Winding home from Currawinya

It was around 5:30pm when we left Hungerford. We drove back through Currawinya as the sun was setting.

The golden light was beautiful on the sculptures, so we stopped for a few photos before heading off again.

There was so much wildlife on the road! These cockies flew ahead of us for several minutes before finally wheeling off at a water crossing - and we saw many roos also. As the twilight faded to darkness we all watched for cows and kangaroos wandering too close to the road. We slowed to a stop on a couple of occasions and Nick got out of the car to check on a snake. It was so long and fat he assumed it was a python but at closer quarters he saw it was a mulga snake!

Currawinya Lakes

When chatting with Peter, we asked what we should see after lunch. He suggested heading down to view the lakes - and we're glad we did!

"Currawinya wetlands are Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The Currawinya lakes are among the most significant wetlands in Australia, supporting at times more than 250 000 waterbirds on fresh and saline lakes, waterholes and claypans. No other wetland in arid or southern Australia is thought to support such a high number of waterbirds consistently."

Erin was familiar with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands through her TAFE studies (and used to volunteer at the Hunter Wetlands Centre, which is another Ramsar site) but it was a new concept to Nick and I - and made for some interesting reading.  There is a wealth of information about the lakes here.

Meeting a movie star!

I have previously mentioned watching "The Bilby Brothers" documentary last year. It impressed all of us and prompted our Charleville visit, especially to see the Bilby Sanctuary.

While we were at the sanctuary we caught a glimpse of Peter McRae (one of the "bilby brothers") who waved to the group from his truck as he was departing the complex.  Erin was particularly disappointed not to meet him more closely.  Soon after our arrival a truck drove into the park headquarters but I was pre-occupied by hunger and didn't give much thought to the ranger's identity.  Nick set up our dual-fuel stove on the picnic table and set about BBQ-ing our sausages. 

We hadn't long started eating when the ranger came over to chat - and Nick addressed him as Peter the movie star!  Peter looked a bit taken aback and said that the world was obviously hard-up for movie stars!  We chatted for a while, offering a sausage sandwich and an ANZAC biscuit - though we forgot to introduce ourselves!  We mentioned almost meeting him at Charleville and how our visit to the sanctuary had been prompted by his "movie". 

He was a lovely man and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting him, so were very happy when he agreed to pose for some group photos - and hugged all of us, too!

Seed the sculptures!

It wasn't long after the netted dragon encounter that we arrived at this set of fantastic sculptures, marking the turn-off for the park head-quarters.

The sculptor was Chris McKenzie (who also carved the giant wooden bilby at Charleville) and you can view a Flickr photo series of their construction here.

Vaughan and I enjoyed exploring the sculptures. 

We were interested in the C-shaped "seeds" also.  Some were fully enclosed, like dough-nuts and plants seemed to emerge from the centres.  I need to research them a bit more to confirm!

Fancy fellow!

Vaughan had already missed out on catching two lizards - the super-quick goanna near Eulo and a faster than expected bearded dragon on Hungerford Road. 

He was therefore very keen to catch this fellow - and we all admired the gorgeous captive.  From a distance, I had assumed he was a small bearded dragon and seemingly Vaughan thought it might be a very young goanna. We later spoke to a ranger, who confirmed the lizard was a central netted dragon, which had been one of our thoughts after closer examination, though the orange head tricked us!  (The males develop the orange colouration during their breeding season).

Corni Paroo

We took our time exploring the Caiwarro ruins. Erin found an unfired rifle shell. Vaughan found several car parts - as well as his usual grasshoppers. (Erin had already spotted a newly moulted locust).

It took a while to round everyone up for a short drive to the Corni Paroo Waterhole.  (I'm not sure what "corni" means but the waterhole is fed by the Paroo River).

There was a reference on the information stand map to a "Chinese garden". 

I said I would like to see it, knowing it would be a historical site.  It seems Erin was expecting something more like the Chinese Garden of Friendship at Darling Harbour.  She was obviously disappointed, though Nick and I were highly amused!

Days past

Currawinya National Park was gazetted in 1991.  It covers an area of 151,300 hectares, based on two of the oldest pastoral properties on the Paroo River - Currawinya and Caiwarro. Both leases were taken up in the early 1860s.

The Caiwarro homestead was built in 1891, to replace an earlier building on the banks of the Paroo River.

"In 1906 at Caiwarro alone, 60,000 sheep were shorn by 20 shearers and at shearing time there were over 100 men on the place. They produced a record 101 bales on a single bullock wagon. There were three cricket teams, which played matches on Sunday."

The Caiwarro homestead remained in use until 1971, after which both properties were managed from Currawinya.

"When Caiwarro homestead was closed it had a fine garden of tall palm trees, shrubs, rose bushes and lawns and an orchard. Caiwarro was also able to maintain its own farm, flood irrigated by a steam pump from the river and a homestead vegetable garden."

You can read more about the history of Currawinya National Park here and here.  It's interesting reading and gives far more information than the park's website.