Reluctantly we packed up and left only footprints and memories at Cullyamurra but promising to return with canoe next time. Not far down the same track back to the highway was Burke's grave site. It is a poignant place and we sat on the seat and tried to recall all the feelings as he lay dying with King by his side. While we were here we got some bush tucker that they had used - NOT the Nardoo seeds - and cooked some of the beans up later - they were delicious.
The bean tree
We headed for Innaminka - we were in South Australia now. It is a tiny place - not much more than a pub, a store and a rangers station. We did go to the very desolate cemetry there and read some of the sad epitaphs. The town dump provided another highlight where crows and dingoes reign supreme.
We bought our desert pass here - $150 for the privilige of sand dunes across the Simpson - and headed north over 100 km of some very rough and corrugated road to Coongie Lakes National Park. We arrived early afternoon and picked a spot on Cooper Creek which flows into the lake. The main Lake is huge and was a short 200m walk across a sand dune to have a spectacular view of it. The bird life again was amazing. We caught up with some serious bird watchers here - twitchers - and they had documented 45 varieties in their 2 day stay. We saw brolgas, pelicans, black swans, hosts of of white cockatoos and sulphur crested ones also and galahs as well as a myriad of other smaller birds whose names and calls are a part of our lives that we would love to know more about. We met a lovely couple there who shared some wine and stories of their great trip down the Murray in sea kayaks a few years ago. There are not many words to say about this beautiful place - I will let the pics tell the story.
This is just a small sample of the flora and fauna footprints in the area - more next post and Kerry can take over here.
Your photography is really great here fox and da! I'm very impressed - the pictures do indeed tell a great story :) xx
ReplyDelete