Gregory River August 8 - 10 2021
 
  We continued along the Wollogorang Road.

A bit rough.

     
  A nice new low level bridge across the Calvert River.

Approach with care.

     
  A couple of hundred km from Borroloola and 25km from the border.

A sudden reminder about road trains.

We missed the pic of the small sign next to 12 mile creek saying something about "contaminated water".

Redbank Mine is seemingly closed. But left a legacy of pollution and regulatory inaction. Copper.

     
  The patch of bulldust near the border.
     
  And then the border ..... the seal lasted a few km, the Qld dirt was a big improvement on NT side.
     
  Dilldoll Rock. This is on the south side of the road, we stopped and looked at the north side. Marked on our map as a 112m spot height.

Perhaps a last reminder for the trip of karst formations. More like a small village than a lost city.

 

     
  Somewhere between Hells Gate and Tirranna Springs Road Houses.

There is something odd about the sky.

Half full of floating cotton wool thingoes that we haven't seen anything of for a long while.

     
  And then they are gone as we turn south towards Gregory.
     
  We came through Gregory on the way north. Even stopped at Gregory River.

This camp is just a little north than previous. Complete with internet and our own island.

     
  Back to birds. We were welcomed by a couple of double barred finches having their evening drink.
     
  White-plumed honeyeaters.

Bath time.

     
  Looks like parent to the youngsters.

We are slowly, almost imperceptably, working out which birds fly out over the water, touching the water, to catch insects, which birds seek insects within the bark, which birds fly out to catch insects and return to the same perch, which birds seek nectar, etc.

Some are in flocks, some in pairs, some alone.

Some look young, yet to find their adult plumage. Others mature.

Sometimes we can distinguish wing shape. Some birds we thought were honeyeaters have wings shaped like bee-eaters and catch flies.

We haven't begun to think of male and female.

     
  We have no idea what was happening here.

Two different bird species having a chat?

It seems every bird we look at is a different species. With different behaviour.

     
  We've read about these at several national parks. But alas didn't see any.

A bit like the Gouldian Finches, a chance encounter when least expected.

A lone purple-crowned fairy wren.

Watched it for about 15 minutes before the ache of standing still took over and I disturbed him.

He didn't return, and there have been no other wrens.

Been a bit lacking in wrens this trip. Perhaps we didn't look hard enough.

     
  Evening, the wallabies came out to play.

They enter the water to eat the reeds.

We decide to stay another day.

     
  The wren was replaced by a crimson finch.
     
  Hard to know.

A flycatcher of some sort judging by its behaviour.

There is seemingly no end to the birds we see here.

I'm just sat next to the truck. Facing east!

     
  The campsite was "stunning".
     
Mt Isa and Ballara August 11 2021
     
Gateway
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