Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Walk on the Wallum Side

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Walking in the Wallum
on Mondays...






It's Monday
at 3.30 pm
and you know what that means












It time we got started
down through the dunes...













and onto Sunshine Beach
en route to the Wallum











we'll walk on this path
up on the dunes
amongst the creeping vines
and Pig Face
Carpobrotus glaucescens











until we reach
the Northern end of the beach
and climb
up the wood and chain track
to where the Scarlet Wrens flit


















but instead of wrens we see today's
Golden Everlasting Paper Daisy












yesterday's spent ones












and tomorrow's
promise of a new flower












and here
we enter the Wallum













and under a Wallum sky
it is quiet












the afternoon light
falls through the Paper Barks
and onto the dry bracken
that cannot survive without water...












Let's take this turn
down these gentle steps












beside a young Grass Tree
a magnet for the sun












and we'll make our way
through fern gully












across a little bridge
over Tea Tree stained water












and enter the flat Wallum country
where a giant grass tree flower
marks the path crossroads













let's stop to look
at this intriguing flower stem

The forest grass tree
Xanthorrhoea latifiolia
does not have a trunk











It flowers profusely
after a fire
and you may remember
that I showed you
a controlled burn recently
in the Wallum
that came right up to this corner












the flower stalk was used
by the Aborigines
in fire making,
the nectar to make drinks,
the leaf base nibbled
and the resin,
a traded item,
was used as glue











today
the wild bees
are enjoying a feast












now we are entering the Wallum
Banksia country
after which the Wallum is named











Stop!
Look over here...












walk back this way
and the Frill Neck Lizard
will move into the sun











Oh what a beauty you are
Mr Frill Neck

Look at his scaly skin
his toes
and watchful eye













and do you see
that loose pouch of skin
folded on his shoulders
which can become his frill











look at his long rigid tail
in silhouette,
he resembles a branch












thank you Mr Frill Neck Lizard
for your co-operation











Listen!

It's the pair of Black Cockatoos
we heard and saw
circling over the dunes


they are keeping their distance
eating the Banksia nuts












The sun is telling me
that I must get you home
This walk
at a fast pace
can take 45 minutes
But we have spent two hours
immersed in the Wallum
lost in nature



We are blessed


Oh happy Days...








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59 comments:

  1. I so enjoy walking with you. I learn so many new things and see the beauty of your country. It is a totally delightful exerience. Thank you.
    Sunny :)

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  2. Thank you for this walk. I have always wanted to visit your country, but will probably never get there... but I get to visit anyway, through your eyes. Just beautiful.

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  3. Thank you so much for taking us along on this beautiful walk. The Wallum is full of suprises.

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  4. what a lovely walk, so many interesting things to see, the Frill Neck is very characterful

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  5. Hi Delwyn. Lost in Nature.. sounds like heaven to me! The Frill Neck lizard is amazing, lovely photos.

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  6. Hello Sunny

    thank you Sunny

    I enjoy taking you ...and the others, on my walks...I learn new things each walk too...so it's a mutual benefit...

    Happy days

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  7. Hi Jeanette

    It is an amazing country - I can boast unabashedly as it's my adopted country...and I am thrilled to be a resident, actually I'm also a national...

    Try and visit down under in you life time...but in the mean time visit with me vicariously...

    Happy days

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  8. Delwyn

    Thank you for giving a glimpse of this beautiful landscape.

    The walk and the excellent commentary did me the world of good.

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  9. Hello Nancy

    My wallum walking friend and I are like school children when we set out on our walks wondering what surprises will reveal themselves each wallum walk...there is always something...

    My friend has a great eye.. she picks up minor movements in the bush and Neck Lizard of today...
    Lucky me to have her...

    Happy days

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  10. Hello Juliet

    how are things- getting cooler way up there for you?

    Mr Frill neck was very patient and didn't worry enough to frill up for us...

    Happy days

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  11. Hi Karen...

    do you have large lizards and goannas in Africa...

    Yes it could well be the name of my book...'Lost in Nature...'


    Happy days

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  12. Martin you are very generous...

    I appreciate your enthusiasm and kind words...and loved your company on the walk...

    Happy days

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  13. Hello Delwyn

    I enjoyed so much walking with you. Australia is really a miraculous country with so many beautiful, rare flowers and fantastic animals♪♪ 

    I have never seen such amazing flowers as "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow". They are fragrant too, aren't they? I like frangrant plants very much!

    And thank you for the "Gratitude" post! In it, I found very charming woodblock prints by Koson. The last one is fabulous!

    You always take us to a lovely walk. I appreciate it a lot. What a great land! Oh sunset shots!! I envy you!!

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  14. hello delwyn! what a glorious abundance of stories and pictures!!! i think the most gorgeous picture of all is the little patch of tea-tree stained water. i couldn't even tell you why but when i saw it i caught my breath!! thankyou for this beautiful post delwyn. have a lovely night by the river. steven

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  15. Hi Delwyn...it wsa nice knowing the hour of day our walk was happening...the path at the entrance to the Wallum had a storybook quality...as well as the common names of the plants...Pig Face, Paper Daisies, Paper Bark Trees, Grass Tree...it was enchanting...the Grass Tree flower looks somewhat like a small Cactus here out West...On the property here we too have an area we named Fern Valley...Thanks for the walk.

    Smiles always,
    Wanda

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  16. Delwyn, you are truly blessed to walk through sch a beautiful, vast variety of landscapes, not to mention all the wild life.

    I think our bush land is truly unique and it doesn't matter whether you are in Victoria or Queensland. I instantly relate by looking at your photos of the paperbark trees.

    Thanks for the magical walk.

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  17. Just beautiful, Delwyn. I especially enjoyed the lizard!

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  18. Very nice post Delwyn. I have never seen such grass before. It somehow reminded me of a telephone pole.

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  19. Hi Abe

    there are a few slightly different Xanthorrhoea - grass trees, in the National Park, some have a stumpy trunk base - but this one the grass stalks grew right on the ground...the grass is usually a vivid green and very photogenic...

    Happy days

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  20. Hello Willow

    thanks for coming by...

    Happy days

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  21. Hi Liss

    I do have a range of walks to select from...all within a few minutes from home...

    I'm glad these posts make you join with me in appreciation for this amazingly wondrous country of ours...

    Happy days

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  22. I have a sneaking suspicion you live in Paradise.

    You just call it Wallum to discourage tourists.

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  23. Hello Wanda

    You would be familiar with some of these plants...I have noticed that much of the bracken is dying back because we have had too little rain...Today we even had a dust storm blow all the way from 2 states south - over 1000km away and cover the state with reddish dust...In Sydney and in Brisbane the visibility was reduced down to a few 100m...

    Happy days

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  24. Hello Steven

    I went back and had a good look at the tea tree creek... it does have a mystical quality slipping through the fern gully...

    Happy days

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  25. Hello Sapphire

    you have been busy doing some catching up...

    The YTT bush has a glorious perfume...and is a really pretty old fashioned sort of shrub...

    Australia is really the land of plenty...in many respects...

    It's good to catch up with you again Sapphire...

    Happy days

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  26. Hi Delwyn,

    That lizard was a master at blending into his environment - he looked like part of the tree! I read of the giant dust storm in Australia this morning and hope you're not in the middle of it... The media photographs of it make it looks quite frightening and otherworldly.

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  27. Hi Barry

    actually our town thrives on tourism...it is a beautiful holiday destination, beaches, rivers, open ocean, hinterland ranges...its got the lot...

    Our beach is the last of the open beaches before the great sand island called Fraser Island and then the Barrier reef with all its smaller islands...

    We also are far enough south to escape the cyclones and not to have crocodiles and the deadly bluebottles...which make swimming impossible in the top of Queensland over summer...

    I confirm that it is paradise...

    Happy days

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  28. Hi GW

    the dust storm reached us at 3pm today from 1000km away!

    By the time it got to us much of the dust had been deposited but we had to shut up the house and watched as the sun became very hazy and dimmed and the air filled with dust particles..

    I took a few photos and have borrowed one of the Sydney shots to post later...even now I feel as if I need to sneeze all the time...I can smell the dust in the air inside...

    they say it may even reach New Zealand...it is blowing off the coast here over night...

    Back to the frill neck lizard, yes his camouflage works perfectly doesn't it...

    Happy days

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  29. What a beautiful walk, even if we can only take it with you via your blog.

    I see from your comment that the dust storm has reached you, as well. I hope the worst is over. It sounds like it was quite an ordeal for many, many people all over Australia.

    Take care,
    Angela

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  30. What a beautiful place. I would love to visit australia some day.

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  31. This was a great walk, Delwyn, especially the part when we met the lizard. Amazing!

    But what is this dust storm all about?!

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  32. A lovely walk. There is so much to admire and photograph - no wonder you are gone longer than planned.

    Loved your shot of the gentle steps going away down a path. And that tree flower (sorry don't have the name right) is an amazing piece of sculpture. I tried to imagine an area full of them, but the one alone makes an arresting statement.

    Thank you, teacher.

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  33. How big is the Frill Neck Lizard? He looks very big based his size relative to the tree! Almost scary big.

    I love the photo of the afternoon sun filtering through the trees.

    I agree, happy days!

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  34. Hi Delwyn,what a beauty again,thank you,just what I needed to get me going today.Im with beezzzzz,love the grastree and I went away with Mr Frill Neck for a walk.
    Do you have trouble with the send storm too,by the way?
    Hope not. Good day to you and your world,Aleksandra

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  35. Yesterday, today and tomorrow in the Wallum. What a pleasure! And that's also for you, Mr Lizard :-).

    Greetings from London.

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  36. Your Wallum walk is wonderful in every way. Its actually downright "exotic" in its appeal :) I love the paper daisy! And how interesting to learn about the forest grass tree. I get such an education from your photos and descriptions, thanks Delwyn!

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  37. What a joy to have such a gorgeous beach, funky creatures and lush blooms out your door. Such soothing words and images. The close up of the bee was my favorite. These nature walks are the best posts and exactly what I needed today.

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  38. The world you walk through is so beautiful and strange to me. It seems unfair that one flower should get the name "pig face" while another is "golden everlasting paper daisy."

    Do you walk through Wallum every afternoon then?

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  39. What a rich tapestry. Great pictures here of fauna and flora we never see any place else. Thanks.

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  40. You are indeed blessed, Delwyn. What a strange sounding name the "Wallum" but my God what a fantastic place, it has everything. I just love the entrance, and down those steps, coming across that giant grass tree flower, all the beautiful flowers and the lizard. What a walk.

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  41. Good morning Rosaria

    thanks for coming along ans experiencing the wallum..

    Happy days

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  42. Hi Bee

    common flower names can be strange...

    I have been walking the wallum every monday at this time. The Wallum is on the back of the headland facing south towards Brisbane.

    3 or 4 days I walk the coastal track on the other side of the headland facing north into Laguna Bay or I walk up and over the hill west to east.

    Then other days I walk from home along the Noosa river where it flows out to sea....So I have many choices...

    Happy days

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  43. Hi Sarah

    I am not yet au fait with my camera enough to catch the bee in focus...I must practice with the settings...

    But the tiny flowers on the stem were clearly seen. Thanks for your company Sarah,

    Happy days

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  44. Hello Vicky

    I'm glad I have such an enthusiastic reader in you Vicky...

    I love your company...

    Happy days

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  45. Hi Mr C

    Yes I couldn't help but throw in another splash of YTT when I saw the daisies...doing their thing...

    Mr Lizard says it's a pleasure...

    Happy days

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  46. Hi Leks old friend...

    The storm passed over the coast yesterday afternoon and left us in a brown haze with the smell of dust in our noses...it is on the way to NZ now...

    Happy days

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  47. Hi KB

    that frill neck was over a metre long...I have seen very small ones in the park too...

    I don't think they would come near you unless provoked or cornered, they may run up your legs like the large goanna can do...in an attempt to escape...

    Happy days

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  48. Hi Bonnie

    the wallum walker friend and I are a pigeon pair...we ooh and aaaah over the native wild flowers and stop regularly to listen for birds and try to find them and identify them...then we talk a little philosophy and life (she was a counsellor too) so all in all we have a very lovely time together...

    There are numerous grass trees...many with the black stumpy trunks and fewer that grow on the ground like this...they are always very green and brighten up the wallum...the birds like to perch on the flower stalk...

    Happy days

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  49. Hi Jelica

    thanks for walking with me...

    A rare dust storm blew from the desert through three states right up the east coast of Au deposited tonnes or red dust and soil over vast areas even blacked out some towns - and caused havoc with transport...Sydney turned red...I will post a few pics later to show you...

    Happy days

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  50. Hi Ellen

    you would not be sorry...Au awaits you...

    Happy days

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  51. Hi Angela

    Thanks for coming along through the wallum.

    I wrote a note to Jelica about the dust storm (see just above)and will post some pics soon.

    Happy days

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  52. Hi Ann

    you may like to take the links to the other wallum walks to see more of the area. The name comes from the Wallum Banksia - the tree with the nuts on it, that grows there. It is an aboriginal word. There are banksia pics in those other posts.

    It is like walking through many little eco systems in there, dry to wet, tree to low lying shrub to wildflowers to eucalyptus forest and back to ocean dunes...

    Happy days

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  53. Oh, happy days, indeed! Your Wallum is beautiful, peaceful...just perfect! I love the papery bark on the trees and the lighting was just lovely.
    Thanks for taking me along today! Now I have had a happy day too!

    Hugs!

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  54. I adored this walk. Nice lizards, your spring flowers are soooo beautiful. That long stick thing is pretty cool! The Wallum is a great place!

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  55. What a beautiful place to walk. Most of your flora and fauna is unknown to me, exotic and lovely.

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  56. Hi Chic Geek

    I'm glad that you have been introduced to the wallum...there are some prior walks if you are keen to learn more of this landscape and flora/fauna

    Happy days

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  57. Hi Lorac

    The wallum is very diverse in both the geography and flora-fauna...you might want to see the early posts too...

    Happy days

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  58. Hi Janie

    Au has some rather unusual flora-fauna being an island continent separated from Gondwana land so long ago...

    Happy days

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  59. It's a beautiful spring with the lush blossoms! Strange to see the big lizard going up a tree--you got a great shot with the two trees and Mr. Lizard inbetween!

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