Outbackspinner: Easter Camping Trip--Day 4--White Cliffs Station

The next morning I woke up to the twittering of small finches. After breakfast, I went for a bit of a walk and found these cool flowering plants growing along along the dry creek amongst the frankenias. I thought perhaps they were a frankenia or an unusual maireana. The buff red flowers are like a double flower joined at the back side of the tube. The flowers are attached to the side of the stem and on the opposite side of the stem is another double flower. It is called Didymanthus roei and is in the Chenopodiaceae family which is the same family that the Maireanas are in. I was kind of close.

Didymanthus roei

After breakfast, we packed up and buried the remnants of our fire. Then we cruised up the valley at the base of the rocks, just exploring before going back out to the main track. The thing that amazed me is that there were no vehicle tracks. No one had driven into the east end of this valley. We poked around and checked out the rocks and took lots of pictures.

Buried Fire

The tar like midden of the lesser stick nest rat.

In a small hole in the rock we found the old midden of the now extinct stick nest rat. We found this stuff in caves at Point Sandercott last Easter and after much research found out what it was.

It usually has kangaroo poo and grass, sticks and stones stuck in it.

Kangaroo track between the rock outcrops

Upside down spider on Ptilotus obovatus

Wagon Train

One lonely HooDoo

Wierd chunk of conglomerate that fell out of rocks above

Cobbled ground

Ptilotus helichrisoides

Flower bud just forming

Frankenia

Bush tomatoe

Nardoo Gnamma Hole

Interesting plants growing in sand after a fire

A Goodenia

Spider on Dicrastylis brunnea

We continued east of the Shay Carts along a track that would intersect the White Cliffs Road. The track was pretty good until we started to descend down and then it became an eroded creek. It was bumpy and a few time Phil had to get out with the saw to clear away broken tree branches.

Once we hit White Cliffs Road, we turned north towards the homestead and passed a few old wells along the way.

South Well

Deeply rutted creek crossing

We made use of one of these deeply cut channels as a mechanics pit. Hugh discovered his brake line had been severed. Terry got underneath and was able to crimp it off before we continued on to Sandy Well before we got to White Cliffs Station. Later we found out that Noel calls this creek crossing, Breakback creek. Brakeback in more ways than one.