Bunya Mountains

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On Wednesday, Sept 14, the day after we arrived at Yvonne's place in Crows Nest, we packed an over-night bag for our trip up into the Bunya Mountains.

Robert had reserved a holiday house up there for us all to stay in for two nights so we could enjoy the wildlife that come out in the evenings.

Nights are alive with the sounds of the nocturnal creatures and a myriad of stars on a clear night.

The Bunya Mountains is a spectacular wilderness range forming an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range located about 150km from the coast.

The immense subtropical range of cool, green rainforest, eucalypt forests and woodlands is home to the world’s largest forest of bunya pines.

The Bunya nuts are very large and look somewhat like a pineapple. The nuts can weigh up to 8kg and when they fall they can cause quite a lot of damage, to say nothing of what would happen to your head if you were hit my one!! Native animals enjoy feasting on the bunya nuts, as does the human population as well.

Aboriginal people historically used Bunya Mountains as a meeting place for the various tribes scattered throughout N.S.W. and Queensland.

Unfortunately the weather was cool and rainy so we were not able to see the panoramic views from the top of the the mountains because of thick cloud cover.

However, the Wallabies were out in abundance all around the area including the yards around our house.

We delighted in watching them feed and rest on the grass while the young babies frolicked around the mothers.

We were able to catch very young baby wallabies just peeking out of the mother's pouch, as well as older ones nursing from the mother's pouch.

The colorful birds were also in abundance and kept us well entertained as they boldly sat on the railing of the deck looking for the seeds that Robert fed to them.

The first night there was quite stormy with strong winds and heavy rain. Next morning as we took off for a scenic drive we did not get far before we were stopped by a tree which had fallen across the road as a result of the storm. An employee from the park office was stranded on the other side of the tree and could not get to work until they sent out a crew to clear the road. While discussing the situation we could hear various bird calls in the forest. I took a little video to catch the distinctive call of the Whip bird whose call sounds like the cracking of a whip.Unfortunately this blog site has disabled downloading videos.

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Photos

Bunya Mountains
Named after the Bunya Pine trees

Kookaburra
Notice the blue in the feathers

Mother and baby
Very young baby poking his nose out of the pouch.

Mother and baby
This little one is hungry

Robert and birds
Feeding the Rosella on the veranda of the house where we were staying.

Rosella
Just posing for a picture

Comments

[Colin]

From England
Hi folks, sounds like your having a great visit. We're enjoying our visit to the Auld Sod although it's a bit difficult getting around; old farts like me can't rent a car and, based on the traffic and being on the wrong side of the road, I would'nt want to drive here anyway. Weather is quite variable, suny and warm one and cold and wet the next, typical England, would'nt have it any other way. Whe are you folks headind back to the wack? We fly out on the Wed 28th. Take care and enjoy. C&V

[J/S Butler]

Love your pics . Thanks for sending them to us

[J/S Butler]

Love your pics . Thanks for sending them to us