That iconic Australian photo

Whiteman Park is less than a kilometre from our house and yesterday evening I decided to walk through part of it in an effort to blow away some mental cobwebs and get some exercise.   The park website states

The Park takes its name from Mr Lew Whiteman (1903-1994) who purchased land in the area in 1939 for the purpose of grazing cattle, before developing the popular picnic spot of Mussel Pool in the 1960s.

From 1977 to 1990, landholdings were purchased by the State government from numerous owners, including Mr Whiteman, with the understanding that it be owned and used by the community in perpetuity.

The creation of the parkland also served to protect the Gnangara Water Mound, a vital source of drinking water for the Perth metropolitan area, and create a haven for local flora and fauna.

My walk took me through the undeveloped western half of the park along Woolcott Avenue

No mistake……. This is Woolcott Avenue! 

to the left (north) is original coastal native vegetation and to the right are citrus orchards.  The native flora is quite thick here which is a consequence of the annual coastal rainfall.  further inland the vegetation gets quite sparse and has to be very hardy to survive on very little water.

As you can see in the above photos, the ground is mostly sand until you reach the Stirling Ranges in the east.  Several kangaroos were taking advantage of the late afternoon sun.  A couple of young ones were practicing their boxing, punching each other with their smaller front legs.  When kangaroos get particularly vicious they use their tails as a prop (post) and lash out with their powerful hind legs which can inflict serious damage.  The natural fawn colouring of the kangaroos blends in with the surrounding flora.

Can you see the three kangaroos in this next photo

 

Probably not.  They are in the middle of the photo.

The orchards to the right have high chain mesh fences to keep out the kangaroos (and humans )

However a steel mesh fence won’t stop a determined kangaroo and I’ve seen one race (bound) at speed into a fence smashing a hole through it.  I’ve even seen them go through barbed wire fences.

A couple of grey and pink galahs were courting until I disturbed them.

The sun was starting to set as I turned and headed for home.  That’s when I though it might be interesting to take a few close up photos of flora.

The eucalyptus trees (gum trees) are frequently attached by parasitic airborne plants which feed of the sap.  This can eventually kill the affected tree.

My return route had me heading almost due west into the blood red setting sun when one of those iconic Australian moments occurred.  Six Kangaroos which had been basking in the sun on the south side of Woolcott Avenue bound across the trail in front of me and we silhouetted against the red sun.  Of course I had my camera turned off, with the lens cap on and slung over my shoulder.  A lost moment!  

This is Hepburn Avenue.  It’s the main north-south feeder road to our suburb and didn’t exist when we last lived here.

Another busy west Australian road

To the left is the lateral road leading to our house.

Perth doesn’t have much of a stormwater system.  Instead the planner leave sunken areas to catch and contain the rainfall which eventually soaks into the sandy soil.

You can see one of these fenced soak holes in the above photo.

We have borrowed my brother-in-laws trailer (again) and will use it tomorrow to collect more plywood panels for the bed project.