At 8.56 am we were just beginning to walk away from Wilpena Creek, and uphill, towards the “lip” of the actual Wilpena Pound.
As is true of many Eucalyptus species, river red gums are forever-engaged in a cycle of growing and shedding their bark and leaves.
Eucalypt-dominant bush/forest floors are often “carpeted” with a highly flammable, attractively “messy” and sometimes-deep layer of fallen bark, leaves, twigs, flower-caps and “nuts”.
Gum trees sometimes catch some of their own “discards”.