Category Archives: States

Newhaven Sanctuary, Central Australia

Australia, AWC, bark, desert, lakes, landscape, Landscape, Newhaven, NT, salt, sand, sand dunes, Textures

On the trip home from the Kimberley The Doc visited AWC’s Newhaven Sanctuary (jointly managed with Birdlife Australia). Newhaven is 350 kilometres north west of Alice Springs and borders the Great Sandy Desert. Report is here.

Newhaven 2015 - 0052

Charnley River – Artesian Range Sanctuary

Australia, AWC, Charnley River, Charnley River - Artesian Range, Kimberley, Landscape, river/creeks, rock, sunrise, Textures, WA

While at AWC’s Mornington Sanctuary The Doc became aware that Australian Wildlife Conservancy (“AWC”) had taken full control of Charnley River Station (formerly Beverley Springs Station). Click here for the report with pictures.

Katherine to Kununurra – The Kimberley

Australia, bark, desert, Kimberley, lakes, Landscape, landscape, plains, river/creeks, sunrise, sunset, Textures, WA, WA

The Doc is now writing up the more detailed reports of his recent Kimberley trip. Sydney to Katherine is already posted, click here.

Today we drive from Katherine to Kununurra, click here.

Here is a map of the whole trip, 27,000 kilometres in total by road, plus about another 1,500km by air.

KimberlyWholeTrip

ODO Update #Final

Australia, AWC, NSW, Qld

This Kimberley/Pilbara Trip has finished. The final Odometer milestones were:

  • Grafton, NSW, 80,000kms (estimate as The Doc is relaxing in Ballina, NSW)
  • Augathella, Central Queensland, 79,000kms
  • Boulia (home of the Min Min Light), Outback Queensland, 78,000kms
  • AWC’s Newhaven Sanctuary, Northern Territory, 77,000kms.

Pilbara RAW 2015 - 0258_stitch

Kangaroo Karnage

Australia, Qld

CARNAGE, CARNAGE, CARNAGE. In an earlier post The Doc commented “The first 5 kilometres out of Barcaldine was like a kangaroo slaughter house.” Barcaldine (pronounced Bar-cool-den) is on the way to Longreach, the birthplace of QANTAS in Outback Queensland.

The Doc made the return trip yesterday. Kangaroo and wallaby carcasses were littered everywhere: grey ones, red ones, young ones, old ones, small ones, big ones, all dead. To give some idea of the scale of the carnage, the road is 110km long, there is a carcass every 5 meters, giving a total of over 22,000 carcasses. If someone said The Doc was wrong, the real figure is 50,000 carcasses The Doc would not argue the point.

One grey nomad commented over the UHF radio: “I have never seen so many dead roos”. Even the truck drivers were discussing the body count.

The area is gripped by a severe drought drawing the roos to the roadside and their deaths. The least number of carcasses is now on that first 5 kilometres out of Barcaldine!

GRR Return 2015 - 0086

Great Central Road – Australia’s longest shortcut

Australia, AWC, desert, landscape, Landscape, NT, sunrise, WA

The Doc is now in Alice Springs for 2 days preparing to go to AWC’s Newhaven Sanctuary on the Tanami Track north of Alice.

This trip started with a visit to AWC’s Bowra Sanctuary and will finish with AWC’s Newhaven Sanctuary. The 2 big AWC sanctuaries for birders. The Doc would love to get some good shots of Princess Parrots at Newhaven, time will tell.

Then The Doc will make his way home after 4 months on the road. The most likely route will be the Plenty Highway (starts just north of Alice Springs) to Boulia in Queensland then back to the bitumen through Longreach and Outback Queensland to Ballina for a week, then Sydney.

Using the Great Central Road saved 1,500kms and 2 long days driving and he hopes the Plenty Highway will give a similar saving. This trip has roughly another 4,000kms to go, bringing the grand total a bit under 30,000kms over the 4 months. It has been a long trip on rough roads and the body is beginning to say enough.

A few photos from Laverton in the West until Uluru in the East along the Great Central Road.

ODO Update #3

Australia, coastal, Landscape, WA

With the return trip under way from Western Australia quite a few kilometres have been travelled in the last 5 days. New milestones include:

  • AWC’s Newhaven Sanctuary, Northern Territory, 77,000kms;
  • Erldunda, which is the turn off from the Stuart Highway out to the Olgas and Uluru (Ayers Rock), Northern Territory, 76,0000kms. (Erldunda is 200km south of Alice Springs and you still have a further 245km to drive to Uluru. It is a myth that Uluru is close to Alice Springs, think 425km away!)
  • Middle of Nowhere (technical term), Great Central Road, WA, 75,000kms
  • Kalbarri National Park, West Coast of WA, 74,000kms

A few snaps from this time.