Kangaroo Valley - Day 1
Oct. 5th, 2014 05:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranIt's the first day of our long-awaited canoeing adventure in the Kangaroo Valley.
Liem and I have left early to meet our friends and drive almost two and a half hours to get to the campsite, where we have set up our tent and prepared our kayak. At last we're under way. Since it's a hot day, our next priority is then to have a water fight.
Once all the splashing has died down, the Kangaroo River is amazingly tranquil.
Besides paddling, Liem is acting as my observer and helping to spot rocks and sunken obstacles.
This part of the river is technically a lake - there's a dam below us which helps keep the water deep and the current placid.
But there's plenty of wildlife in the valley. Here we have our first encounter with a water dragon.
Heading upriver in line astern.
And taking a break. We saw some fish among the rocks and my friend James saw an azure kingfisher and a lyrebird. Liem and I missed them both, although I thought I saw a fish swimming through the rocks afterwards.
The water dragons are everywhere. They run on their hind legs, but it's just about impossible to photograph them running as they're so fast.
On the other hand, it's easier to catch them when they're swimming...
This guy was eyeing us as we paddling slowly around his rock.
Rapids ahead! Okay, so not very exciting rapids, but quite enough for seasoned adventurers like us...
We portage around them on the way up, but ride them on the way down.
Teamwork is essential for any expedition.
The river bank is also lined with burrows. No sign of the inhabitants just yet, but they'll emerge soon enough.
Here you can see claw marks down on the waterline. Can you guess what lives in these holes?
Back at the camp, it's time for a second lunch...
And a spot of fishing.
But what's that raiding our neighbour's tent?
A wombat! Each of those holes was a wombat burrow.
We follow it through the camp, and then we find a paddock full of wombats. They've been walking across from their burrows by the river to the grass where they can graze.
Can you count the wombats in these pictures? There must have been at least six, maybe more.
It's getting dark and it's difficult to get a clear photo. This is the sharpest I could get.
So, as Day One ends, we've explored one branch of the river and found water dragons and wombats aplenty. However, we still haven't seen a single kangaroo. Considering we're in Kangaroo Valley, this is somewhat disappointing. Perhaps Wombat Valley would be a slightly better name. Or maybe Dragon Valley. But we still have one day left, so find out tomorrow how we fared on our search up the second branch of the river...
Liem and I have left early to meet our friends and drive almost two and a half hours to get to the campsite, where we have set up our tent and prepared our kayak. At last we're under way. Since it's a hot day, our next priority is then to have a water fight.
Once all the splashing has died down, the Kangaroo River is amazingly tranquil.
Besides paddling, Liem is acting as my observer and helping to spot rocks and sunken obstacles.
This part of the river is technically a lake - there's a dam below us which helps keep the water deep and the current placid.
But there's plenty of wildlife in the valley. Here we have our first encounter with a water dragon.
Heading upriver in line astern.
And taking a break. We saw some fish among the rocks and my friend James saw an azure kingfisher and a lyrebird. Liem and I missed them both, although I thought I saw a fish swimming through the rocks afterwards.
The water dragons are everywhere. They run on their hind legs, but it's just about impossible to photograph them running as they're so fast.
On the other hand, it's easier to catch them when they're swimming...
This guy was eyeing us as we paddling slowly around his rock.
Rapids ahead! Okay, so not very exciting rapids, but quite enough for seasoned adventurers like us...
We portage around them on the way up, but ride them on the way down.
Teamwork is essential for any expedition.
The river bank is also lined with burrows. No sign of the inhabitants just yet, but they'll emerge soon enough.
Here you can see claw marks down on the waterline. Can you guess what lives in these holes?
Back at the camp, it's time for a second lunch...
And a spot of fishing.
But what's that raiding our neighbour's tent?
A wombat! Each of those holes was a wombat burrow.
We follow it through the camp, and then we find a paddock full of wombats. They've been walking across from their burrows by the river to the grass where they can graze.
Can you count the wombats in these pictures? There must have been at least six, maybe more.
It's getting dark and it's difficult to get a clear photo. This is the sharpest I could get.
So, as Day One ends, we've explored one branch of the river and found water dragons and wombats aplenty. However, we still haven't seen a single kangaroo. Considering we're in Kangaroo Valley, this is somewhat disappointing. Perhaps Wombat Valley would be a slightly better name. Or maybe Dragon Valley. But we still have one day left, so find out tomorrow how we fared on our search up the second branch of the river...
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no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 10:48 am (UTC)That looks like a wonderful way to greet the spring.
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 02:01 pm (UTC)Perhaps just as well it's not kangaroos raiding your tents ... ;)
no subject
Date: 2014-10-05 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-10-07 10:59 pm (UTC)I also like how the water dragons crane their necks. Head tipped toward the sky--why? For the sun?
no subject
Date: 2014-10-08 07:41 am (UTC)