Wild Goose: Travelogue 2015/2 North West Coastal Highway #6

Travelogue 2015/2 North West Coastal Highway #6

#6

G’day,

      Oct 8th. After leaving Kalbarri National Park we turned on to the NW Coastal Hwy heading towards Butchers Track some 150 kms north. Oct 7th found us camped about a kilometre west of Galena Bridge which crosses the Murchison River, 550 kms north of Perth on the North West Coastal Highway. The next morning we had a look about at the bridge, took some photos of the only bird present which was too far away to get a good photo and a few photos of flowers one of which is nearly worth showing here. We then set off north and according to my camera we travelled for exactly one hour between photos before stopping at one of the most amazing places that I can recall for wildflowers in a natural setting. The pictures of the river are ~~a bit~~ a big bit misleading as the river is mostly a dry river with flowing water a rarity and only after heavy rains upstream. On the south side of the river and to the west is a large clearing and a couple of very faded signs that suggest there was a town here of some sorts in days gone by. Or maybe it was a large camp site for the bridge and highway construction gangs? No mention of it can I find anywhere. Anyway somebody has built a small concrete weir, to provide a water supply, across the river which is the reason the river looks like a river. see img- 1572.
        After looking on Google Earth it is obvious that there were no streets suggesting a town but plenty of signs that suggest a large camp and earth moving site used by Mains Roads construction gangs.
        Before moving north and flowers following is a few photos taken at the bridge

img-1563 Galena Bridge

img-1565 New & Old Bridges

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On tuther side of the river

img-1572 Concrete Weir across the river

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We had been driving for a bit under an hour when I spotted masses of pink flowers on top of large shrubs with tall whips a fair way off the road on top of sand-dunes that were running parallel to the road. I kept driving for a few kilometres hoping the sand-dune and the road would converge thus bringing the flowers closer to the road. After awhile the flowers seemed a bit closer and I was starting to think that if I didn't stop luck and the flowers would run out. So I stopped. The surrounding bush was low heath except along the road edge which sported shrubbery six foot high which blocked out the immediate view and the sand-dune vegetation which could be seen over the top of high road-side shrubs. The extra height in road side shrubs would be a direct result of extra water from run-off. The first photo of this amazing stop was of the pink flowers that caught my attention in the first place some 10 or so kilometres back although it was taken 10 minutes after arriving. The flowers behind the shrubs overwhelmed us and it was awhile before we got to the sand-dune. After deleting and editing I kept 69 photos all taken in a very small area . These pink flowers could be seen, some distance from the road, for some miles.

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Some how I managed to reduce the 69 photos to choose from down to 39.

This ends the series of photos taken in one very small patch of bush one hour north of Galena Bridge. The next few photos were taken ten minutes north along the highway but in Mulga not Heath.

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Next four photos taken in the Mallee

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Next three photos taken on Butchers Track on Pindan (red sand) country.

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This brings to an end to the wildflowers for the time being, there will be a few to add at the end of this series of Blogs. Before I end I though this map might be of interest. South West WA is one of 34 Biodiversity Hotspots in the World. These Hotspots are both biologically rich — and deeply threatened. We are busy destroying Western Australia's biodiversity at a rapid rate of knots and before long there will be nothing left except waste lands (salt), concrete, bitumen and holes in the ground!