an early morning walk ....

We recently stayed at the Colac Colac Caravan Park near Corryong. Whilst there we did a few short walks, one of them being to the Nariel Creek Bridge on the Murray Valley Highway. Its a very short stroll from the caravan park, but something to do on a lazy day!

Nariel Creek on the Benambra - Corryong Road in Victoria is a locality about 300km east-northeast of Melbourne and is at an altitude of about 426m above sea level.

The creek is also well known for fishing as seen in this article from Explore Australia. It's a small to medium sized stream that flows from the Mountains near the Alpine National Park to join the Murray River below Towong.  It is known as the Corryong Creek downstream of the Colac Colac caravan park and the Jerimal Creek (mainly by locals) downstream from Corryong.  It is an excellent trout stream, with a mixture of deep pools and gravel runs. 

Nariel Creek is also known to have Australia's longest continuous Folk Festival of traditional folk music and dance.  Held on the banks of the creek from Boxing Day to New Year's Day each year.

below: images around and under the Nariel Creek bridge (over the Murray Valley Highway) area, including the rest area below the bridge.

Certainly a pleasant little walk to stretch the legs after a lazy day around the camp site!

 

Further blog posts will be uploaded over the next few days on our visit to NE Victoria.

Previous blog posts on the drive from Ballan to Corryong via the Hume Freeway and the Murray Valley Highway is HERE and our camping experience at the Colac Colac Caravan Park is HERE.

I appreciate the helpful advice that is available on the following websites:


Old Tallangatta

Colac Colac Caravan Park

Tallangatta (Sydney Morning Herald)

The Mitta Mitta River (DPI)

Lake Hume (Wikipedia)

Huon Reserve Rest Area (Caravan.com)

Explore Australia

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a winters walk ....

Here we are in the middle of winter, but every now and then we actually do get a nice day ... nice enough to put on a jacket and go for a walk that is.....

with the camera!

so here are a few captures of what I saw on yesterday's walk...

above: this is moss sitting in between the pavement.

  
above: tiny purple flowers outside the school

above: yellow flowers blowing in the breeze!

above: an old fence, full of this bush, hiding these tiny berries.

 

above: lovely colourful leaves and berries against a tin shed.

above: there are always daisies somewhere, dead and alive!

above: strange green shrub with white, furry bits on the leaves!

above: blue daisies

above: white daisies spreading out over the pathway!

above: I think I have captured every colour available in a daisy by now!

above: I did spy, high up above me, a flowering gum.

Now I thought they flowered about January / February and was surprised to see this example.

Then I found out there are probably more winter flowering gums in the southwest of the country where winter rainfall makes it the season of plenty, but winter flowerers occur all around Australia, in a myriad of colours.

At a conservative estimate, there are over 900 species and subspecies of eucalypts in Australia. They make up the very essence of 'the bush'. Generally the mass of olive foliage overpowers the distinct, star-like flowers of eucalypts.

But at certain times of the year, gum trees burst into vivid pink, red, yellow, orange, purple or white flowers. Many of them spread their colours in spring and summer, counting on attracting the fresh influx of insects brought by the warmer weather.

Insects also pollinate some late autumn and winter flowering species.

But come winter, there are fewer insects to transfer the pollen of eucalypts, and the winter flowerers turn instead to the birds, and the mammals.

With all this beautiful foliage around to brighten up the coldest winter walk, there's little excuse for not getting out and checking the winter flowers. After all, the birds and the bees do it, so why can't we?

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