Greetings fellow Foxies,
Newman Block (or part Highbury B to give its updated (yawn) name) is one of the reserves south-west of Highbury that come under Dryandra Woodland administration. This block is quite different from the ones north of Narrogin for a number of reasons.
The reserve is basically a granite hill that slopes to the north, south and west from the centre of the eastern boundary. It is situated relatively near the main flat valley of the ancient upper Arthur River in an area dominated by granite bedrock, with no large dolerite dykes that underlie steep stony laterite mesas (as seen at Candy Block and Foxes Lair). The coarse-grained granite solidified slowly kilometres underneath the original land surface. Over hundreds of millions of years overlying rock has been eroded and washed away to form a low undulating landscape with relatively shallow sandy soils and lots of salinity in the waterways. Great wildflower country and few powderbarks.
Enter by a nondescript track off Chomley Road near the western end of the reserve
Newman Block (or part Highbury B to give its updated (yawn) name) is one of the reserves south-west of Highbury that come under Dryandra Woodland administration. This block is quite different from the ones north of Narrogin for a number of reasons.
The reserve is basically a granite hill that slopes to the north, south and west from the centre of the eastern boundary. It is situated relatively near the main flat valley of the ancient upper Arthur River in an area dominated by granite bedrock, with no large dolerite dykes that underlie steep stony laterite mesas (as seen at Candy Block and Foxes Lair). The coarse-grained granite solidified slowly kilometres underneath the original land surface. Over hundreds of millions of years overlying rock has been eroded and washed away to form a low undulating landscape with relatively shallow sandy soils and lots of salinity in the waterways. Great wildflower country and few powderbarks.
Enter by a nondescript track off Chomley Road near the western end of the reserve
There is lots of variation in this reserve with distinct patterns and sudden changes of vegetation. Many linear boundaries define breakaways, ridges, changes of slope and vegetation edges.
It took me days of walking to work out that the lines overlie geological lineaments. These are curved or linear, often raised lines over faults or boundaries of underlying granite types that were cooked and hardened when they were emplaced.Some of these can be seen as lines snaking across surrounding paddocks. There must be dozens, but I have drawn just a few below. I feel as though I have just scratched the surface of this reserve (get the pun?), and keep returning to learn more. A lesser (or saner) person would have stopped long ago but there is something addictive about following the bones of the landscape and making new discoveries
A patch of pallid weathered rock on a breakaway fault zone shows the enormous forces that acted here billions of years ago. The red lines indicated the directions of sideways forces on the rock that pulverised it into small segments as shown on the left.
If you find this patch, be thankful for the sweat I lost while furiously sweeping with a bannister brush for the photo, and evading insects racing around including a large disgruntled tick.
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There are few tracks in this reserve. They are not suitable for a family car at the moment, but Parks and Wildlife Service have kindly agreed to grade ones that lead to the best visiting spots (see maps). The eastern boundary track is particularly rough. The three walks shown below are only suggestions. They are not marked on the ground yet or officially named. Directionally challenged people could get very lost (hint I use smartphone google maps app to check my location).
The Newman west walk is an absolutely delightful walk in September/ October. About 1.5 km through open woodland surrounding a very low (1 to 2 metre) sandy gravel mini mesa. To avoid getting lost park where the track forks soon after entering from Chomley road. Walk straight ahead on the narrow track that soon disappears and then continue keeping the rise/ 1 metre mini mesa (brown diamond dash) on your right as you loop around to the left and meet the main track. Turn left across the mini mesa (nice proteaceae and dwarf tamma here) and return to where you started. Highlights are spider, bird, donkey and other orchids, cat paws, and lots of colourful low shrubs and everlastings that change as you pass successively through sheoak, wandoo, and marri woodland. A few visits are needed as flowering times vary. The map below shows a sample.
To get to the (approx. 2.5km) Newman east walk, drive up the main track, taking care to veer left at the fork and stop at a raised mound of reddish soil on the right. The complete walk is not for the casual happy snapper or infirm as it has some steep spots and areas of rough dense bush if one deviates from the route. Having said that, it is a great walk with differing areas in flower from August to January and sudden changes in vegetation, and good to be alive country. I will have to put in a few directional signs. Walk east along the track then veer up when you clearly see rock on your left to reach a small granite outcrop (1) surrounded by a mass of yellow Acacia celastrifolia flowers in September, and pinkish Mirbelia dilatata flowers and glowing red acacia new growth in October. A friend found a dead racehorse goanna and fringed leek orchid in the breakaway at the back in October. You may find the skeleton.
Return to the track and continue east with the impressive fault-breakaway on your left through open wandoo and brown mallet woodland. Turn left and go up the breakaway slope where dense mallet thicket on the breakaway changes to more open woodland (2). At the top of the breakaway the landscape suddenly changes to a lovely sandy bowl fringed by stately jarrah trees. When I first saw this in early December it was a picture of pink-flowered Verticordia densiflora, yellow Calytrix flavescens and grey smokebush, but there is also Christmas tree and other sand-loving spring flowering species.
Walk north through the line of jarrah and turn left (west) along a low rise (3-another lineament). If you continued over the rise instead of turning, you will go through a silver mallet/brown mallet plain before reaching a large rounded breakaway (take care as it is easy to get disorientated while walking over the frequent fallen mallets). Back to the walk; walk along left side of the open rise close to dense sandy vegetation on your left and brown mallet thicket on the right until you meet a brown mallet breakaway (4).
Go down the breakaway to relatively open ground and turn left with the breakaway on your left as you go through sheoak woodland until you see a break (5). Turn left and pass through the mallet woodland gap and down to the main track. Turn left and return to your car
Return to the track and continue east with the impressive fault-breakaway on your left through open wandoo and brown mallet woodland. Turn left and go up the breakaway slope where dense mallet thicket on the breakaway changes to more open woodland (2). At the top of the breakaway the landscape suddenly changes to a lovely sandy bowl fringed by stately jarrah trees. When I first saw this in early December it was a picture of pink-flowered Verticordia densiflora, yellow Calytrix flavescens and grey smokebush, but there is also Christmas tree and other sand-loving spring flowering species.
Walk north through the line of jarrah and turn left (west) along a low rise (3-another lineament). If you continued over the rise instead of turning, you will go through a silver mallet/brown mallet plain before reaching a large rounded breakaway (take care as it is easy to get disorientated while walking over the frequent fallen mallets). Back to the walk; walk along left side of the open rise close to dense sandy vegetation on your left and brown mallet thicket on the right until you meet a brown mallet breakaway (4).
Go down the breakaway to relatively open ground and turn left with the breakaway on your left as you go through sheoak woodland until you see a break (5). Turn left and pass through the mallet woodland gap and down to the main track. Turn left and return to your car
To get to Newman south walk drive along the western edge of the reserve then around the southern side and park on the top of the first breakaway. There is a nice kwongan wildflower stop on the way with Banksia sphaerocarpa, Calothamnus quadrifidus, dancing spider orchids and other flowers.
The Newman south walk skirts around a valley lined by breakaways representing the convergence of several lineaments with numerous changes of slope and associated vegetation niches.
Drive along the southern boundary, up a breakaway slope and park on top. Walk north along the narrow mesa. In October you will find purple enamel orchids and pink Chloanthes coccinea (mint family). As you cross a slight depression see the attractive view of farmland to the south (1). From here cross directly to the north (some interesting mallees here with intertwined painted marianthus creepers that makes a great show in Jan-Feb) and down the slope through a gap in the broombush to a granite rock that is just downslope of a saddle in the valley (2) to the right is an unusual winter-wet sedge slope with broombush on the right and a low rise (part mini breakaway) leading south-east on the left. Follow this rise that changes to brown mallet woodland with roadside tea tree in sandy soil to the left as it leads to the apex of a curved breakaway (3). Ascend the breakaway and veer right to the south where you will find a tangled thicket of Eucalyptus pachyloma (Kalgan plains mallee) that is a real picture in December at it and the intertwined painted marianthus are flowering. Skirt below the clump Christmas trees on deep sand and follow the breakaway until a break where it is easy to descend to the firebreak (4). As you walk back to the car, do a loop up the valley in Sept/early October and see if you can find a lutea form of the cowslip orchid
The Newman south walk skirts around a valley lined by breakaways representing the convergence of several lineaments with numerous changes of slope and associated vegetation niches.
Drive along the southern boundary, up a breakaway slope and park on top. Walk north along the narrow mesa. In October you will find purple enamel orchids and pink Chloanthes coccinea (mint family). As you cross a slight depression see the attractive view of farmland to the south (1). From here cross directly to the north (some interesting mallees here with intertwined painted marianthus creepers that makes a great show in Jan-Feb) and down the slope through a gap in the broombush to a granite rock that is just downslope of a saddle in the valley (2) to the right is an unusual winter-wet sedge slope with broombush on the right and a low rise (part mini breakaway) leading south-east on the left. Follow this rise that changes to brown mallet woodland with roadside tea tree in sandy soil to the left as it leads to the apex of a curved breakaway (3). Ascend the breakaway and veer right to the south where you will find a tangled thicket of Eucalyptus pachyloma (Kalgan plains mallee) that is a real picture in December at it and the intertwined painted marianthus are flowering. Skirt below the clump Christmas trees on deep sand and follow the breakaway until a break where it is easy to descend to the firebreak (4). As you walk back to the car, do a loop up the valley in Sept/early October and see if you can find a lutea form of the cowslip orchid
