The end of winter (and our wedding anniversary) saw us heading once again to the Southern Highlands. I revisited Chinoiserie, the property with the beautiful peony gardens that I saw the previous spring. This time, we came to stay.
We stayed in the separate guest wing, and it was a lovely, cosy place to be.
Lots of whimsical touches inside, like this stained glass window.
Dominic, the co-owner and ‘head gardener’ loves his peonies, so there had to be some indoors too.
Early the following morning (always early starts at the Abbey), I strolled around the rainforest walk.
The path dipped from the cottages to follow the creek.
It was still dark at the lowest level.
The path undulated across the banks of the creek, so I reached the light eventually.
And much further along (away from the rainforest and the creek), there was even sunshine.
It was a lovely way to start the day.
We take a turn about the town, and saw some interesting sites, including this mural at the back of Coles Supermarket.
And then for our last stop we climbed atop Anzac Hill for a panoramic view of the Alice.
The MacDonnell Ranges are never far away and look as spectacular as ever. Pity that this visit is so short.
We could even see the Ghan from the top. Look closely, and you can see that it is ridiculously long.
One last view of the Territory State flag.
And its state flora, the Sturt Desert Rose.
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.
We scrambled up to the top of one of these sandstone escarpments to be greeted by a sea of green.
The pandanus – one of the main palm species in northern Australia – was verdant with new growth.
It was even fruiting – though apparently you have to wait a bit longer if you want to eat the seed inside.
There were still deep puddles on the escarpment.
And when the puddles dried up, these red flowers grew in their place.
So it’s not all just gum trees and spinifex up north, although we certainly saw our share.
Mount Borradaile is unique in that it is a small tourist venture on land that is leased from the Amarak people whose land lies just east of the East Alligator River. They no longer live in the area, but are involved with the camp – the traditional owners visit periodically and have input into the sites that are shown and the stories that are told. We’ll look at the indigenous side of things later on, but first I’d like to show you how things like in Sandstone Country after the Wet.
During the Dry, things are dusty, sandy, and frequently burnt.
However, after the Wet, things are rather green.
So green, in fact that there is a green tinge everywhere from herbs and various other ground covers.
And all the ground cover plants are blooming – the flowers are lovely and delicate.
Here are some native violets.
A kind of poppy.
And a type of heath flower.
All very beautiful to see. All unique to the Top End after the Wet season.
Aside from the animals, there were plenty of floral attractions on our way to Cape Point. The coastal flora was very reminiscent of those found on the Australian coast, I thought.
And of course, there was the wonderful wind-blown scenery. From rocky hills.
To foamy ocean.
And glorious peaks.
The last photo is of Buffels Bay (Buffelsbaai, or Buffalo Bay in Afrikaans). It’s a well-known braai spot (barbecue and picnic spot) very close to Cape Point. Wouldn’t mind a barbecue if the temperature was warmer and the wind calmer, but I’m guessing that wouldn’t happen all that often on the windy Cape!
We’re on the home run back to Broome now, and the weather also got hotter – way over 30C maximums required a cool down so I’ll give you a rundown on swimming stops we visited.
First up was Miner’s Creek on Drysdale River station. Sandy bottomed and quite deep in places, it was a pleasant place to swim. It however had a metre long freshwater croc on the bottom and what I thought was a mischievous spirit. We were told by our guide to introduce ourselves as some strange things have happened to him on previous visits – like his air-conditioner breaking down for no reason. I had my own experience – my retractable walking stick refused to retract for several days!
A hundred or so kilometers down the track was Galvans Gorge with a pretty swimming hole, and pretty lotus flowers. The swimming hole was very deep, and the steep sandstone cliffs proved irresistible to leap from for some – not a good idea though as there were some hidden rocks at the bottom.
A little bit more walking over the stony plateau.
Along the way, we saw some beautiful flowers that seemed to thrive despite the dryness.
Then we reached the drop – we’ve arrived at our destination!
After 5km of walking, we are finally at Mitchell Falls.
Let’s see some interesting details around the Munurru rock art site.
A fig tree with its web-like roots searching for water.
A tiny little wildflower in the midst of the long, dry grass.
Colourful fungi in the sunshine. I’m guessing by the colour that these are poisonous.
Static and Silence 