Australia’s Kwongan Heathland

I was trying to find some information today about a place I worked in southwestern Australia. I stayed in Western Flora Caravan Park, just north of Eneabba, and did my work in the native Kwongan heathland found there. The park is on the other side of the earth and far from habitats and parks that I am used to – places like the forests of New England or Island Beach New Jersey.

Some random facts:

The area is a biodiversity hotspot with a large diversity of flowering plants.

The Geraldton Sandplains are an ancient and very deep geological formation.

The soils are nutrient poor and the climate is tough. It is not quite a desert but it can seem like one at certain times of the year.

Bird diversity – relatively low
Reptile diversity – very high. Australia is generally know as the most diverse regions in the world for reptiles
Temperatures – often the hottest temps for the local region are recorded here. High 40’s in the middle of the summer (Jan and Feb) are not unusual.

Some links and other info:

The point of my searching around today was to find this factoid….. the rush like plants that are common in the Kwongan heathland are in the family Restionaceae (this may seem strange to most folks but I needed to know this for some writing I am doing).

Some interesting pictures around Eneabba.

One of the better introductions to the natural areas in the Southwestern Australia Biodiversity Hotspot.

And that is it for my little research notes.

Be well.

Red Top Mountain State Park

One place I have a connection with is Georgia. I lived there for 4 years when I was in my twenties and some of my family are now there too. So I go there about once a year. I love exploring new natural settings and Georgia provides lots of opportunity for that.

One place I have been to several times is Red Top Mountain. The place is generally busy and the park sees a lot of visitors. This has several causes. One is its proximity to Atlanta. It is less than an hour away. Another is Allatoona Lake. The park is surrounded on three sides by this man made lake and it is very popular. Not as busy as Lake Lanier but still plenty of folks visit on a regular basis.

The park has lots of amenities – a swimming beach for the kiddies, a campground, cabins for rent, a lodge with rooms and restaurant, a privately run marina, picnic facilities, two party halls for rent, hiking trails, a bike trail, historic buildings and site and more.

One thing I really found unusual here is a gated campground. You have to have an entry code to get behind the gate and into the campsite. I have been to parks where you find your own spot if you arrive after hours, and drive through even if you don’t know where your way around the camp area. You then go pay in the morning. This is such an extreme opposite!

The hiking trails I have been on are nice. Like most places if you get more than a little ways away from a trailhead the crowds thin out. Even so, there can be more people hiking around the trails than many other places I have been.  I don’t mountain bike since I have hurt my back but one of the longest trails in the park is shared use – hiking and biking – and it does see a lot of traffic from the mountain biking crowd.

The lake is always either within site or not far away, where ever you go in the park. I like that a lot, and so do many other people. The south has a lot of recreational lakes and they can be funny places, in that there is not only people around in the park, but also lots of different boats going by. Sometimes people are hanging out right off shore and it is like you when you have a neighbor at a campground or large picnic area. You can hear their conversations and pretty much you know what they are up too, and they know the same about you. The oddity of the whole boating thing (me not being a boat person) is that it is nice to be around and see the water everywhere. There is something relaxing about it.

So that is my little blurb about Red Top. I will likely go there the next time I visit GA.

Jersey shore notes

In the middle of February there is nothing to do but dream about the beach in the summer. Yet I was down at the Jersey shore last month and spent time at Long Beach Island, Seaside Heights, Ortley Beach and Lavallette. It was cold! Of course the worst part is the cold biting wind. You feel like parts of you will just crack or shatter.

Besides that part of it, the Jersey shore is of course always lovely. In some ways things are just more pristine – cleaner, quieter, more memories bubbling up of summer at the beach and you just have more room to think.

Anyway I can’t wait until it gets warm and I get to go to the beach in my shorts – rather than wrapped up like the mummy!

Lavallette in winter