The sea eagle wasn’t the only large bird we saw on the floodplain. It was a tad early to be seeing large flocks of magpie geese, but we saw this beagle egret, white against the dark green grasses.
And it was a joy to watch it take flight beside our boat.
While on the floodplain, we once again encountered the magnificent sea eagle.
And later on were able to come quite close to the tree it landed on.
It was quite late in the day when we saw it, so perhaps dinner was on its mind?
The floodplain was surrounded by sandstone country.
Many of these places are sacred and contain walls of rock art, some which outsiders have been allowed to visit, and others which are for only the initiated.
We skirt the shores to find sandstone and lush vegetation side by side.
And even get to venture on land.
It’s quite a view from the top.
Visiting at the tail-end of the Wet, the clouds sometimes threatened rain.
Sometimes the rain missed us.
But at other times it hit the bullseye!
Fortunately, the downpour was over in five minutes, and as the temperature was close to 30C we were dry again in no time.
The lily ponds were lovely.
But soon those were left behind as we headed for the open floodplain.
It’s a landscape that’s unique for me – calm water, green grasses, and big, big sky.
The clouds were so beautiful and fluffy, like Constable clouds (except that we were a long way from England).
There were bigger creatures living in the monsoon rainforest.
Along a canal were a whole series of darter bird nests. These extraordinary bird love fishing, and can stay underwater for five whole minutes.
Not too far away lurked our one and only crocodile for the trip – a freshwater crocodile sunbathing on the sandy bank.
And on the lookout for prey.
But the most magnificent site was the one we had of the white-breasted sea eagle, which we had interrupted having its breakfast.
They may not be the largest bird of prey in Australia, but they were large enough for me.
The monsoon rainforest was alive with all sorts of creatures. Different coloured dragonflies kept us company. This one was a bright red.
In the water were a grand assortment of water birds of many colours.
While up in the trees, the Collared Kingfisher surveyed the scene for a potential catch.
In between the patches of forest, we floated through acres of lily-pads.
And we were lucky to see many waterlilies in bloom.
Being on the water, we could see the flowers up-close, and they were stunning.
But these waterlilies weren’t the only aquatic flowers we saw. Among them also grew the snowflake lily that only blooms in the Wet.
Up-close, they look a lot like snowflakes.
Our other adventures at Mt Borradaile involved cruising the various waterways in this flat-bottomed boat.
We discovered very quickly that there were many habitats in the wetlands, the first we passed through being the monsoon rainforest. These are tropical areas that are waterlogged during the Wet but are completely dry otherwise. For example, this ‘canal’ under the paperbark trees in the Dry season is a road!
Paperbarks weren’t the only type of forest we cruised through – there were patches of Livingstonia palms, straight out of the dinosaur era.
And water-loving Pandanus Aquaticus, which I’ve seen in many parts of Northern Australia that I’ve visited.
I loved how serene it all was, particularly when our guide cut the motor – beautiful reflections, and no sound bar the trickle of water and the twittering of birds.
There are also bigger creatures in Sandstone Country – but being marsupials and nocturnal, they were rather elusive. We did catch sight of these two though, with the help of our knowledgeable guide.
This rock wallaby made a brief appearance under a rock overhang.
And we caught a glimpse of a pair of possums in a rock crevice, out of the midday heat.
Apart from these two larger creatures, that’s all the larger animal action in Sandstone Country, and the end of our visit there – although there’s plenty more to see at Mt Borradaile. Next, we venture somewhere much more watery.
Static and Silence 