one autumn morning | bundaleer forest

A golden autumn morning spent wandering in the beautiful Bundaleer Forest. 

somewhat drier than our last visit 1 | 2

five senses | morning walk

           Seeing: the hazy, pale gold early morning light, streaming through the trees

           Hearing: chattering, chirping birds, greeting the morning

           Touching: the feel of cool, crisp, early morning air on my skin

           Smelling: the sharp scent of pine needles underfoot

           Tasting: hot, strong, milky tea & banana muffins for breakfast

fields of green...

august break 2013

bundaleer forest | part 2

{ Part 2 of our visit to Bundaleer Forest - see Part 1 here }

By the time we finished morning tea there were more showers, but undeterred, we set off on the 'Scenic walk'. The first challenge was crossing the flowing creek without getting our feet totally soaked - with a bit of team work we managed pretty well. The sun came out briefly as we looked at the forest sculptures along the way.

It was soon raining again, alternating between light & heavier showers, with the occasional burst of sunshine. This walk is supposed to include a view over the valley, but we managed to miss that loop of the walk - a little disappointing, but considering how wet & windy it was, probably just as well. The track follows the road for a while & there were some nice views over the farmland.

We'll just have to go again some time soon, perhaps on a drier day. Despite the sogginess it was a fun outing - we even saw a rainbow - and it finished well with lunch back at the picnic ground.

part 1 | a past walk in a forest in the rain

bundaleer forest | part 1

We're lucky enough to have not just one, but two forests in our area - the Wirrabara forest is a little closer, so we've visited it a bit more often. A little over a week ago, we spent most of a day in the Bundaleer forest, near Jamestown.

It was a cold day, kinda cloudy with possible showers forecast - it wasn't raining when we arrived, but the recent wet weather meant it was quite wet & slippery underfoot. There are a couple of walks which start at the picnic ground & we decided to walk the shorter 'Maple Walk' to work up an appetite for morning tea. Apart from a brief shower it stayed dry - the sun even came out for a while & morning tea was thoroughly enjoyed.

After morning tea was a bit wetter &......well, you'll have to wait for part two...

forest dreams...

from this day, in the wirrabara forest

a potentially prickly encounter...

On our way down Mt Remarkable, we had a rather special encounter.

We hadn't seen that much wildlife other than a few birds, until we spotted this prickly fellow, just off the path. It was very shy at first, but once we stood quietly for a while, poked it's head out. The sound of the camera seemed to spook it, so I watched & waited a while between shots. I probably could have sat & watched it all day, but the hot drinks we had left in the car were calling us, so eventually we moved on.

a little further on, we also spotted another local...

on Flickr

reasonably remarkable...

As I mentioned here, we recently decided to attempt the Mt Remarkable summit hike.

It was a 12km round trip, which took us about 6hrs (+ a lunch stop at the summit). The weather was gorgeous - cool & sunny with a bit of breeze & we were well fuelled by home-made pasties, biscuits & flour-less chocolate cupcakes. Although the view at the summit was obscured by trees, there were plenty of opportunities to gawk at the surrounding farmland along the way. While it was not precisely a gentle afternoon stroll, I enjoyed it very much.

All these photos I took on the way down (which is when I carried the camera), you can see some that Kathryn took on the way up here.