August - one last bite! Philip Island wetlands and bird sanctuaries.

Conservation Hill and Rhyll inlet on Western Port. 

A well marked walking trail takes you through tranquil mangroves and mudflats, the destination for many migratory birds as well as resident birds such as the Great Egret, Royal Spoonbills and Pied Oystercatchers all watched over by the mighty White-bellied sea eagle. 

The boardwalk brings you close to mangrove trees and allows a great view of the life in the mudflats. 

We saw both Scrubby and Beaded glasswort

Some form of insect gall taking advantage of a comfortable albeit temporary nursery.  

Along the route we saw quite a few roos and wallabies and birds of course. And we had wonderful water views out over the inlet. 

I was inspecting this prickly wattle and out sprang this bold little spider to see who was twanging his web. I must have looked a bit large for him to take on so we just watched each other for a wee while.  

This vantage point offered great views over the escarpment. 

This escarpment is the site of the Diamond Dolly Quarry which was developed to give employment to farmers during the Great Depression. It was abandoned when the rock was found to be unsuitable for road making. Today the quarry site is a National Geological site of significance. The rock found there, known as Rhyll Arkose, is over 65 million years old and differs from all other forms in Western Port. Other rocky reefs like this run out into the Inlet. They are the extremities of basalt flows from vents further south on Phillip Island much like that which form the Forrest Caves we visited earlier. With ancient volcanic activity such as this it is no wonder Phillip Island is a fossickers dream. 

I love these flowers and they bordered part of our walk; Leptospermum, coastal tea tree, it is so fragrant. Captain James Cook named it the tea tree because he had observed the Bundjalung people of eastern Australia use the leaves to prepare a healing tea and it is reported that his men used the leaves first to make a tea and then to brew a type of beer

Oswin Roberts Reserve

Within this area of wetlands and bird sanctuaries is the Oswin Roberts Reserve. We took a trail through this after an already tiring walk so although it it was an easy albeit longish walk, it was a bit much that day. Nevertheless .....

The reserve comprises remnant  eucalypt woodland and is a sanctuary for wallabies which we saw, as well as echidna and bats which we didn’t see. 

Rather spectacular bloom

Many trees were festooned with this creeper the Pandorea pandorana – Wonga Wonga Vine 

Lichen and fungi provided splashes of vivid colour

Some tree were massive and were obviously old but still standing. Others were destined for the chop.  

Gnarled trees made a gallery of tangled art forms along the trail.