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Beautiful Australian Bark

13/12/2017

Greetings fellow Foxies,
No, this is not an exposition on shock jocks or pompous politicians.
Every year I marvel at the lovely colours and textures of our eucalypts when they are shedding old bark. This, in addition to their unique flowers make them amazing, and underappreciated by most Australians.
The arboretum is a good place to see the range of bark types, particularly in the summer/autumn. This Foxypress shows the progression of bark regrowth in brown mallet, and I hope you enjoy the sample of other trees below.

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Highbury Reserve

8/12/2017

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Greetings fellow Foxies,
The town named Wolwolling came into existence with the construction of the Great Southern Railway in 1889 and renamed as Highbury in 1906. The town has a hotel/motel, a general store and a public toilet for visitors.
The townsite is on a rise adjoining the Arthur River flats that is underlain by east-west and south-east/north west trending granite and dolerite rock. Landscape trends can be seen on the map below with a dolerite dyke forming the gravelly mesa in the west and underlying gravelly duplex red morrel forest and strips of salmon gum in the gently undulating eastern reserve.
There are few rock outcrops in what is prime agricultural land with outstanding wildflowers. West of the Great Southern Highway most remnant bush has been extensively modified, but the eastern reserve is in remarkably good condition. I have identified two wonderful wildflower areas (1 and 2) and two others that more suited to committed enthusiasts (3 and 4).
A printed guide will be available at the Dryandra Country Visitor Centre next season.

highbury town with wildflower stops shown in yellow

Stop 1 has a wildflower walk (about 1km grade 2 easy walk) that has a large array of orchids and other wildflowers in the water-gaining sheoak woodland. Good from May to November, but the best time is September when there is usually a carpet of Stark White Spider Orchids in the open wandoo flat on the northern side. From Great Southern Highway turn onto Highbury East Road then park in red morrels on the Jenkins Road corner. Cover up and use insect repellent as the mosquitos can be ferocious. This is a great birdwatching area and echidnas are active.

Stop1 wildflower walk on eastern reserve

Stop 2 is a lovely patch of sandy surfaced open kwongan scrub immediately to the right (west) as you arrive from Narrogin. You can turn park in the firebreak. A highlight here is the Caladenia longicauda/ Caladenia falcata hybrid and stark white spider orchids, and a range of everlastings and flowering shrubs.

Stop 2 kwongan plain

Take the southern access across the railway line and park under red morrels to visit stop 3. A short walk through open bush intersects with an old track that passes through an unusual little saucer-like gravelly upland patch that is bounded on all four sides by slightly uplifted geological faults or dykes. Low prickly Allocasuarina microstachya tammas are interspersed by an unusual range of interesting shrubs and annuals.

Stop3: unusual saucer shaped gravel plain that accumulates water

To reach stop 4, turn west on to Campbell St from Great Southern Highway, drive up the hill past the tavern and park at the gates of the closed entrance on the curve. There is a track on the opposite side of the road with a Eucalyptus incrassata mallee gravelly rise that changes to a dense broombush (Melaleuca hamata) mini-breakaway slope. Nice show in November.
The slideshow below is just a taste of these lovely spots.

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Beautiful Australian Bark

Highbury Reserve

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