Entries about wallingat

After the hard work of gardening, Nick and I had a day out on the boat investigating the waterways that surround Forster and Tuncurry.

It was great to see the area from a different angle. Heading down the Wallingat River

with Nick at the helm of the Black Pearl

Wallingat is a new park with an old heritage. Prior to the gazettal of 6,557ha of land as National Park in 1999 the area was reserved as a stat forest with a logging history going back to the mid 1800's.
Then there is the rich Aboriginal heritage reaching back past the time when the sea levels rose to their current height some 6,000 years ago and the coastal lakes formed around the park's seaward edges.
It was so still the mountains reflected in the water


and the river was a mirror to the rainforest along the banks

to see the amazing mangroves line the banks of Punga 1

and the reflections at Ferny Creek

We saw a lot of the local birds, including a Spoonbill

Sea Eagle

and Black Swans taking off

As we stopped to go ashore a couple of times I spotted these Wattle Acacia


and the view back across the river was beautiful


On the way back, we pulled into an island Nick had not yet explored

and I came across this Midden where the aborigines would have caught and eaten and left a lot of sea shells

Whilst exploring I met a local Antichinus

and a little further along I was a bit surprised to find goat footprints!

and so from this day one, it shall be known as Goat Island!
The view from Goat Island back across Wallis Lake was spectacular

Heading back to Tuncurry,

we stopped to throw a line over and try our luck at Bream. Unfortunately too small to be legal, so he lives to tell the tale!

...bit of a let down to the pelicans that are always waiting for left overs at the cleaning sinks back on shore.

A top day out with a great person in a beautiful part of the country.