Lake Seppings is a wetland in Albany reputedly with a large species list of birdlife so I went in the morning expecting to see some feathered friends.

As I walked along the boardwalk towards the bird hide, I met two ornithophiles (birders) who looked dejected. I cheerily asked if there was much action on the lake and only received a droll reply, “Only the odd ibis or two”.

Make that at least 200 with no other bird in sight. At least there were two species – Scared ibis above; Straw-necked ibis below. At least the binnies were in a natural setting and not at the local tip.

We returned to Gull Rock National Park in the morning to look at the wildflowers and hunt for orchids. The rare Eastern Queen of Sheba orchid is found here. We were happy to find anything but there were some enthusiasts/obsessives? focussed on only one thing. We were wandering just off the road in the bush and a car pulled up, and the call from the car, “HAVE YOU FOUND A QUEEN OF SHEBA?”. “No, but there are some nice Rattle Beaks here”, I reply. No reply from the occupant as the car accelerates away leaving a trail of billowing dust. This was repeated a few times during our time in the park.

Beaufortia species

Patersonia

Jug orchid

Conostylis

Snail orchids

Rattle Beak orchid

Porongurup National Park is a low range of rounded granite mountains half an hour north of Albany.

Track near Castle Rock

Hovea

A few things in the bush can be painful if not treated with respect.

Import-ant message: Don’t mess with these.

Wildflowers of Porongurups

Spotted scrubwren

Some rocks don’t get the respect they deserve. They get taken for granite.

Forest along the Bolganup Trail

Tree in the Rock is a feature of the park – it is a tree..in a rock.

Eucalyptus blossom on the forest floor

Mossy log on the forest floor

View to the Stirling Range from Porongurup

Mountain at the western end of Porongurup National Park

Plants of Mount Barker Nature Reserve

Another different species of donkey orchid

Hakea

Mount Barker is the centre for the Plantagenet Shire

Howzat! The Big Cricket Bat at Nannikup Cricket Ground. Not four! Not six! But 8 metres high.

As an added bonus, the fence of the oval is made from cricket bats. Currently there are 491 bats making up the fence. It took a while to count them – no rest for the wicket!

The good section

More fencing on the way.

Back to Albany for the night – this is the original Post Office and Customs House built in 1869.