Let’s do a bit of a study of the landscape of Mungo, as it’s one that’s new to me. I mean, I have been in our parts of central Australia and even in other parts of western NSW, however, the Mungo landscape is still a bit different from these. For one, the land is almost completely flat. In the distance is some special sand-hills, which we will explore in a separate post.
The soil is red, although I suppose a few degrees less bright than the soil near Alice Springs. The vegetation is relatively typical of a place that’s semi-arid – low scrub with spinifex and saltbush, and smallish eucalyptus trees. It’s the kind of landscape that needs time to soak in, I think, as it’s not one to blow its own trumpet, much of the time.
From a distance, everything might look the same, but if you do a ‘David Attenborough’ and stay still for awhile, you’ll start seeing little birds running around (a type of thornbill perhaps, according to the ‘Compact Australian Bird Guide’, my go-to reference book).
The best time to see these guys is early or late in the day, of course, and the landscape takes on a different cast.
Static and Silence 