From Rifle Range Road-Sandford 2016

Today we're walking from a spot on Rifle Range Road near Mortimer Bay. Bob is our leader.

We park at our usual place, but Bob has a surprise for us. He's evidently been very busy getting all the necessary permits required by various government departments signed, plus a dispensation from the Pope which will enable us to walk in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION from our usual walk. Wonders will never cease.

It's an absolutely perfect day for a walk. Warm and sunny as we set off.  

Corner of Rifle Range Rd. & Gellibrand Drive

Our first turn

We continue up here before we come to the first of many native orchids. We'll see more orchids today than I've ever seen. Conditions must be perfect this year.

First orchid of the day

If you look carefully, there's a veritable forest of green stalks and hoods

Many trails in this area

As we walk, people keep stopping and pointing out more orchids. This means we begin to divide into two groups. One with Bob and another falling back as they admire the flowers.

I'm used to being behind as I take photos, but now I'm joined by our two new photographers and a number of plant people. When I catch up with the first group I find we've been given the name,  'The Botanicals'.

Wide tracks for the many horse riders in this area

Oh look! Another one!

A couple of locals

A nice view over Mortimer Bay

Names will be revealed at the bottom of the post

A few Botanicals catching up

I would point out a little understood fact. That is, as a photographer and now, evidently, a Botanical, I put more effort into a walk than the people at the front. We stop and admire and then have to walk twice as fast as the front runners to catch up. This goes on for the entire walk.

I wonder if it still runs?

Renata spots another plant

We're really in trouble now. The ornithologists have stopped!

Golden Whistler. Enlargement in oval

We come back to the road, walking a short distance before turning off onto another track.

At last, some wildlife that keeps still for a photo

Along Gellibrand Drive again...

...and onto the Silver Peppermint Track

I can see Doug in the distance taking photos...

...it's Running Postman or Kennedia prostrata

Probably the only postman you'll see running

We come to the spot where we have Morning Tea. We've been here before on previous walks.

Tea finished, we march off.

Further on, there is an area that is fenced off and has a number of emus residing in it. I didn't photograph it because it's quite disgusting with nothing green at all, just bare earth and broken trees. They should be ashamed.

On we go until I get a shout from Bob. Seems he found a fungus that needed photographing.

Bob's fungus (the orange ball)

 This gave the others time to take off and disappear down the track.

Amazing how fast they can move when they want to

Another track

Our first wildlife (look carefully) a Mountain Dragon or Rankinia diemensis

 It was very obliging for all the photographers. Leaving it behind, we start our climb of the day and almost immediately come across clumps of orchids.

There were a great many in this area

 Now we have to catch up with the others. I remember Doug commenting on the climb, and it was a challenging one as we were racing to rejoin the group.  We arrive at the top to spy them leaning over something on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, when I arrived and took a couple of pictures I was still recovering from the fast climb and only one came out. Look closely and you can see some yellow blobs on stalks.

Bob standing patiently by

Yellow orchid (in oval)

We make our way along the road then turn off right, heading towards the water.

Great view of South Arm across the water

We reach the bottom of the track where Bob offers us the choice of lunch on a beach, or continuing along until we find a spot for lunch. The beach won.

We make our way down some steep steps to a nice private beach with plenty of flat rocks to skip over the water.

Mt. Wellington

Lunch on the rocks overlooking Ralphs Bay

We're forced to look at this view. Someone has to do it

I can't find a name for this little bay and beach

Lunch finished, we climb back up to take the track running along the shoreline towards Mortimer Bay.

Another dragon

Much smaller than the first, but just as willing to pose for pictures.

On we go until we come back to our Morning Tea spot. Continuing past, we walk along a track that runs parallel to the beach, until Bob leads us further inland on a new track.

We follow this track for a while before we dive into the scrub to emerge onto the beach. This leaves us a short walk down to the end of Rifle Range Road.

We reach the end of the road and turn up, heading for the cars.

Looking back towards some of the country we walked

These two look slightly out of place here

I wonder how they handle the summer when everything here is burned brown. Perhaps their owner shaves them.

We make it back to the cars in good time. Driving home with three other walkers, I couldn't get over how quiet the car became for most of the way back to Kingston.

A perfect day, an interesting walk. Going in the clockwise direction made a nice change.

We had 13 walkers and covered 15.07km in 4:23hrs.

Before I finish, Kate sent a list of orchids we had seen along the way to Tas who sent it to me. The list is below, I hope I haven't mixed up any photos (gleaned from the Internet).

Click Here to Download GPX file

Kate's Orchid I.D.

(again my best guess as the flower was decaying)

(my best guess there are several little pink caladenias!)

 ( the family of Diuris are often called the Donkey orchids because of the big petals that look like ears)