If you want to walk with me this Sunday morning, you’ll need sturdy walking boots and an even sturdier walking stick, preferably an old friend made from spotted gum and smoothed over the years by the grip of your sweaty palms. The terrain is rough and rocky, but the rewards are tremendous. The air is palpable and the silence intense. Mountains loom beyond the trees, and the gullies drop steeply from the dirt road. It’s only fifteen kilometres from yesterday’s sandy walk, and it is a completely different world.
Watching my footing with extreme care, I climb up the rocky ridge, through lichen-covered rocks, over fallen trees and through fountains of grass. Rocks wriggle under my feet, but my walking stick steadies me. At the top of the ridge I begin to look for sprays of rock lilies, a pilgrimage I make nearly every year in spring. They grow mostly on rocky outcrops, cunningly positioned out of the reach of marauding animals and therefore difficult for humans to get at too. I proceed with extreme caution, sitting down and bracing myself against the rough rock-face before I start photographing. The road is far below now.
The drive back home is slow, and I notice signs of spring flowering: white paper flowers and wonga vine; puple hardenbergia, kangaroo apple, and flag lily (still elegantly furled); pinky-purple indigofera; and creamy brush kurrajong.
Today’s gourmet meal, brunch by the time I eat, is kushari and salad, much of it plucked from the new garden thriving beyond the water tank, including year-round tomatoes.
Watch out for wriggling rocks
My shadow proves that I was there
Out to the Great Dividing Range
Ridge conglomerate
Rock decorations
Rock orchid buds
Thelychiton speciosus
Spotted throats
Orchids and grass
Thelychiton habit ... and the pesky morning light
More Thelychiton
On the rocky hillside above the road
morselsandscraps 
That’s my kind of walk, love the orchids too.
We had an orchid frenzy a few years ago, before the rowing boat one, before the rock pool one, and after the rainforest one. We found about 26 species growing in the bush close to home. I also found a few in Croatia and Slovenia, to my huge delight.
Here’s a gallery of ones near here if you’re interested.
https://picasaweb.google.com/115521452370583053305/OrchidSpeciesSpottedInEurobodalla#
Gorgeous orchids! But what on earth is kushari?
Maybe koshari? An Egyptian dish with rice, lentils and pasta. Catering for the resident vegan takes me down new paths. The family tradition of tuna goo (mornay to the less sophisticated) has morphed into vegetable goo. We were prompted to head for the ridge when we saw a tyre full of orchids in full bloom by the highway in Bodalla.
This stunning walk and the equally stunning photos bring back happy memories. Will bring my Binna Burra walking stick when I come to visit!
Dunno if I’ll be game to return. The road was extremely rocky after rain, and the climb was rougher than I’ve known it – or am I just older? We may have to find our orchid delights elsewhere.
Will still bring the stick, for whatever adventures you might wish to share with me. Yes, I remember the wobbliness of the rocks when I visited before. It would be a difficult place from which to be extricated should one have a tumble and sustain an injury. I’m sure there will be new orchid delights in other spots.
Oh heck, I’m clambered out now! 🙂 I love the Zorro photo of you. Made me smile 🙂 In Gibraltar there was a Zorro on a hobby horse entertaining the children (and me) so maybe that’s what made me think of it.
You’ve got me looking for similarities now, Meg. When you mentioned rock roses I thought you meant cistus and we have loads in Spring in the Algarve. Thank you for clambering with me. Much appreciated! 🙂
These particular orchids have an confusing array of names: Sydney rock orchid, rock lily, Dendrobium speciosum, Thelychiton speciosus. Orchids seem especially prone to taxonomical revisions, although my favourite eucalypt, the spotted gum, was once Eucalyptus maculata and is now Corymbia maculata.
Thanks for the “Zorro photo” nomenclature!
I could see you swashbuckling, Meg! 🙂
I actually had a black cape too, but I left it in the car. A horse would’ve been handy, but it probably would’ve broken a fetlock. Sancho wasn’t much use – he is fleet-footed like a mountain goat. His contribution to my efforts was “Don’t fall over the edge. What would I tell the children?”
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I would have loved to be there with you taking photos of your orchids ….
In response to you liking my Nimbin post, I have just discovered a talented Aussie bloke that loves things that I do.
Your writing tells its story well and the photoes make me feel I am there.
The close up rock and the sandy bank, gave me. A feeling of déjà-vuie.🐨
This really transported me. Love this post!
What a wonderful post. Great pictures! I feel that Nature is where true beauty lies
This is a beautifully written piece, Meg. You take us with your from the first stride.
And the photos too are glorious. Get writing, for godsake.
Now this is one piece where the photos are almost redundant (though a very welcome addition). A lot of your older posts started with narrative and this is what I mean about the way you use words to weave the story together. I can visualise the scene before I reach the images.
//you’ll need sturdy walking boots and an even sturdier walking stick, preferably an old friend made from spotted gum and smoothed over the years by the grip of your sweaty palms. //
No photo required. I can see that walking stick in my mind. 🙂
You are making me preen. Thank you.
And see what Tish said!
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every nature lovers paradise..I guess! lovely images