Pilliga Forest – Sandstone Caves – New South Wales 20-11-2013

 



 









 

Pilliga Forest – New South Wales 19-11-2013

The Pilliga Forest is said to be the largest remaining native forest on the Australian continent. It covers 500 000 hectares (1.25 million acres!) west of the Great Dividing Range, from the Namoi River in the North and Warrumbungle Ranges in the South. Nearly half the Pilliga forest is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to protect this unique area including the habitat of declining woodland bird species such as the barking owls, turquoise parrots, a large koala population. However although we spotted turquoise parrots and heard the barking owl?, we didn’t see a single koala!

Yet Narrabri  Shire visitor information guide states: Under Pilliga Forest lies one of Australia’s largest onshore natural gas reserves. Gas from this area along could supply current levels of NSW gas demand for the next 50 years!   

The Salt Cave

Forest Lookout tower

View from part way up the tower

 

View from the top - Pilliga Forest looking south towards the Warrumbungle ranges

Straight down

Salt cave camping ground

New barbeque and water tank

Native Pine – white cypress-pine (Callitris glaucophylla)

 

Red Iron bark and Cypress-PIne

Feral pigs early one morning at a nearby dam -

Wallaroo? with Joey at the dam – here we saw small groups of turquoise parrots at the waters edge.

Mount Kaputar National Park - New South Wales 17-11-2013

 
The magnificent Sawn Rocks are one of Australia’s best examples of a rock formation called ‘organ-piping’ – because they look like a wall of giant organ pipes. They are a fascinating reminder of Mount Kaputar’s volcanic past. This photo was lifted from the Mt Kaputar guide!

Bundabulla Lookout – we stayed at Dawsons Spring campsite for two days – a lovely site with showers!


 

Common Wallaroo ?

Female Scrub Wren                                                          Male Scrub Wren
 

                                                                                                      Superb Fairy wren


 
Kapatur Pink Slug! (Triboniophorus aff. graeffei)   - not our photo I have to say!
Unfortunately because of the long dry spell we did not see them despite visiting the mossy area where the slug can be seen.
‘The morning after a good rain you can sometimes see hundreds of them making their way back down a tree after a night foraging for lichen and moss, says ranger Michael Murphy.
These Kaputar pink slugs , related to red triangle slugs, are among a group of species marooned 1500m, up on an extinct volcano near Narrabri.
The huge size is a family trait says Michael, but he also puts it down to abundant food and little predation in their wet, 10sq.km patch of habitat.            Only discovered in the last few years, these slugs have maintained a low profile because they are in such a remote location, he says.’