Travelogue 2015/2 New Forest Road to Northampton #4
#4
G’day,
After spending two weeks at Ballinyoo Bridge on the Murchison River (we will return to the river later) we packed up camp and travelled the 200 hundred odd kilometres to Northampton via New Forest Road to restock our larder and replenish our fresh drinking water tanks. The New Forest Road connects the north/south Mullewa Carnarvon Road with the north/south North West Coastal Highway and provides access to two cattle stations, one of which is called New Forest Station, and Coolcalaya Station, one that that has traded in cattle for Toyotas, and is now an off road adventure park, an off-road dust bath or mud bath when wet, for 4x4's and motorbike crazies. The road follows the Murchison River all the way but apart from one crossing of the river very little is seen of the actual river. At one spot the river has overflowed its banks and created a fresh water lake but few birds were seen here. Interestingly some temporary pools of water have thousand of birds and dozens of species spending time at or near the water and yet the next pool will be almost devoid of bird life. Strange to say the least. New Forest Road has little in the ways of trees and definitely no forests. It is mostly Mulga with some Mallee on red Pindan undulating sandy soils. The wildflowers in early October were stunning with many varieties putting on a grand display. Many birds were observed but as we were on the move little opportunity presented to take pictures of birds. I did manage to get a couple of ordinary shots though,one of a Brown Falcon and one of a Bronzewing Pigeon.
Img-1319 Lesser Bottlebrush
img-1320 Lesser Bottlebrush
img-1322 Calandrinia linifolia. Parakeelya
img-1330 Maned (Wood) Duck
img-1334 Mum and her chicks scurrying to safety
img-1337 Calandrinia in Mulga
img-1338 Calandrinia polypetala
img-1340
Piteanthus peduncularis. Coppercups
img-1341 Mallee scrub. Eucalypt
img-1343 Pilenthus peduncularis
img1344 Pilenthus peduncularis
img-1346 Pilenthus peduncularis
img-1347 Pilenthus peduncularis
img-1348 Pilenthus peduncularis
img-1349 Pilenthus peduncularis after the petals have dropped
img-1355 Acacia
img-1357 Calytrix brevifolia
img-1358 Calytrix brevifolia
img-1359 Calytrix brevifolia
img-1365 Eucalypt Pool.
img-1370 Lechenaultia linariodes. Yellow Leschenaultia
img-1372 Waitzia acuminata
img-1374 Schoenia cassiniana. Pink Everlastings
img-1377( mainly) Pink Everlastings + Green Mulla Mulla
img-1378 Schoenia cassiniana
img-1379 Schoenia cassiniana. Pink Everlastings
img-1380 Pileanthus peduncularis + Ptilotus macro cephalus
Coppercups + Green Mulla Mulla
img-1381 Pileanthus peduncularis
img-1383 Pileanthus peduncularis + Waitzia acuminata
img-1387 Brown Falcon
img-1391 Grevillea eriostachya
img-1393 Alyogyne huegellii. Lilac Hibiscus
img-1403 Verticordia
img-1404 Verticordia
img-1404.1 Verticordia. The Turner of Hearts
img-1406 Conospermum. Smoke Bush
img-1417. Church of St Maryl inara coeli
img-1414 Convent of the Sacred Heart
Now used as Band B
The leaves of Parakeelya is another succulent that provides an excellent source of drinking water if you happen to get lost in the bush and are in need of drink. Good advice but if Parakeelya is in flower then finding water is probably not all that hard for a half decent Bushie. See next photo.
img-1330 Maned (Wood) Duck
img-1334 Mum and her chicks scurrying to safety
img-1337 Calandrinia in Mulga
img-1338 Calandrinia polypetala
img-1340
Piteanthus peduncularis. Coppercups
This patch of Coppercups was the first we had seen of this species and we thought we had come across a rare and endangered species. Maybe we had even found a new species. We took careful note of where we had found it for future reference. Little did we know that the bush was alive with this very colourful shrub. Not only is not rare it even has a common name. We saw many red examples and a few oranges examples and some examples that had lost their petals and what was left was a yellow colour.
img-1341 Mallee scrub. Eucalypt
img-1343 Pilenthus peduncularis
img1344 Pilenthus peduncularis
img-1346 Pilenthus peduncularis
When the red petals fall off the flowers look just as spectacular but they are now yellow.
img-1347 Pilenthus peduncularis
img-1348 Pilenthus peduncularis
Img1347 and 1348 were taken only a few feet apart and are the same species of plant. The second has dropped all of it's red petals.
img-1349 Pilenthus peduncularis after the petals have dropped
img-1355 Acacia
img-1357 Calytrix brevifolia
img-1358 Calytrix brevifolia
img-1359 Calytrix brevifolia
img-1365 Eucalypt Pool.
A low lying piece of ground that gains a shallow fresh water lake when the Murchison River floods it's banks. Surprisingly there were very few birds. In the distance, on this pool, we could see a flock of Pink-eared Ducks paddling about but too far away to get a decent photo.
img-1369 New Forest Road
We spent eight hours driving the 200 kilometres of this road and only saw three vehicles, at the adventure driving camp. It took eight hours because we often just got up to speed when it was time to stop and get out to admire more flowers.
img-1370 Lechenaultia linariodes. Yellow Leschenaultia
For a person who has great difficulty spelling cat I am totally confused on how to spell "leschenaultia/lechenaultia". Both spellings above are correct or so it would seem.
img-1372 Waitzia acuminata
img-1374 Schoenia cassiniana. Pink Everlastings
img-1378 Schoenia cassiniana
Everlastings grow in massed displays if the rains fall in sufficient quantities and at the correct time of the year. Seeing the land covered in everlastings to the horizon is an amazing site especially if there is a mixture of pinks, yellows and whites.
img-1379 Schoenia cassiniana. Pink Everlastings
img-1380 Pileanthus peduncularis + Ptilotus macro cephalus
Coppercups + Green Mulla Mulla
This was another brilliant display of wildflowers that proved difficult to film and capture what the eye could see. The colourful plants were everywhere.
img-1381 Pileanthus peduncularis
img-1383 Pileanthus peduncularis + Waitzia acuminata
img-1387 Brown Falcon
img-1391 Grevillea eriostachya
img-1393 Alyogyne huegellii. Lilac Hibiscus
We saw more specimens of Lilac Hibiscus growing in gardens in Spain than we have seen growing naturally in WA. One caravan park had a whole double row of them bordering the entryway.
img-1401 Bronzewing Pigeon
img-1403 Verticordia
img-1404 Verticordia
img-1404.1 Verticordia. The Turner of Hearts
img-1405 Pileanthus peduncularis.
One of the very few orange Coppercups we saw, most were red.
img-1410 Calytrix
One of a number of fine churches built by Monsignor John Hawes, this one built in 1936 using local sandstone. Monsignor Hawes also built the convent next door, in 1919. Northampton is one of the oldest towns in WA, first gazetted in 1864 and has a number of fine historical buildings. The town services the surrounding wheat farms. In its early days it was the centre of a thriving copper and lead mining operations.
Now used as Band B
The Principality of Hutt River is located just to the north of town. If you know little or nothing about Prince Leonard and the Principality then the following is worth a read. click on the link.
Principality of Hutt River
Principality of Hutt River
Travelogue 2015/2 New Forest Road to Northampton #4 Ends
Geoff
Next travelogue will take us west to the coast at Horrocks Beach and then north along the spectacular Kalbarri Cliffs to Kalbarri and then back inland to Overland Roadhouse. Kalbarri has big signs up on the two roads leading in to the town that advises that there is $1,000 fine for camping anywhere except in approved caravan parks. So we passed straight through their crummy town and more importantly spent NO money in their crummy town.
The lady in my GPS referred to Horrocks as whore-rocks.
Horrocks is pronounced Hor (as in horror) -icks...Hor-icks
The lady in my GPS referred to Horrocks as whore-rocks.
Horrocks is pronounced Hor (as in horror) -icks...Hor-icks
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