We've gone Batty!

On  Sunday  we arrived at the Motocross track early, as the weather forecast predicted 37c top temp. So  we wanted the cooler part of the day the ride. Dave found a micro bat in  the hand basin. Poor fellow looks very  young. I  think it has lost its mother. We dampened a singlet and wrap it up  to  keep it cool and dark.

From this photo you  can  just  how tiny  they are.


The little chap seems undamaged and so  we transferred it to a shoe box and placed it in the dark of the wardrobe. We wanted to  see if it could fly and be ok.

This morning it has  left the shoebox and was flying around Daves room.

We are currently looking for it as we think it has gone to roost somewhere.  Once we find it we feel confident to  let it go.

Its wings are in good order

Mico bats play a very  important role in  the ecology. Some help pollinate trees, and they  eat mosquitos and small moths. Using their larger ears and echo to locate their prey. They are tiny, about the size of a small mouse.

Many  years ago we had a Lesser Long-eared bat with us for a while too. I  find them fascinating and quite beautiful

A day at the races

Dave and his friend Luke chose a nice Sunday  to  do  another Race Pace day. This time it was at the Appin National Track and was quite different to Illawarra. Thats Dave in the red helmet and  orange/blue outfit on the black Honda CRF250r bike. Next  to  him is  Luke dressed in Suzuki colours of yellow on the Suzuki RM 125

Below is a video Luke put together and its a great way  to  see what the boys got up  too. In typical fashion Dave led the way  in  the Race starts and you  can  see him  get the wheel up in the 2nd start. The boys also  got plenty  of air on  the double up too, Luke only being limited by the horsepower of the 125.

No, the photos are not photo shopped! Thats Dave getting plenty of air! they  basically  get into the air on the first jump land on the top of the second and launch again, getting higher each  time.

Below he is pondering his race start. I  have to  say  Daves riding is nice and smooth, which  is a relief as the amount of air they  get continues to raise my  blood pressure!

Again I was astounded that  some of the boys did not listen to the instructors, and again two boys were injured. Surprisingly  on the 6 "Whoops" as they  call it.  In the video they are the lumps in the track, that  don't look like much  but if you  don't time it right they  bounce you  off. One lad was only  winded, the other suffered a broken arm. 

After 6 hours of riding the boys had certain worn themselves out. and a great  day  was had by all! well, almost  all!

Tragedy and training

This year with  our involvement in motocross, I  encouraged Dave to  do  training sessions with  experienced riders. These days are called Race Pace and are held by a variety  of manufacturers.

They are well run, safe, (as safe as you  can  be), with the instructors dividing the riders into groups based on engine capacity, ability  and age. They teach the fundamentals of  riding e.g. entry and exiting corners, how to  jump and land, seating and standing positions and, of course, the race start which  is a drag race to the first corner.

Learning to  jump uphill and not flip.

Sadly , this year we have witness some horrific accidents at a variety  of tracks.  The first was a rider who was trying to  do tricks- he leapt into the air, let go of the bike and could not gather the bike back. this resulted in him  spearing himself into the ground, breaking his legs and spine. He had to  be helicoptered to  hospital.

The second accident was an experienced rider doing a "whip" over a table top jump. This is where the bike is whipped sideways in the air and you  try  and land it straight. It  all looks very  showy.  Sadly, the track had just been  watered, (to  keep the dust down), and when the bike landed the front wheel was gripped by the mud resulting in  the rider and bike cartwheeling several times.

Getting the balance right for fast  entry and exit


Fortunately the rider did not hit any  objects and was ok. However his bike was completely  smashed-frame, forks, radiators and front wheel.

Perhaps the most tragic was last  weekend, when a young man missed a hard left hand turn. His bike ran over the top of the tyre barrier, smashed through a 5 feet high steel and wire fence before smashing into a tree. In witnessing this, I  fear the top horizontal rail which  was snapped in two by the force of the impact had hit the boy across the back of the neck.  Again he could not be moved until a helicopter arrived and is in a coma in hospital.

Listening to  instructions for the race start.

This accident left us stunned.
One thing I will say is- in doing the race pace training, Dave has learned to  ride to the conditions, and to  be smooth- no "stunts". Smooth  is quicker that  being showy. He has also learned to  do a track reconnaissance. That  is- a few laps slow to get a feel for the conditions. These can  change throughout the day. Reading the track is vital to keep safe.

 I  really  do  hope the  lad who crashed on Sunday will make a full recovery. I  fear he may  be broken, and my  thoughts re with  his family

If anyone is reading this who has a son or daughter wanting to  ride, I  really  urge you  to  consider the Race Pace programmes. Unlike a play station you  just  cannot pick yourself up and dust yourself down if you  hit a fence at 100kph. Of course the course does not guarantee you  will not be injured but it certainly  improves the skills.

New bike! (almost)

When I  was a kid one of my  favourite motor cycles was the Moto Guzzi Le Mans. They were black with a red stripe- A colour combination I  like.  Sadly,  I  could not afford one and bought a Honda Shadow which  was black with a red stripe.

I like the Honda CRF250R but its a little too red for me, So, what  to  do? Buy a new bike or change the bike we have?

Well, in this day and age you  can  buy whats called a plastics kit and sticker kit and "Hey Presto" you have a new bike!

The bike is now black, and has the sponsor Geico sticker kit- I am  told by those much  younger than  me, that this is very very cool.

The new look!

Burralow Creek. A Bear Grylles day....

One of the things I have wanted to do is walk the Burralow Creek from Wool Wash Creek up to the camping grounds and back home. Its about 8 kms in total, and a good example of what walking in the Blue Mountains is like, when there are no tracks.

Google map. Wool wash creek ravine is bottom right. Burralow is the series of gullies in centre

Its a mixture of cliffs, steep ravines, rocks, boulders and of course fast flowing water. The flora is a variety of rain forests, moss and lichen, in areas of little or no sun, then dry timbers, cut grass and scrub on the more exposed faces. Its a variety that's dense, with  heavy ground cover and mulch, often hiding holes and holes.

A Bandicoot digging. The angle and shape is particular to them.

The walk to the Burralow via Wool Wash Creek becomes a little difficult as you approach the junction of the two. It includes a degree of rock hopping, fallen tree crossing and quite a bit of pushing through the undergrowth, (like a rugby player). Both  crawling under, and over, wet and slippery  terrain.

Remains of old convict road construction.

With recent fires having severely burnt some sections, for the first time I could see where the old convict roads retaining walls were. Rock overhangs and caves were also a feature.Within a short time  we had arrived the junction and it was time to push north.

Sculptured rock caves are a feature.

The remainder of the walk to the campground is difficult. Many times we were force to crawl under, or over the undergrowth. In some sections moving forward became impossible and we had to beat a retreat, our footing unassured, metres could take  hours.

Lichen covered matters of rock where the sun  rarely  shines. Incredibly  soft and quite beautiful.

At one point we had reached a deep section of the creek with cliffs either side. There was no way over the top, and no way to guess the depth. Our only chance was to swim. Like Bear Grylles we set ourselves the task of swimming the 30 metres upstream to where a small beach appeared. The water was so cold, within a few strokes my breath was taken away and I could feel my body slowing right down. I felt I could have nearly "missed". This was canyoning.

Water Hole at Junction.
On reaching the beach we dried our clothes, had lunch and made some choices.  The only way on the western bank was up. Let me tell you,  there was little or no chance of walking. Fire had destroyed most of the trees and water bombing had flattened the undergrowth into a cross hatch of awkwardness. Most of this climb was on hands and knees, as rocks began to fall and the burnt soil was unstable. 

Sheer rock faces meant swimming upstream was the only  way  past

After time we reached the top and could see our destination, which required us to head north and descend to the junction of yet another unnamed creek and again into cut grass and scrub. By this time my forearms were quite cut up and bleeding a lot and my dammed ankle was starting to ache like mad. Hours later, we arrived at the junction of the fire trails. A steep ascent was required to return to the Bowen Mountain Observatory.

Climbing to the top was the only way  of getting a real perspective

Minor injuries  are easy  to  obtain as you  push  through the bush, and slide down rocks. Careful placement of feet and hands and always planning ahead ensure that the risk of  twists and breaks are reduced. This is not a walk that  you  could help via a vehicle.. If stuck- it's a helicopter ride.

An example of heavy  scratches from sliding down a boulder face.

 I  had run out of water and needed to concentrate of putting one foot in front of the other as we headed home. A most rewarding, albeit difficult walk, one I certainly will never forget and not for the inexperienced.

Birds seen:- um..... frankly  who cares!

Snow in the Blue Mountains at about 11.30am


The weather here has gone crazy and so I was potentially stuck at home as the rain and sleet hit. However I chose not to! I loaded the car with some lunch and was determined to see the snow fall across the mountains. My ambition was to have a walk to Dance Floor Cave, and then a beer at the Tarana Hotel. I got only as far as Mount Tomah as the Police closed the route because of the massive dump of snow. Vehicles that made it through were covered in snow up to 30cm thick.

Creek Crossing

 Forced to turn around and not to waste the opportunity,  I chose to drive back via Mountain Lagoon and have a hot lunch in the Wheeny Creek canyon. This was to afford some protection from the wind and sleet.

Lunch, using the effective Sigg stove and the Drifta Table.

 Whilst birding was not good. I did get to see a nice Eastern Rosella, and an Australian Brush Turkey. I had not seen one this far west, the closest I had seen was at Wisemans Ferry, so their range is certainly improving. A hot lunch of a Bacon Butte with  toast  and a hot mug of tea was the order of the day. I  ate this quickly  as the rain began to team down.

The Fj Cruiser with  its new full length  rack

Fj Cruiser build update- I had a full length roof rack fitted by ARB Penrith. They did a brilliant job, unlike the Moorebank branch. The bull bar continues to "do my head in," as I had to retension the bolts again due to incorrect fitting of the 2nd bar. My advice to anyone spending thousands of dollars- Don't assume the quality of the workshops are all the same. Choose carefully, ask someone who owns a vehicle and has had some experience before you  spend.

Its all happening!

What  can  I  say? What  an amazing few weeks. From starting work again, to  deciding that the rat race was not for me, to watching Dave flying over the tops of other riders at Motocross, to driving to far out back QLD,  meeting my  distant relative "Frosty", having the pleasure of meeting Graham Chapman (renowned expert on Australian  Birds),  Seeing a Greenshank, Owlet Nightjar and Rednecked Avocet , then breaking the suspension in my  car, and limping home for 14 hours non stop, the long way back, with  all the usual tension that  occurs when  things like that happen!

Dave flying over the slower riders

Of course once I broke the suspension I was stuck and could not visit all the places I wanted to while Dave went mustering, branding, loading road trains, fixing fences, welding and driving the utes around. He had a brilliant time. Me? I  pottered about the shearers quarters, cleaning and watering the lawns, I  did a bit of guiding to help  some bird watchers, albeit "twitchers," find a Crimson Chat, maaking cups of tea and generally having a yarn.

A bearded Dragon seemed to enjoy  lazing on the lawn under the sprinkler as it was quite hot

Prior to ruining my suspension I visited Thargamindah and drove the old Cobb and Co Coach crossing across the river. unite enjoyable and the birdlife was excellent. here I saw a Noisy Friar Bird, Masked Wood Swallow and Welcome Swallow.

The river crossing at the Cobb & Co Route. All in all Kilcowera is looking Superb and there is still water in the Lagoons and the bird life is still excellent although quieter now that the breeding season is all but over.

Dave at the end of a hard days Muster. I got the suspension repaired under warranty when we returned and I have to say really no fault of the car. All in all an Excellent trip and I am sure Dave gained a wealth of experience on a cattle station. Greg and Toni were excellent hosts and Kilcowera is a place I can highly recommend as a true outback experience. As for "Frosty"? Well email me as the experience has left me "speechless"! I am sorry if this all seems a bit "disjointed" as Blogger has changed a little and I am trying to drive it! Birds seen. Great Cormorant, Purple Swamphen, Whistling Kite, Australian Magpie, Nankeen Kestrel, Australian Hobby, Black-shouldered kite, Australian Raven, Little Raven, Little Crow, White-faced Heron, Galah, Blue Bonnet, Willy Wagtail,Spotted Bowerbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Pee Wee, Apostle bird, White-winged Chough, Masked Wood Swallow, Little Corella, Yellow-throated Honeyeater, Koel, Welcome Swallow, Owlet Nightjar, Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Little Eagle, Spotted Harrier, Emu,Budgerigar, Richards Pipit, White-plumed Honeyeater, Black-eared Cuckoo, Noisy Friar Bird, Little Friar Bird, Laughing Kookaburra, Australian Pelican, Pied Butcherbird, Hooded Robin, White-browed Tree Creeper, Major Mitchell,Brown Falcon, Swamp Harrier, Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, Zebra Finch, Red-necked Avocet, Banded Lapwing, Masked Lapwing, Greenshank, Common Bronzewing, Crested Pigeon, Peaceful Dove, Diamond Dove, Mallie Ring-necked Parrot, Cockatiel, Native Hen, Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, White-necked Heron, Hardhead, Grey Teal, Yellow billed Spoonbill, Royal Spoonbill, Pacific Black Duck, Red Kneed Dotteril, Sacred Kingfisher, Black-winged Stilt, Grey Shrike Thrush, Brown Treecreeper, Rainbow Bee eater, Crimson Chat, Australian Wood Duck, Tree Martin. Total 72.