Northern NSW – Winter 2018 – Day 4 – New England National Park

Another cold start to the day. A near-full bottle of water inside the car froze solid overnight. Locals said the minimum was -5C.

The car gauge after it had been in the sun for nearly half an hour.

We returned to Dangars Lagoon to see the locals.

Shovelers and another duck species on the cold lake. The shallow edges were still frozen.

Swanning around the lake.

A duck and a coot

Pied stilt

Swamp hens and ducks

A brown falcon

Angus finding bovine freedom along the road.

“Moove along now laddie.” And now a quote from the brains of the herd….

“The challenge for the livestock sectors in Australia will be to take advantage of this
opportunity by finding ways to expand output and improve the quality of livestock products, despite the constraints imposed by Australia’s limited natural resources and highly variable climate.”

Natural insulation against the cold

Nankeen kestrel hovering for morning tea

Gostwyck All Saints Church – much photographed in autumn for its red Virginia vines that cover the walls.

The old mill in Uralla

The rim of the New England Tableland at Point Lookout 1564 metres above sea level

The Dorrigo plateau from Pont Lookout

A currawong eyeing off our lunch

Eastern spinebill in a banksia

The forest below the escarpment

A lyrebird scratching for food

Dripping water over rocks freezes on the rocks creating icicles. It was 9 degrees C at 1pm.

Some icicles had fallen with the thaw.

The track follows the base of the cliff to a larger area called Weeping Rock

Here icicles and chunks of ice cover the cliff in places

Vegetation is covered in icicles

Suddenly we encounter extreme tourism and both icicles and large chunks of ice fall from the cliff. We need spotters as we make our way across the base of the cliff. Note the size of some of the chunks of ice – some falling 40 metres.