holiday here.

1.setting

50km inland from the coast of northwest Tasmania, this 61 hectare Private Nature Reserve nestles beneath the majestic Black Bluff.

2.Black Bluff

There are six eco-cabins to choose from, our favourite is Blue Wren.

The Leven River flows through the property

7.river 8.river

and many an hour has been spent idly waiting to spy the elusive platypus.

9.river 10.river 11.river 12.river 13.cliff

Across the bridge,

14.bridge

the path follows the river. Trout can be seen jumping in the shallows

15.river 16.river

and the native hens appear when you least expect them.

17.river

The path becomes narrow and we still search for that perplexing platypus.

18.river 19.river

Native creatures abound in this sanctuary – wallabies, possums, quolls, birds and of course, our gorgeous pademelons.

We watched Tasmanian Devils and quolls eating their evening meal on the verandah. Our host placed tasty morsels for them at dusk and they slowly came after dark as Michael sat motionless among them while I opted to watch through the window.

22.Devil

The guided walk to the glow worm grotto took us through serene grassland,

23.walk to cave

and we learned the beautiful foxglove is regarded as an environmental weed in Tasmania.

24.foxglove

There are many walks to take through fern glades

25.walk to cave

and rainforest

to discover hidden caves.

31.walk to cave

There is much more to explore at Mountain Valley, it is a wonderful experience and for those who are feeling energetic, there is the walk to the top of Black Bluff.

32.Black Bluff

I am looking forward to our next visit. http://mountainvalley.com.au

auspicious autumn

Posted on May 6, 2016 by kathy

Autumn is a busy time in the garden, with two truckloads of mulch to spread

1.mulch pile1 4.mulching 3.mulch pile3

and firewood to get in for the winter. We don’t cut down trees in our forest but sometimes nature helps out.

5.wood1 6.wood2

It’s hard work – he cuts,

7.wood3 8.wood4 9.wood5

I stack

then Betsy helps us take it up the hill.

12.wood8

I find some fascinating features in the forest

15.lichen 16.web

trees that appear to have died have not.

We split

19.splitter1

and stack the wood ready for our winter warmth.

23.woodshed1

The garden still has some colour

and the bees love the callistemon.

36.callistemon bee

Five years ago I made a bench from the branches of our pruned fruit trees.

37.bench1

Sadly, it has succumbed to the elements.

38.bench3

Maybe another project…..

Territory Wildlife Park

Posted on February 19, 2016 by kathy

On a perfect winters day in Darwin, we set off to discover Territory Wildlife Park, situated about 60km south on 400 hectares of natural bushland. We spent a few hours wandering through woodland, wetland and monsoon habitats.

1.woodland1 2.monsoon1

Along the Monsoon Vine Forest Walk is one of the largest domed walk-through aviaries in the southern hemisphere.

4.monsoon3

16.aviary13

Birds weren’t the only creatures in the aviary.

17.aviary14

14.aviary11

The surroundings were stunning

20.pmonsoon9 21.pmonsoon2 22.pmonsoon3

with the occasional surprise at ground level.

23.pmonsoon1

Some of the trees had created fascinating designs of their own.

27.pmonsoon7 28.pmonsoon8

The Park is well set out with a shuttle train continuously travelling the 4km loop, a welcome service as the temperature rises. Each exhibit entrance is adorned with cute critters and clever decorations.

The display of free-flying birds at the Flight Deck was amazing.

The eagle trying to break open an emu egg with a rock showed the innate behaviour is still strong in these birds in captivity.

36.flight deck1

Neil, the bush stone-curlew stole the show.

39.flight deck4

Just when you think you’ve seen everything there is something new to surprise.

43.frog 44.snake

broken bridge

Posted on February 5, 2016 by kathy

Our latest project was a bit daunting, we’d put it off thinking it would be difficult and time consuming. There is a bridge over the stream at the bottom of the hill in the rainforest

1.before1

and the timbers have been deteriorating since we moved in. No longer was it safe to traverse in a tractor…….

2.before2

……the time had come. Michael had sourced hardwood from a local sawmill and it was already stacked and ready to go. After cutting them to length

3.cutting

we laid them out to make sure we had enough

4.laying out 5.laid out

and drilled the nail holes in preparation.

6.drilling

The old boards were easily prised off

7.prising 8.prising

and the new ones were dragged down the hill a few at a time.

9.dragging

One by one, they were set in place

10.new ones

and nailed to the supporting beams (old telegraph poles).

11.nailing

We were pleasantly surprised at the progress we made

12.newones2

and the old ones were stacked for future use.

13.old ones

The last of the old ones came off

14.last one off 15.all old ones off

and the new ones were all laid.

16.all laid

It was hot work but the surroundings made up for the discomfort.

17.scenery1 18.scenery2

Side rails finished off the edges and Poppy was on hand to give advice.

19.siderails1

We thought it fitting that she should be first to test the strength of the new bridge.

22.finished

After that hard work in the heat, there was only one way to get back up the hill.

23.up the hill1 24.up the hill2

contented Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2015 by kathy

We decided to do something different for Christmas Day this year. Life is so busy, time spent relaxing together seems to get less and less, so that’s what we did. We packed up Betsy

1.Betsy