It is difficult to distil the tale of this three-week outback tour into a short report but here are some of the many memorable components.
Seven only participants on this COG/Emu Tours adventure meant that we all had window seats for the whole 5,000 kilometres; lots of space for travelling accoutrements like parkas, cameras, binos, hats, etc. was a definite plus. Steptoe and Son would have been proud of us. Thank you, Emu, for not cancelling with so few takers.
The next plus was getting to Willandra National Park on the first day when so often the road is mud-bound and travellers don't get beyond the Hillston pub. There was water on each side of the road at times and an occasional slide but it was good to be into Apostlebird, babbler, Blue Bonnet, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, Yellow-throated Miner country and to have a great view of four Banded Lapwing. We saw quite a few of the latter, a group of 15 being seen on the Trida road which we had to take out of Willandra because the usual road out via Mossgiel was closed. Accommodation in the shearers quarters was adequate. Red-backed Kingfisher and White-breasted Woodswallow on wires in the centre of Ivanhoe and towards Menindee the lovely sight of about 20 Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos.
Around Kinchega National Park we got Orange Chat, White-backed Swallow, Red-necked Avocet, a Peregrine Falcon sittinig overlooking Lake Cawndilla, budgies, zebbies and Freckled Duck. The shearers quarters here were more than adequate, with good shower blocks, kitchen and dining areas and the famous woolshed to explore.
Next Mootwingee and Chirruping Wedgebill, Singing, Spiny-cheeked and White-Fronted Honeyeaters, Chestnut-crowned Babbler and five Major Mitchell's Cockatoos to welcome us to our campsite. No Hall's Babbler or Grey Falcon despite a morning's hunt in Homestead Gorge. The promised swim in Mootwingee Gorge was inhibited by the stench of dead kangaroo issuing from the putrid pool left by the drought. The Apostlebirds at this camp were very demanding and one or two birdos were caught surreptitiously feeding them.
A night on the town at Tibooburra, then camp at Sturt National Park, with its cold showers, jump-ups, gibber plains, Cinnamon Quail-thrush and an estimated one thousand corellas streaming along with the bus to Mount King Station for a drink: much clicking of cameras. Next day we had glimpses of Grey Grasswren in the lignum on a station in Queensland, more Freckled Duck, Black Falcon and the beautiful Bourke's Parrot. The thunderstorm on our last night at Sturt brought little rain so we were surprised when our road to the 'Dig' tree and Innamincka turned into a river. The trailer was unhitched and Richard Jordan successfully turned the outft around to try the Moomba route. On this stretch we saw another group of about 40 Banded Lapwing, Crimson and Orange Chats and more Bourke's Parrot.
The news from the ranger at Innamincka was that we probably wouldn't get to Coongie Lakes, certainly not immediately. So Plan B was developed: a search for the elusive Gibberbird in the morning, a two-hour sunset cruise on Cooper Creek in the afternoon, Richard to shout us dinner at the hotel and the night at Burke's Grave campground. All very successful, especially the extended views of a pair of Gibberbirds. The next morning saw us on the road to Coongie but it was decided not to tempt fate but to camp at Kudriemitchie on the north-west branch of the Cooper, about 30 km short of the lakes. There was general agreement that Coongie Lake was only so-so, no birds of interest and two days in the area was enough. A 4WD vehicle could possibly do better, however, and March and September could produce waders using the lakes as a staging post. We found Ground Cuckoo-shrike and Black-breasted Buzzard on the return trip to Innamincka and about the fifth sighting of Cinnamon Quail-thrush.
Then the Strzelecki Track and in the Lyndhurst area fleeting views for some of us of Thick-billed Grasswren (by Richard only, for whom it was a lifer), Rufous Fieldwren and Chestnut-breasted Whiteface. We camped at a beautiful bore, Monte Collina, incongruous in the endless sandhills and dry plains of the Strzelecki but which supported a variety of birds including Little Grassbird and Australian Spotted Crake. The Flinders Ranges then rose gradually from the flat desert horizon and we enjoyed the spectacular drive through, especially views of the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby. We were not pleased to be locked out of Bucharinga Gorge, now owned by John Wamsley.
BOPing along in the bus we barracked for either wedgies or kestrels depending on the underdog of the day but by day 21 kestrels had won by 131 to 96. The 182 species recorded for the tour also included Splendid, Variegated and White-winged Fairy-wrens, Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, White-fronted Chat, Spotted Harrier, Red-capped Robin and Red-browed and Yellow-rumped Pardalotes.
Richard Jordan ran the tour with relaxed competence and good humour; Janet Love was a good cook and a caring person; Mike (Mars Bar) Doyle's expertise was a great asset to our very compatible group; and a wonderful time was had by all.
But you'll all be wondering about Gluepot...
Phil Goddard