The Great Dividing Range to Iluka

Next stop, the hills. But first, some roadside fruit: superb apricots, black cherries, strawberries – all picked right from the farm that’s selling them. It’s all too easy to eat all too many!

View from Raspberry Lookout, Gibraltar Range

For some reason, there are many more flowering plants up high than low, along the coast. We spent one whole day exploring the plants – and rocks, of course – of the Gibraltar Ranges, ending in the Bellbird campsite in Washpool NP. Our big excitement was a lyrebird in full voice, going through his repertoire of his own calls as well as other birds’. We also heard a squeaky door a couple of times. If you’ve never seen David Attenborough’s visit with a lyrebird, you should Google it on YouTube.

After you’ve found that, then look at his visit with a satin bower bird’s bower. That was our next excitement. We knew that blue things are the preferred decorations for this species, and we’d seen a male in our campsite, so we put out on the ground  3 blue clothes pegs. Within minutes, he had found and made off with the 2 darkest blue ones. Jock went looking for the bower and found it. Obviously we weren’t the first to have this idea!

 

Huge termite mounds are very common

Grass tree

A forest floor of grass trees

tree ferns 

 

WOODY HEAD, Bundjalung NP near Iluka

 

As a breather from photgraphing rocks and shores, I turn to flowers...

Iluka Beach from our camp ground

Iluka beach looking towards the town of Iluka. Deserted, as most beaches seem to be except on weekends. How the Brazilians would weep to see so many beaches with so few people!

hanky panky in the insect world - no privacy!

Melastomes, just like those in South America. I'm not sure whether they are native here.

Black Rocks Beach at north end of Bundjalung NP

For me, this exquisite, wind-blown sand art exceeds almost any human-created masterpiece. Click on it to make it larger to see it well (only positive feedback is welcome......  ;-)

A marine stinger, with the dangerous part extending about 2-3 feet beyond the body - these are small creatures we definitely don't want to tangle with!

a baby stinger

another interesting sand pattern made by a crab (who is in the hole, I think)