Thu-Fri, Sept 27-28 - Brisbane and home

(Photos: old Brisbane, our River Cat,

Quantas home)

27-8 Sept Thu-Fri

Slept in and met at eight. With our Executive rooms a full buffet breakfast is included and it was quite wonderful. Great pastries, yogurt and nuts, omelets made-to-order. It was drizzling so we decided to walk around downtown rather than go on the river and followed the guidebook’s tour of historic buildings, ending up in an old-fashioned creaking elevator ride through a large clock to the top of the tower above city hall. The weather was getting better so we walked down to the river and bought off-peak day passes to the City Cat and traveled several km down river past lovely garden apartments and old houses toward the ocean, and then back again and up river to the U of Queensland. Brisbane is a very picturesque semi-tropical city with wonderful public transportation. We have to return to explore the beaches to the north and south someday.
We walked to a very elegant restaurant, E’cco, where we had venison and Kobe beef to celebrate RRZ’s birthday and then returned to pack.

We hit the buffet again on Friday morning and then took a station wagon cab to the airport where we encountered a very long, convoluted line for check in, but after that it was smooth sailing through security, with shoes on, and we boarded on time just after eleven. Hilary had an empty seat next to her and we were in the very back of the 747 which narrows down to two seats on the side, so we all had reasonably comfortable rides, good food, free bar and about 100 movie choices.
We arrived 6:30 am on Friday, went through immigrations and customs and said goodbye to Hil who had to transfer to Southwest for a flight to Providence. Picked up our Hertz car, drove to SB in cool overcast and arrive home to find Jane Cat under the bed. It took a while to convince her we were really back, but she’s howling and rubbing against us now.

A great trip! About 97 Life Birds, and about 222 species seen.

Wed, Sept 26 - To Brisbane

(photos: Brush Turkey on our porch!, View from our Executive Room)

26 Sept Wed

Sprinkled some of the birdseed I had purchased on our porch railing and the Crimson Rosellas flew in and perched on our hands. Then two very large Brush Turkeys flew up and attacked the bag of seed and we retreated inside!
Checked out, left wonderful O’Reilly’s, and drove down the mountain with much less traffic than last Sunday. We stopped in the cute town of Canungra for breakfast of chicken and mushroom pie, New York cheesecake and flat white coffees.
Wound through lovely vineyards, rolling horse country until we reached the outskirts of Brisbane and got onto the M1 freeway into town. Hilary travels every week for work and has a gazillion Marriott points so we pulled into their reception area and were warmly greeted, upgraded to free Executive rooms, and they returned our car to Hertz (we hope). We moved into rooms on the 25th floor with glorious views overlooking Brisbane River.
The river winds through the city forming a “W”, so everywhere you walk you hit water views and get thoroughly confused as to which direction you are facing. We walked along the Riverwalk area of fancy bistros and fountains and grabbed a bite before exploring the Botanic Gardens. A huge multi-stage rock concert was being set up for this weekend so we left without seeing as much as we’d like. Walked through the Central Business District, a mixture of small old Anglican churches, very tall mod skyscrapers, and a large pedestrian mall. Bob could sense shopping and retired to the Marriott, while Hil and I explored the amazing multi-storied, open-air shopping area.
We walked along the Riverwalk in the evening, watching the River Cats (city ferries) zigzagging along and had a terrific dinner at Il Centro. We were seated outdoors and watched the crowds wander by while eating Spanner Crab and Avocado salad (best crab I’ve ever had), grilled scallop risotto, and sand dab lasagna. Wonderful!

Tue, Sept 25 - More birding at O'Reilly's

(photos: Grass Trees, Albert's Lyrebird,

Satin Bowerbird's bower)

25 Sept Tue

We tried to get up at five, but failed, and emerged around seven. Bob went off to try to see the Lyrebird, but came back discouraged. I made some filter coffee and Hil and I watched the Pademelons finish grazing and the parrots fly in while Bob went up to O’Reilly’s Discovery Center where their resident naturalist holds forth.
He met Glen Trelfo, a well-known birder and expert on the Lyrebird who told him where the birds hang out. The three of us set off and ran into Glen just as he was leaving for Brisbane. He insisted on taking us to a likely area for the Lyrebird, and there in the underbrush was a male Lyrebird with its intricate and filmy two-foot tail, scratching a hole in the ground! Bob’s 97th life bird of the trip!
Glen also told us where to find a Satin Bowerbird’s bower that is located near one of the picnic tables. The bird had constructed an “avenue” in the tall grasses and scattered blue bottle tops and blue straws in it to entice a female. The availability of colorful plastic trash has made the bowerbirds’ task of finding decorative material for their bowers much easier!
We retired to Gran O’Reilly’s Café for breakfast and then drove a short distance down the road to the Python Rock trail head and took a lovely hike through the rain forest, emerging into eucalyptus and grass tree woodland as we neared the rim of a canyon overlooking a tall waterfall.
Bob and I drove 11 km down the mountain to look for lower elevation specialties, but the road is so narrow and difficult to drive with all the traffic that we decided to return.
Hil and I caught Happy Hour in the bar and Bob joined us for another excellent dinner of mushroom tarts and roast pork with roasted veg.

Mon, Sept 24 - Exploring O'Reilly's/Lamington

(photos: Yellow Robin,

Superb Fairy Wren, Pademelon with joey)

49 degrees F at sunrise! Made filter coffee and sipped it with some leftover cookies on our porch and soon had a flock of Crimson Rosellas, King Parrots and Lewin’s Honeyeaters landing on us and finishing up our snacks. Wrapped up and set out on a trail to the “Tree Top Walk”, a suspended walkway that takes you up into the canopy of the rainforest. Continued on past huge strangler figs and beautiful Hoop Pines while watching Yellow Robins and Satin Bower Birds.
Back to our house where we cagily split a box lunch we had ordered last night, so as to avoid paying $25 PP for breakfast.
Set off on another trail when Hilary who was leading shouted out “Albert’s Lyrebird!” Unfortunately it scuttled away and Bob didn’t see it. It’s not rare at O’Reilly’s but very shy and difficult to see, so hopefully he’ll see it later. Bob did see Paradise Riflebird and we all got great views of the Logrunner, a tiny bird that tosses leaves and twigs by kicking them to the side.
Hilary returned to the “Vince” to rest as she’s experiencing some back pain, and Bob and I continued on down a steep trail to the “Wishing Tree”, a large hollowed-out fig, and back up, returning to the Lodge about noon.
Hilary and I contemplated soaking in the hot tub, but ended up snoozing and doing laundry instead.
The sun set at 5:45 and we watched the Pademelons come out and graze in the twilight, one with a joey almost falling out of her pouch!
We went to the dining room, which was billed as a buffet, but had a la carte dishes with buffet sides and really was very good. I had kangaroo with juniper and berry sauce and the others had lamb and steak. Back to lounge by the fire in our lodgings.

Sun,Sept 23 - Alice to Lamington Nat'l Park

(photos: the "Vince" suite, RRZ with a Crimson Rosella)

23 Sept Sun

We packed up and checked out of the hotel and drove to the north side of Alice where there is a large park with trails and also an historical exhibit of the buildings of the telegraph enterprise that strung one strand of wire using 36000 poles from Adelaide to Darwin and then undersea to Singapore connecting Australia with the rest of the world back in 1870s. The park is great and deserves a lot more time than we had available, and the historic stone buildings would be interesting to explore also.
But we had a plane to catch, so we headed to the airport south of town, turned in our car, cruised through security with shoes on and water bottles un-confiscated. We ordered breakfast with cappuccinos and watched parrots cavorting outside until it was time to board our Qantas jet to Brisbane. We hated leaving Alice and hope to return someday.
The red sand gradually turned to green agricultural fields and after two and a half hours we circled around the beautiful coastline of Queensland and landed in cool 65 degree Brisbane. Amazing to be cool after more than two weeks in the 90s!
We picked up our rental car, Ford sedan this time, and Bob drove south through Brisbane, with Hil navigating, about 100 km before we started driving up and up on a very winding and narrow road into Lamington National Park. We were heading to O’
Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, a famous birding destination. It’s also a favorite weekend escape for Brisbaners and, being Sunday, they all were heading back home as we were going up which made for a lot of stopping and careful maneuvering, as much of the road is one-lane. We finally got to O’Reilly’s at five in the middle of a gala wedding reception and made our way to the reception desk.
I had reserved a two-bedroom accommodation last March and had been told recently that renovations were behind schedule and they would upgrade us to a nicer room. Well, we lucked out and got the “Vince” suite, named for Vince O’Reilly, patriarch of the clan during the 80s and father of ten (most of whom seem to run various jobs around the hotel). The “Vince” is a beautiful house with two large bedrooms, one with a view spa bath, living room, wet bar, and a large porch for viewing the tame birds and Red-necked Pademelons (very small kangaroos) who live in the meadow below. We settled in and headed for the bar, drinks and small dinner before hitting our king-sized four-poster beds.

Sat, Sept 22 - Uluru to Alice Springs

(photos: desert spider, Hil at Emu Walk)

22 Sept Sat

Had a delicious breakfast of the last of the eggs and some of Bob’s leftover steak from last night and packed up. Said goodbye to the enormous (4”) spider who lives between our screen door and sliding glass door in our kitchen and is always in a different place when you try to go outdoors. Packed up the car and started east towards the Stuart Highway that runs from Darwin to Adelaide. We passed lovely rippled red sand dunes, the flat-topped mesa of Mt Conner and arrived at Erldunda, at the intersection of the highways. In this empty, lonely land, every homestead and gas station rates a name on the map! This place was a classic with gas, giant model of an Echidna in a cage, souvenirs, full bar, and great hotdogs. We revived ourselves and continued north, finally picking up a radio station 100 miles out of Alice and caught up on the Footy finals.
After 400 km, we arrived in Alice Springs and checked into the A.S. Resort, our last Voyages hotel. Very nice room overlooking the Todd Riverbed. Hilary and I decided to walk into town while Bob cleaned up and watched a little TV. The downtown is quite nice with bookshops and cafes. We were looking for a particular fabric shop that specializes in local botany prints, but found that most of the shops sensibly close early on Saturday. We retuned to the resort and, as I was feeling gin-deprived, I retired to the pool and inhaled a G ‘n’ T. At seven we drove downtown and had dinner at Oscar’s. Chili and garlic prawns and salads; not as good as QC, but pretty good.

Fri, Sept 21 - Uluru & the Olgas

(photos: "Wot Flies??!!", the Olgas, Uluru)

21 Sept Fri

Hil and I got up early and left at 6 to see the sunrise. We walked through the red sand to a little hill near our condo designated as a lookout point. The sun came up and we watched Uluru turn from lavender to pale orange.

We returned and Bob eventually emerged and we breakfasted on fried eggs and toast before setting off to drive again around Uluru to see it in the morning sun. We were planning to take a couple of hikes from the road to the rock, but the parking lots were already full of tour buses and we couldn’t face another fiasco like King’s Canyon and so left and headed west 40 km. to the Olgas, lovely, lumpy lavender shapes on the horizon. Until you get very close, the Olgas appear to be made of very similar rock to Uluru, but when you start walking among them you realize they are all conglomerate pudding stone, not sandstone.

We hiked up a canyon and suddenly saw a pair of Red Kangaroos feeding on the grass. Red are the biggest ‘roos and most resemble the Quantas symbol. Until they hopped off they were indistinguishable from the red rock around them.

We drove back to the Resort, divided up a sandwich and I took my computer over to Sails-in-the-Desert Hotel where I bought a password number in order to use their wireless and blog at last. I looked rather disreputable in their lobby surrounded by their smartly dressed guests, but blogged away anyway for a couple of hours.

At four we drove back to the Rock and took a couple of short walks to cave paintings and a water hole and admired the wonderful colors and textures of the massive rock. We drove back at sunset and went to a café near our condo and had lamb, steak and risotto with red wine.

Thur, Sept 20 - Major Mitchell's Cockatoo & Uluru

Another good buffet at six and checked out by 7:30. We drove to Kathleen Springs and hiked again to the pond at the head of the canyon. Lovely flowers but few birds except a few pretty red, black and white Mistletoe Birds.

We started the 350 km drive from Kings Canyon to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) at 9:30 passing through areas of Spinifex grass and Desert Oaks, and Mulga woodlands. Hilary was driving when she yelped and screeched to a stop, made a U-turn and drove back 100 yards. There in the Mulga trees were two Major Mitchell’s Cockatoos, the birds Bob most wanted to see in Australia! One flew away, but the other, a female, remained in the tree, ripping small branches off and eating the attached Mulga pods. The male and females are identical except that the male has a black eyes and the female red. They both are large snowy white parrots with pale pink breasts and deep coral coloring above their beaks, on their crest, and under their wings. It was really thrilling to get such good views of such a beautiful bird that we had been searching for so long!

We stopped in Curtin Spring, the only stop on the way, for a snack, and a look at Mt Conner, which looks rather like Uluru and often fools people, and would have fooled us if Lonely Planet hadn’t warned us.

We drove on and suddenly could see the purple shape of Uluru on the horizon. It really is amazing, even though you have seen images of it everywhere. When you come upon it, rising suddenly out of the flat surrounding plain, it is stunning, other worldly, and really unique.

We stopped at the Ayers Rock Resort, several hotels all run by Voyages, to check in. The cheapest rooms are $400, but we had cleverly reserved a two-bedroom condo at their Emu Walk hotel for the three of us, very pretty, 3-level with full kitchen. A small shopping center is right next-door and we stocked up on food, dumped our luggage and drove onto the Rock.

The smooth rock faces drop vertically into the sand and the sides are streaked with black and gray and studded with caves of all sizes. We stopped at the Cultural Centre for some interesting exhibits on Aboriginal mythology, ice cream and a Red Centre flower book before driving around the rock and watching its changing colors in the late afternoon sun.

We returned to the Resort and went to the Frontier Hotel where you can buy take-out liquor and got a bottle of wine for dinner and had cans of “Bundy ‘n’ Cola”, premixed Aussie rum and coke. Pretty bad but did the trick.

Home for delicious dinner of scrambled eggs, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes and the bottle of wine.

Wed, Sept 19 - King's Canyon Nat'l Park

(photos: King's Canyon, Straw flower)

In order to avoid the 90-degree midday weather, we met at six for a good buffet breakfast of filter coffee, fruit and pastries and then drove to the trailhead for King’s Canyon. Although we arrived at 7:15, several large buses had beaten us there and were disgorging school kids and tour groups. The main trail starts with a 500’ climb up stone steps to the canyon rim and continues around a horseshoe trail of 4 miles. We climbed up the steps, stopping to let high schoolers dash by. When we reached the top we encountered the students bunched together listening to a lecture; we passed them, they passed us, gathered for a lecture, etc…

The trail has beautiful overlooks showing smooth sheer red sandstone walls and mushroom shaped domes, but the constant jockeying for position on the trail made us walk much faster than we would have done otherwise and made it difficult to ID flowers and birds. Finally we came to the “Garden of Eden” at the head of the canyon where all the students stopped for their promised swim in a desert pool. We had a respite from the crowds and had a little time to enjoy the trail. We even got a life bird: the Fairy Martin. We returned to our car as the students caught up to us and drove down the highway a bit to Kathleen Springs, a lovely paved trail through flowers and Mulga trees to a small canyon pool. It was an amazing contrast to the chaos at Kings Canyon and we really enjoyed it. We returned back to our rooms, and Bob gave us the afternoon off! Hilary and I took advantage of the hotel’s laundry room, and the pool next door, and had a pleasant relaxing few hours. We met at five and took the trail that circles the hotel and found ourselves unexpectedly hiking up and down over rocky walls with few birds around. We retuned to the grill bar of last night and got a jug (pitcher) of VB beer and some grilled chicken. Sat outdoors next to a squabbling flock of beautiful pink and white Galah parrots and the guitarist of last night.

Tue,l Sept 18 - to King's Canyon Nat'l Park

(photos: Gosse Bluff Crater, Finke River)


At 6:45 we met and drove a short ways to where the Finke River crosses the highway and walked in along the sandy wash to some pools and saw Hardhead Ducks,
Eurasian Coot, and Purple Swamp-hen. We returned to Glen Helen and bought a fabulous veggie frittata and filter coffee for breakfast and then checked out and said goodbye to the very nice owner and staff.
The road west immediately turns into gravel/sand/washboard for 261 km that makes for a long, noisy day. Half way along we stopped to explore Gosse Bluff, the remains of the crater formed when a comet crashed into the area 140 million years ago. The 5 km-wide red crater walls rise from the surrounding plain and are a pleasant place to picnic and bird watch. Hilary picked up a Splendid Fairywren.
The stressful drive required that you had to really hold onto the steering wheel to get through the worse of the washboards so we all took turns creating dense rooster tails. Fortunately the scenery was quite lovely with valleys of Spinifex grass dotted with Desert Oak, a graceful tree that looks somewhat like a pine but belongs to the Casuarina family with drooping “needle” branchlets. We also drove through areas full of Grass Trees and yellow, white and purple flowers. Amazingly we saw no houses, fences or any signs of civilization other than an occasional vehicle during the entire trip. Quite wonderful to be that far off the grid.
We arrived at Watarrka National Park (Kings Canyon) at three and settled into the Kings Cyn Lodge, a Voyages resort. This is our fourth Voyages resort in the three trips we’ve taken to Oz and they all are similar in that the rooms are attractive, the hotel blends pretty well into the scenery and they have an outrageously expensive restaurant and a reasonable one that is usually crammed. Hilary and I walked around the Lodge trail and id’ed a few birds and then we all went to the open-air restaurant for pizza and beer and were entertained by a great old guy on guitar.