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| Goose Lagoon |
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May 1 - 3 2021 |
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A little slice of history. Burns Philp. Now a shell
company it started around 1880 with "blackbirding" (slave trade from New
Guinea islands) but stopped that in 1886 moving into food and spices.
Burns Philp buildings in capital cities are heritage listed. This one in
Normanton is the visitor centre.
Closed for the weekend. |
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Across the bridge tow Mutton Hole Wetlands and RV camping.
Fishing off the bridge and next to it. |
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Don't believe everything one reads on maps. Just too late
to stop, caught in thick gooey black soil mud.
A helping hand with a webbing strap and release is easy. |
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It would have taken a while to dig out enough goo to get
the max trax under the wheels. And even longer to clean them. |
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Goose lagoon is mostly in Mutton Hole Wetlands Regional
Park, with a bit cut out for what would possibly have been part of the town.
Non-existent streets marked on the map. As we climbed out of the cab a
fish being eaten.
We may like this place. |
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We've seen lillies before of course. Through Cape York.
But they haven't lost any attraction to us. |
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We immediately think "rest day". Well earned after about
2,400km from home. And "rest day" became "rest days".
Good things always come in more than twos. |
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We think we could sit forever and watch birds. Not
experts, just casual observers.
Wondering why the stilt picks its leg out of the water for each step. And
wondering how it balances so well. |
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We recognise green pygmy geese immediately. August 2019
when we saw them in Cape York. |
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We have no idea if we should be here. Visitor centre closed
so no permits and no information available. From the map we are outside
the conservation area.
A few local residents pass by, a couple stop for some fishing. |
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To keep an eye on us, a kite. |
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We have no idea. The bird book we don't have is not much
help. |
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But we can recognise magpie geese. With a name like Goose
Lagoon perhaps we should have expected no less. |
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One of those "it looks like a wagtail but doesn't wag its
tail though it catches flies" sort of birds. |
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Not far away the resident Jacana (Lotus bird, lilly
trotter, etc.). Again recalled from Cape York. There's a family. |
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Who could ask for more? (no need to answer ...). |
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A glossy ibis. We have glossy, straw-necked, and white
ibis. |
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Magpie Geese. It should be called Geese Lagoon. |
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They are easy to disturb. Even when on the other side of
the lagoon. |
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They circle a couple of times, and land nearly where they
took off from. |
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Then look around, before returning to sleeping or feeding. |
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We have pole position. The chair is vacant while we eat. |
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In the evening the geese fly in a more orderly fashion,
with a sense of purpose. |
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We've settled in. A minor hiccough when the fuel
changeover valve in the Canter failed.
Which was unfortunate as we stopped at the side of highway with road
trains about every 10 minutes while working out what was wrong.
Peter had a 24 litre can of diesel for such occasions.
As part of resting I rigged a spare water pump as a diesel pump to pump
from one tank to the working one. Fuel pipe long enough from Peter's spares
compartment! |
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Meanwhile the stilts kept stilting and the geese
periodically erupted in distinct cacophony. The sound we hear is quite
different to the Brolgas at Pennfather which we had been told were geese.
Give us another few years and we'll be able to recognise the difference. |
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And yet another green pygmy goose came within camera range. |
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Our days are taken up with a little maintenance, a little
walking along the lagoon edge, a little fishing (Peter) in the river, about
200m away, a little resting, a little high energy camera shutter pressing, a
little more resting, a little eating, and some sleeping. |
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A new meaning to "fluffy duck". |
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While all the time wondering at the nature of each domestic
dispute among the geese. |
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| Normanton to Leichhardt Falls and Gregory River |
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May 4 - 5 2021 |
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