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This is not a new entry, it is a replacement for one that I accidentally deleted.


Muogamarra nature reserve is about 65 Kms north of Sydney and it is open to the public for only six weeks each year, this is because it is a delicate area and too many human visitors can do a lot of damage. You really need some form of transport to get to it, there is a railway station but it’s five Kms away and once you arrive at the gate it’s another 2-3 Kms before you start on the walks. This particular weekend was the first open day of spring so we went along to have a look. Normally there would be masses of wildflowers at this time of the year but we have had a very long drought and there are very few blossoms around. We are limited to walking only on the designated footpaths so it may not always be possible to get close enough for some photos.





These are very ancient tessellated rocks that go back millions of years before the super continent of Gondwanaland split into the smaller continents. This area was part of a huge river about 200 miles wide and I’m told the rocks are a result of that river.





This plant is called a Grass Tree in New South Wales but in some other states it is also known as a Black Boy. During hot wind storms the leaves can rub together generating a lot of heat and causing combustion and bush fires.





Similar to above





Rather nice colour but I couldn’t get close enough to this one.





This is a native but I do remember seeing them in UK.





This is the Waratah, the state flower and emblem of New South Wales. It is related to the Proteas of South Africa.





Caught a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye, spun round and pressed the shutter before I even knew what it was. Turned out to be this wallaby that only stayed for about half a second. It must have been scared by seeing so many humans in its territory.





This is a good example of the local sandstone. Our block of land was very much like this before we vandalised it to build a house and then had about ten lorry loads of soil brought in for our vegetable garden.





This area is called Peat Island after Mr Peat who ran a ferry many years ago before the bridge was built. We are looking down from 350 metres about two kilometres from our home. We do not get any views like this because we are surrounded by huge gum trees. The buildings on Peat Island used to be a mental hospital that closed a few years ago, there are plans to demolish and build a resort.





A few months ago a movie “The Oyster Farmer” was filmed in this area, it is intended for world release. Here you can see some of the oyster beds, quite a big business in the area.





This is Brooklyn, originally a fishing village but now used for mooring of recreational boats. In the background is a bridge, the original was built by the Union Bridge Company of the USA, the builders of the original Brooklyn Bridge and that name was given to this town. The bridge that is there now is a replacement that was built prior to WW2 when the original bridge became unsafe.

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