Off to Cape York for an AWC event at Piccaninny Plains on Saturday 23 August. Managed to get an invite due to a last minute cancellation.
First stop Cairns, then a light plane to the sanctuary on Sunday Morning.
Arrived safely in Cairns.
Category Archives: AWC
Scotia Special
The trailer mess
The Doc was told a couple weeks ago the camper trailer would not be delivered. Despite paying the deposit 12 months ago, the first trailer was then stolen and now the replacement will not be delivered. The Doc has been been urgently modifying the car and organising a replacement trailer.
The Patrol now has a fridge installed and a couple of other modifications.
The new trailer has been ordered and will be picked up next month, with any luck. The Excellent Venture is back on course.
The Doc is back on the road today. Out to AWC’s Scotia Sanctuary then into South Australia, mostly the Flinders Ranges and Wilapena Pound, perhaps Eyre Peninsula.
Mornington Magic
The Doc’s visit into the Central Kimberley was to visit AWC’s Mornington Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is the home of WildlifeLink Research Centre, AWC main research centre across The Kimberley, covering Mornington-Marions Downs, the Artisan Range, Tablelands and other properties. It is from where EcoFire is managed across much of the Central Kimberley.
AWC describes Mornington and Marion Downs as “almost 6,000 square kilometres of the iconic Kimberley region. Bounded to the south by the rugged King Leopold Range, the properties contain some of Australia’s most spectacular scenery. Massive mesas and dramatic sandstone escarpments overlook vast savanna woodlands, while a network of tropical rivers, including the Fitzroy River, carve deep gorges through the ancient landscape. “
What a magical place. Report is here.
AWC in the Simpson
While crossing the Simpson Desert our convoy passed another heading east to west. They were a group of 3 motorcycles. The Doc was “Tail End Charlie” (the last in the convoy) and stopped to tell the leader he was the last car. The leader of the other group said he was an AWC supporter and gave The Doc the thumbs up after seeing the stickers on the side of The Doc’s car.
Next week the Doc is off to AWC’s Mornington Sanctuary in The Kimberly, should be great.
A bridled nail tail wallaby this time, once thought to be extinct in Australia, but now thriving on AWC’s Scotia Sanctuary.
The Doc’s Road Trip
Here is a map of the last road trip, just under 8,000km (excluding the flight which was 390km). The plane flight over Lake Eyre and Anna Creek Station are the “wings” you can see in South Australia.
Odometer milestones were:
- 25,000km at Warrumbungles, NSW
- 26,000km between Cobar and Wilcannia, NSW
- 27,000km AWC’s Scotia Sanctuary, NSW
- 29,000km Simpson Desert, SA
- 30,000km Innamincka, SA
- 31,000km near Cobar, NSW
Next week The Doc flies to AWC’s Mornington Sanctuary in the Kimberlies, Western Australia.
AWC’s Scotia Sanctuary
The Doc has had the privilege of visiting Scotia Sanctuary run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy or AWC over the past weekend. It was a Supporter’s event, as The Doc is a Foundation Supporter of AWC.
Scotia is in Outback New South Wales, near the South Australian border, about half between Broken Hill and Mildura. It is remote, meaning the Sanctuary needs to be heavily self reliant.
Small mammals in Australia are in critical decline, Australia already has the worst mammal extinction record in the world and many more may follow. Animals like the numbat, bilby, boobie, woylie, bridled nail tail wallaby and rufous-hair wallaby (also known as the mala).
These small marsupials cannot defend themselves against feral predators like the fox and cats. Feral cats in Australia are extraordinarily destructive. A conservative estimate indicates the cats take 75 million small mammals, birds and reptiles every night. Then you have foxes, land degradation by feral herbivores (camels, buffalo, donkeys, goats, etc.) and wildfires.
These precious populations are protected by feral free areas behind electrified fences, supported by a team of land managers, feral eradication experts (not all the property has an electric fence) scientists and researchers on the ground.
Over 80 cents in every dollar given to AWC goes to the field, a figure far higher than other conservation groups. Work is based on science and results tracked. People are accountable. The result is that AWC now cares for a large percentage of these remaining populations of critically endangered animals.
While small mammals are a priority work also involve birds like the Endangered Gouldian finch and purple crowned wren. Threatened flora and rebuilding on the overall habitat are priorities as well. A healthy landscape will allow the birds and animals to flourish. So The Doc got see how the Australian habitat looked like before European settlement. We need to improve our stewardship of the land and our animal capital by good science, sensible polices and hard work. AWC shows individuals working together can make a difference and a big one. People need to take ownership instead of looking to governments.
The Doc now prepares for the Simpson Desert crossing in a few days, and will leave you with a picture of the ever so cute mala, (one of the rarest mammals in Australia).
Sometimes jokingly referred to as the T Rex of the marsupial world, because of is tiny front legs and large hind legs (relative to its body size).
Mutawintji recon finished
Wet weather in Dubbo meant The Doc headed to Broken Hill via Gundabooka and Paroo-Darling National Parks. Hopefully he can do the Zoo on the return journey.
The Doc spent yesterday morning looking around the sculptures in the desert and few other places at Broken Hill, the silver city. After lunch, The Doc drove out to Mutawintji National Park and stayed the night. The Doc did some recon to see how much time was needed to properly explore the Park, perhaps a week to 10 days. He did some exploration and then drove back into Broken Hill.
Now downloading, sorting, indexing and backing up photos. Also writing a blog update.
Off to AWC’s Scotia Sanctuary and a 3 day event in the morning.
This photo was taken in Mutawintji NP, can anyone guess what is it?
Sunset near the Little Topar Roadhouse on the Barrier Highway on the way into Broken Hill.
Back on the road
The next road trip starts tomorrow. Sorry I could not finish the Kangaroo Island reports. At least 2 maybe 3 more reports to come.
Next stop the Central Coast, then the Warrumbungles, then across to Broken Hill, via Dubbo and the Western Plains Zoo. Then down to AWC’s Scotia Sanctuary in Outback NSW.
Back to Broken Hill and then a 2 week Simpson Desert crossing finishing at White Cliffs.
Then to Sydney by some long route, then on a plane to Broome. Next stop AWC’s Mornington Sanctuary in the Central Kimberly’s. Back to Sydney then out to Deniliquin for some bird photography. A bit over 2 months in total.
Track me in near real time here.
New South Wales’ Jurassic Park
This is a big one.
“THOUSANDS of hectares of national park land across the State will be set aside for locally extinct animals such as the bilby and numbat under an ambitious NSW government plan to return the Australian bush as it was a century ago.”
Read the article here, some great pictures of rare Australian small mammals, several of the which The Doc saw on his recent trip. The Project is being run in conjunction with Australian Wildlife Conservancy. It is pleasing to see the NSW Government taking effective action to help save these critically endangered animals.
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