November 10 Snowy estuary revisited - the other half

Under deep cerulean skies! We finished walking the estuary of the Snowy. What a delicious day it was - sun and sand, lapping water and ocean breezes albeit strengthening as the hours wore on. It was low tide so the vista was totally different to the first half of our walk four days earlier.  

Mud map of the estuary walk

On these two walks we’ve passed through banksia woodlands, salt marsh and critically-endangered littoral rainforest. It’s a precious and fragile environment as is the snowy itself. Since the 1990s the flow and health of the river has been the subject of an intense environmental and political debate. Such a mighty river - we need to protect it. 

What goes down! But we had to get down off the escarpment. 

Across French’s Narrows 



Tall sand dunes protected the backwater of the estuary from the wild Ninety Mile beach. They are vegetated with saltbush, spinifex and pig face. 

Ninety Mile beach on the left and the estuary on the right. 

This Banksia man opened one eye as I passed to check out the intruder. 

Part of the walk is boardwalk, other parts are mattingover sand and the rest was bush or beach

Lots of pretty creatures accompanied us on our walk 

Myoporum acuminatum, commonly known by a number of names including mangrove boobialla. It’s one of the figwort family and is endemic to eastern Australia. 

A heath plant of some species I think

We squelched along the sand to capture as much breeze as possible. Glorious days but getting hotter. 

This opposite the mouth of the Snowy was our turning point on both walks - last time the water was lapping at this tree. 

I spotted this poking out of the samphire. It looked very bamboo-like. I imagine at this tender age it would be edible. 

An Oyster Catcher looking for tasty morsels where last time this was all under water. 

A cute beach cubby

Pretty native geranium

We saw lots of flowers mostly small as they have to withstand strong salt winds. Native geraniums, wee pale-green bells of the appleberry, coast beard-heath.  And this is dainty pinks of sea rocket.

Marshy edges were interest places to scan for plants and insects and other creatures

We saw a few bright pink trigger plants along the track on our way back to the car (we return via the track rather than on the sand as we were a little weary. 

We’ve tasted the merest pinch of its wild and remote journey from the slopes of Mt Kosciuszko to where it empties into the sea. Through gorges, churning rapids and broad confluences with other rivers and creeks which join its headlong rush to the sea. It’s a might river.