Our time at Eyre Bird Observatory is quickly coming to an end, we have a few free days and we hope to do some final exploring. The weather continues to change, it’s becoming one of the appealing aspects of this region. The cloud formations and types are fascinating , they are wild and beautiful, and a harbinger of weather as equally dynamic as they are themselves. The desert landscape located next to the Southern Ocean has made weather reporting a real learning experience.

We continue to observe some beautiful birds, the Scarlet-chested parrot, Pink Cockatoo and Copper-backed Quail-Thrush. We observed some camels near the entrance through the foredunes onto Kanidal Beach. On the warm days our reptile friends often visit us, and the ones with legs given their large size often give us attitude.

Our access track has become sandy and is suffering from deep scalloped wheel ruts due to drier weather and novice 4WDrivers who are driving too fast or whose tyres are not deflated and generally it is both. Strong wind is pushing sand back into the wheel ruts and this helps undo some of the damage. We are also taking our truck out for a run, I’m sure if directed correctly 3.9 Tonnes will push sand in the right direction. If we get some of the promised rain in a few days it will be even better.

We explore the rarely used Limestone track that runs behind the foredunes, a track that must be driven slowly and carefully or else tyre and truck damage is a certainty. It’s a track that is hardly visible on the hard calcrete at times. It maybe a slow trip but the landscape is wild and beautiful. The ocean is emerald green and stirred into white caps by a 30 knot wind while sand was cascading over the dunes. Some dunes look like steep hillside palisades, sandy vegetated pinnacles battered and tortured by wind. In places the track seemed covered in sticks but they were hollowed tubes of limestone, solution pipes.

Another track we explore is an old access track down an alternative escarpment track. It’s interesting country as it is sandy with dunes and it’s on the Hamilton Plateau, not below it. We are getting a good understanding of tracks old and new in this part of the world. There were a number of beautiful native shrubs flowering in this sandy country.

When the wind finally subsided we walked 7.4 km along the West track / Seaview Lookout circuit, enjoying the views and doing some track maintenance. The contrast between blue green ocean, snow white dunes and green mallee landscapes makes for a picturesque scene. The mallee in this area wasn’t affected by the December 2016 fire. We enjoy having the 14 km of Kanidal Beach to ourselves.

To the South is some very large sand dunes and from there you gain an appreciation of just how high they are when you look to the north and see the research facility. Great views from the top in all directions.

A trip to the Sunset Lookout never disappoints.