Natural splendour, real musics, wines, wordpower
Wednesday July 13 2022 was (yet another) glorious, bright winter’s day in the non-Scottish Perth.
A walk around the local lake was irresistible, even though mid-winter there usually proves unrewarding, bird-wise.
I almost decided to leave the camera at home…
One CommentToo many Perth residents have never visited Herdsman Lake, nor given any thought to it.
Sir David Attenborough, who described Herdsman as “the Great Fen of Perth”, is keenly aware that Perth is one of very few cities to have such a substantial, internationally significant, RAMSAR-listed wetland within 10 kilometres of its GPO.
Far from pristine, and more “wetland” than “lake”, Herdsman is, nonetheless, a very special place.
As you can see, this year’s shortest day was not at all “wintry”.
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At certain times of year Broome’s Roebuck Bay is a global hotspot for birdlife; for migratory waders it is a key “fuel stop”.
It may be less “instagrammable” than Cable Beach, but Roebuck Bay is much the richer place, biologically speaking.
Its crustaceans provide a deal of the waders’ fuel.
A key factor in all this: Roebuck Bay’s oft-massive, fast-moving tides.
On some days of each month, at low tide the exposed mudflats cover more than 150 square kilometres, and they extend far beyond a shore-based observer’s horizon.
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So begins a series of single-image posts: each depicts a different aspect of the intertidal zone, where the sea “arrives” and “departs” at least once, every day.
Comments closedPerth’s Elizabeth Quay is a still-unfolding, allegedly “transformative” development.
(you may be unsurprised to know that it is impossible to find any reliable, properly inclusive figure on expenditure to date, let alone of the eventual total. Suffice that its likely-tallest tower component – which involves just two of many edifices – is estimated at more than one billion Australian dollars)
It is probably our final instance of an Australian megaproject, named after “our” Queen.
According to DevelopmentWA, This landmark waterfront development reconnects Perth city with the Swan River to create a dynamic new entertainment and leisure precinct, set around a stunning 2.7ha inlet.
According to one recent Singaporean visitor, Nothing much to see here,…Boring walk from Elizabeth Quay to Barrack Jetty as well. Your best bet would be to take the Transperth ferry to South Perth for better views of the city.
Comments closedUnsurprisingly, a deal of Perth’s abundant street art celebrates Western Australia’s own extraordinary flora and fauna.
Thanks to sculptors and muralists, you can see kangaroos in the CBD’s main thoroughfare, endangered cockatoos vividly adorn more than a few walls and fences, and oversized orchids, kangaroo paws and banksias “bloom” on others.
Near to the South Perth foreshore’s colossal frill-necked lizard and numbat, proudly stands a singular, much more elaborate metal sculpture.
It was made in the WA wheatbelt, but depicts – anatomically correctly – an “iconic” African animal.
Comments closedIn this, the final episode in this 25-part series, the featured image looks to the Inlet’s mouth, from a vantage point circa half way along the inlet’s western side.
Waychincup’s particular geology is the key to its singularity.
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Waychinicup’s inlet is shallow and sheltered.
It is also dynamic, healthy, and reliably well-watered; low rainfall sometimes turns off the freshwater “tap” (i.e inflow from the Waychinicup River) but ocean waves and tides ensure that this inlet is constantly flushed/refreshed.
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