Wildlife Spotting



Western Grey Kangaroo

For the weekend of February 18/19 we went wildlife spotting and touring the local back country in a 4x4 ute.  Friday evening we drove our little Suzuki up to the Harvey dam and the road that follows the river behind it.  From 6:30 to 7:30 pm we saw over 50 kangaroos of all shapes and sizes.  The wind was calm and warm and such a nice summer evening to end the work week. On Saturday a fellow teacher wanted to show us a free camping spot 45 km inland along the Murray River.  He was our tour guide traveling in his Toyota Landcruiser The road is partly paved, but once we hit
the top of the range it was mostly gravel.

Emu family

The highlight of the trip was spotting a family of emus grazing in the sun at the bottom of a dry ravine.  It was such an awesome surprise - I didn't think they were native to the Southwest.  The forest is a beautiful spot to explore - we crossed an old trestle bridge (on foot); a bauxite mining conveyor belt that went for many, many, kilometres; a running river and river valley; and the Bibbulmun Trail (a 1000km hiking trail from Perth to Albany).

The very scenic Murray River.  Collin's thinking of where do I go next?

For those interested miners. This belt goes on and on - we cross the path several times.

Goanna

Just another place to definite visit again.  On the way to the seaside to swim at Preston Beach, a goanna (a type of monitor lizard) crossed the road in front of us.  Unfortunately, it darted into the bush as soon as I got out of the vehicle to snap a photo - it's too bad the kids didn't get to see it.  Again, we were surprised, as I thought it was more of a desert lizard and not native to the forests.  Aussies reading this blog probably roll their eyes at us foreigners photographing every fauna they see on a regular basis.  Canadians think that we are on some type of safari with unusual and exotic animals.  But, we Canucks chuckle when tourists take pictures of deer or chipmunks.