We get the opportunity to do some more drone flights to assess the dune restoration effort, a birds eye view captures the wonderful scenery. In the distance we can see the Baxter Cliffs lit by the morning sunlight.
With our stay fast coming to a conclusion we explore some of the less travelled tracks and walk the escarpment searching for land snails, information is being passed onto the WA museum.
As the blue sky days increase we are getting some colour in our sunsets, the red glow lights up the dunes. It means the mornings will be cool.
We do several runs down Kanidal Beach, take plenty of photos as we may not be back this way for some time. It’s generally a deserted beach with few travellers venturing along these soft sandy tracks. The mixture of emerald blue sea, snow white dunes and green coastal heath make for a picturesque landscape. We find a few migratory waders and our local Sooty and Pied Oystercatchers. Birds of prey have been active and we find a Brown Falcon who has claimed a young Heath Monitor for a meal. We even found a seal who despite rolling along the beach spent most the time asleep.
Likewise we do our last Pannikin Plain survey traversing Blue Bush and Mallee in the late afternoon sun, we will miss such days as it’s a pretty place at this time. The beautiful Mulga parrots are found in this country.
Some chaotic weather on some days, makes weather reporting at our base quite interesting. Chaotic skies and storms on the horizon we may get some rain before we leave. Just this week, crickets have started calling, the first time we have heard regular night critters.
We will miss the remoteness of this region. Though it’s something not everyone is comfortable with. It’s those times when you are stopped by pure silence and then realize there is only you, no services no help, not a place for the complacent or unprepared. It is the absence of the modern world with its noise, petty unkind behaviour and worries that makes this wild country very appealing. Landscapes raw and beautiful, the wildlife and flora equally so, and it never fails to surprise you so always apply a healthy dose of caution to any travelling or exploration endeavour and expect the unexpected.
A good example was today, we had to rescue a person after their very capable 4WD got stuck in an extensive patch of buried seagrass. To the unwary these bear traps are largely hidden and have claimed many vehicles and some have not been recovered. While we were able to rescue them we were unable to recover their vehicle, however, the next day Eucla Towing successfully recovered the vehicle.
On the last day of the week it has rained, and it has bought out some interesting critters, such as an almost legless lizard.
