Grasses planted by volunteers, to prevent fertilisers draining into the river |
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Group relaxing after the walk |
Slow roads to Santiago...and planning the next trip
Grasses planted by volunteers, to prevent fertilisers draining into the river |
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Group relaxing after the walk |
Works going on to construct a new bridge. Previously, cars could drive across the top of the dam wall. but it became too dangerous. |
Group photo at the lookout |
Sunday morning sunshine and blue skies! What a difference a day makes! The plan was to walk a section of the Bibbulmun Track, as far as the Harris Dam Hut and back, a total of about 8 kms.
Red sky at night on Saturday |
Before we set off, Norm had picked a specimen of this lovely flower to be identified at some point:
Still awaiting identification |
The start of this section of the Bibbulmun is a steep climb. The area was burnt a couple of years ago, when the Bibbulmun had to be closed for a time. I don't know what the walkers would have done. Now there is a lot of new re-growth, though signs of the blackened tree trunks remain:
Uphill from here |
Follow the Bibbulmun signs! |
Morning tea at the Harris Dam Hut |
Orchids: Blue Lady and Cowslip |
We passed these droppings, which had prompted some debate as to whether they were from a camel or a horse:
Driving back on the Harris Dam Road:
Later, we all enjoyed a buffet dinner at the Collie Ridge Hotel. I think everyone ate too much! I wish we had stayed at this hotel for the weekend - though it did cost twice as much as the caravan park!
Bee Sting Cake: my favourite! |
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Cooking corner in the cabin |
Suddenly the cold weather is at an end and summer is here. That's how it works in Perth: no intermediate seasons. Autumn and Spring are virtually non-existent. C suggested a drive to Bold Park and an exploration of the walking tracks:
The city framed by trees. |
Rottnest Island in the distance. |
Later that day, it was time for our regular Friday night dinner. I had received two massive beetroots in my Woolworths Click & Collect order, so I boiled one and baked the other for pickling. I'm trying to lose a bit of weight, so this was my plate of fish and salad with beetroot:
Tales from my weekend!
On Friday I was going up in the lift when my neighbour gave me a bottle of wine. He was carrying a case of 12 from his car. It was a bottle of Wildberry Chardonnay from Wilyabrup in Margaret River. This proved to be a rather special wine, a cut above my normal tipple of Aldi's casks! Years ago in Vienna, we were listening to the radio when someone said: Life is too short to drink cask wine. C straight away got up and poured a cask down the sink. That was OK when I was earning a big salary!
I enjoyed the Wilddberry with Spaghetti Marinara on Friday night and with Baked Trout and Pumpkin on Saturday. Delicious!
The weather forecast for the weekend was not good, with an extreme weather warning for Sunday morning. In fact, our regular bushwalk was cancelled. However, there was a window of sunshine on Saturday morning so I made my way to Wireless Hill, the nearest wildflower sanctuary to Perth.
Entry to Wireless Hill Park |
The prolific flower of the day was the Bunny Orchid. I've never seen so many in one place: