Wet weather deters us not!

Alternative Activities

Track to Lake Eliza from Homestead

The rains have certainly curtailed our outings around the park this week.  We ventured out for a very short distance on Thursday and again on Friday.  The tracks to Lake Eliza and Mistake Creek are soft and boggy, and even the Kubota was sinking a little in the not so boggy areas.  We did, however, manage a couple of hours out in the park on Friday. We drove as far as we could and then hiked into the surrounding bush area.

Despite the rains, or maybe because of, there are some beautiful flowering trees in the park and a lot more small birds around.  We observed some wedge-tail eagles circling over the Homestead, and some beautiful, wee, plum headed wrens on the track home on Thursday.  There have also been a number of different birds around the Homestead grounds including a Golden Oriole, little friarbird,  brown honeyeater, and this morning Mrs R. spotted an emu on the track in front of the Homestead.

The rains have also brought out the magnificent golden colour of the wattle trees, and a number of different fungi on fallen branches.  So being wet is not always a negative in the park!

Confined to quarters a little more meant we finally started the task of re-painting the kitchen cupboards in the Homestead.  As you can see from the photos, the original colours were certainly not bright or cheerful.  When finished the surrounds will be painted a lime white, and the doors will be ice blue.  The old paint has to be stripped first (it is lead based of course) – that’s Mr R.’s job.  The doors are now being undercoated – that’s Mrs. R.’s job.  And if the rains stay away for the next few days we will be able to put final paint on before the end of the week when the Ranger will be visiting again.  It’s a fairly time-consuming task, but we have been asking to do it for the past three years that we have been coming here.

Very humid today but so far no further precipitation, so Mrs R. tackled the twin-tub monster, and undercoated another two doors, whilst Mr R. finished sugar-soaping one cupboard and stripping more doors, and attempted to start the un-cooperative ride-on mower.

At the time of publishing this post there are very heavy, dark clouds approaching.  Rain threatens but we will remain undaunted.

The rain continues

Tuesday - Another wet day!

Very unseasonal we have been told – just not the usual weather patterns – never rains this time of year, usually!!  Oh, well – what more can one do than take advantage of such an unusual situation. So, Mrs R. did just that yesterday.

Having been woken at 4.30am to an extremely heavy rain sound on the tin roof, when the body did finally wake fully at 7.30am the decision had been made.  It was to be a ‘forced’ day of rest and relaxation, which, to be quite truthful, was really not a bad idea.

Mr R. decided it was a bacon and eggs morning and the benefit of that was Mrs R. had breakfast in bed. What better way to start a day of rest? After breakfast it was all play and no work, in the clean sense of the statement though.

Out came all the stitchery paraphernalia – threads, needles, charts, fabrics, and a quilt Mrs R. is hoping to finish before leaving Nairana.  Wow, amazing how much one can achieve under ‘forced’ rest conditions.  That quilt WILL be finished before we leave here. And Mrs R. thoroughly enjoyed her day stitching tucked up in a warm bed in her new flannie PJs!!!!

Although yesterday was wet, Monday had been a gloriously mild day and we took advantage of the good weather and explored the southern end of the park.  We had attempted this part of the park when Mrs K. was here but at that time it was still a bit on the boggy side, so we had only covered part of the area.

Monday we trekked a good 40kms from start to finish.  We were delighted to spot a few new bird species amongst the familiar ( rainbow bee-eaters, wedge-tail eagles, pied heron, letterwing kite, and the little wood-swallow).  We will definitely have a choice of birds for our first volume of Flights of Fancy when we return home. The Nankeen Night Heron is in full voice at the moment and Mr R. would love to add a photo of that bird to his list. Feel free to check out the new photos on the Nairana Gallery page opposite.

Whilst on our trek Monday we finally discovered Corduroy Crossing, which is where we would be able to cross Mistake Creek to investigate the western paddocks.  Monday the creek would have been low enough to cross but after the rain yesterday there would be no chance to crossing now without getting bogged.  So we will have to wait another week (as long as there is no more rain) before going through the creek.

On the same track we came across a very old wild boar.  He was alone, ambling along the track minding his own business.  He didn’t seem to hear the Kubota when we were behind him and we think he may have been abandoned by the pack.  When he did finally see and hear us he bolted through the trees towards the creek.

  

Wattle trees at sthn end of Kapunda track

The southern and eastern areas of the park are awash with brilliant yellow at the moment with all the wattle trees in bloom.

 There are a lot of cattle in that part of the park and we would have counted at least 30 head on our drive. The Ranger is not as concerned this year as they are at least keeping the undergrowth down after such a long wet season with exceptional growth all over the park.

Pig trap had been raided again over a two day period, but not much point in setting the trap with the rain as we can’t access that part of the park – too boggy.  So that may now be a task for next week.

Well skies are grey once again this evening, with more rain pending.  At least it eased off this morning and afternoon and we were able to go for a short walk.  We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Feel free to add any comments to our Blog as we would like to know that there is someone out there reading our missives.

Return to the Park

We are once again back at Nairana. Our cupboards are once again fully stocked with some lovely fresh veg and meat – that should be a comfort to Mrs K. who seemed concerned at the quantity of goodies on our shelves during her brief visit to the Park!! – and some new stocks of wine, cider, and Crabbies!

We thoroughly enjoyed three wonderful days at the Pera Court Hilton with our hosts Mr and Mrs P.  Gourmet meals, fine wine, and wonderful company made for a most enjoyable, if but brief, time in the ‘big smoke’.  We even celebrated the Maroons State of Origin win (seven in a row) with our hosts and an old time friend, ‘Bloody George’, with lots of laughter, reminiscing, and loud support from the comfort of the lounge chairs.

Many thanks, once again, to our hosts for welcoming us into their home and hearts – we look forward to meeting up again in 2013 (despite Mr R. cringing at the thought of the bank balance after his visit to the local dentist and the efforts of Mrs R’s, albeit limited, shopping spree!!!!).

Looks like we were away from the Park at just the right time. The thermometer that records daily min and max temps showed a minimum temp of minus four degrees – and a max of only 21 -  brrrrr, sure would have been a cold night on Tuesday!

Graham is still ‘in-situ’ but no sign of our roo family – guess there are wider pastures to explore with sunnier days. 

After four days away we thought the first thing we should do on Saturday was to drive out to Mistake Creek to check the pig trap and our red-claw net.  Pig trap feeder was completely empty and there were a lot of prints in the area, so we refilled the feeder and will need to monitor the activity over the next three days to see if the trap should actually be set.  Our red-claw net was retrieved and there were 10 very large claw inside and a penny turtle.  We set the turtle free, back into the Creek, and two very small claw were also put back.

Jabiru and Great Egret at Mistake Creek

There doesn’t seem to be as much bird-life around at the moment – although we did spot two very large wedge-tail eagles above the Homestead.  No sign of the Jabiru down at the Creek – our second sighting of this magnificent stork may be the last we see of her on this visit.  Mr R. took some magnificent photos of the bird after tracking it down along Mistake Creek last weekend.  We are certainly gathering a large number of photos of the bird-life at Nairana.  Looks like a photo book project may be needed when we return home, with contributions from Mr and Mrs R. and Mrs K.

'Big Smoke' break

Time Away – Monday, 2^nd July

Aliens, Aliens!

We have now been at Nairana for three weeks – half way through our time away.  Our tasks to date have been easy to complete but there is a little bit of work to be completed over the next four weeks - starting with the repainting of the kitchen cupboard doors.  Looks like the aliens have hit the Park!!


We have enjoyed the solitude and quiet of the Park, broken only by the short visits of the Rangers and the lovely visit of Mrs K.  Food supplies – and drink supplies – are now reaching the lower end of isolated survival and it is time to make a short trip back to the ‘real’ world!

 ‘Real’ World Time – Wednesday, 4^th July

 Independence Day – Bastille Day – Townsville Day!!!  Here we are in the ‘big smoke’ visiting our lovely friends, Mr and Mrs P.  

After a very, very cool start to the day yesterday (minus 1 degrees) we packed up The Truck, shut up the Homestead, and headed north.  We were astonished by the amount of Road Kill we witnessed between Nairana and Charters Towers – obviously the excellent wet season experienced in the area over the past 12 months has increased the number of roos in the region.  The raptors (mainly Whistling Kites and Square-tail Kites) have a smorgasbord of meat to choose from. The region is lush and the cattle fat and plentiful.  Some of the landowners have actually replaced fencing and gates along their properties so they must also be gaining some benefit of the very good seasonal weather.

A short stop in ‘Charlie’s Trousers’ and Mr R. is once again happily smokin’ a peace pipe!  A very beautiful and historical town, a visit to CT is always a way of easing into the ‘big smoke’ lifestyle.

Our first evening, as always, was spent just catching up and for the two quilters it was time for Show and Tell and for the male species it was time to enjoy a few good wines and ‘talk the talk’.  Little realising the time, it was almost midnight before we headed for bed.  Overnight temps in Townsville were cool, to say the least.  With only 8 degrees registering it was a night to snuggle down under one of Mrs P.’s lovely quilts.

Today two creative Mrs’ joined forces and headed off for some girlie time together.  Wow, definitely feels like being in the ‘big smoke’.  Off in the little Focus we followed the plan we had made last night, only to find our first stop (a 2^nd hand book store) was a dud.  However, undeterred we headed straight for the Quilters Blessing and Scrapbook Heaven where we were undoubtedly comforted by the endless creative possibilities presented to us.

Laden with materials, of varying species, we headed off for a comfort stop, coffee and lunch at the nearest Coffee Club.   Surprise, surprise – CC was located conveniently in the Domain Centre with opportunities galore to explore more ‘girlie’ purchases.

All in all, a very relaxing but motivating day in the ‘big smoke’ – just a taster of more to come tomorrow.  

Celebrations & Discoveries

Wednesday - Friday, 27th - 29th June

Birthday girl

Wednesday and finally some sunshine! After three days of drizzle and miserable weather we were finally able to take Mrs K. for a drive into the Park mid-afternoon.  Cosy with three adults in the Kubota but all added to the fun of discovering “new” areas of the Park – and nice to get out and about on Mrs K.’s birthday. We did, of course, start celebrations early in the day with champers and fresh orange juice to accompany home-made scones with jam and cream – yummy on such a dreary morning.

Cool, cool, dudes!

Our ‘safari driver’ took us along the track to Mistake Creek where we were able to check our red-claw net and check the feed in the pig trap.  He timed it just right on our return journey for all avid photographers to capture the first real sunset we had seen in two weeks – some lovely photos but we will have to wait until we get home to make them available for you to view – country ‘dial-up’ is really the pits and one wonders if these remote areas will ever be dragged into 21^st century technology!

A ‘birthday’ dinner was naturally the order of the evening – home-made lasagne and salad followed by pavlova with chocolate cream and pineapple – all washed down with a couple of glasses of bubbly. 

Thursday was bright, sunny, and a day filled with laughter.  We travelled along some tracks that Mr and Mrs R. had not been on before – a little rough, bumpy, and muddy in parts, but the trusty little Kubota managed to get through it and once again we managed to get to Mistake Creek to gather a few more red-claw from the net.  Rule of thumb, apparently, is no red-claw in the months without an “r” but doesn’t seem to apply this season as we have enjoyed a few tasty morsels this past week.

Entertainment earlier in the week was provided by Park residents, The Roo Boys and Family.  Some great sparring and judo moves right in front of the Homestead, captured on video – the screening of which will take place after 8^th August.

Little Eagle

Friday was our last opportunity to show Mrs K. a little more of the Park and we ventured into ‘unknown’ territory – only to find we had to turn back because of heavy debris on the track. Undaunted we continued onto another ‘new’ paddock to be entertained with Flights of Fancy starring Little Eagle, Whistling Kite, Basa, and an assembly of tiny wrens and finches.

As disappointing as the weather was earlier in the week, it was lovely to spend time with our youngest daughter – just a shame we were unable to spend more time out in the park with the cameras – maybe another year!