There Goes the Neighbourhood

Adelaide's very first mob of Grey-headed Flying Foxes - AKA Fruit Bats - have moved into the eastern suburbs. It started with an advance party of 50 or so. Two weeks later the 'camp' numbered more than a 1000. Stay tuned for the 'reaction' of local residents!

The Simpson Re-Loaded

If you didn't catch up with the Australian Geographic story about last year's flood event in Simpson Desert, it's now available in online form here thanks to AG's new website.

More research into the bleedin' obvious . . .

Amazing - who would have thought getting among trees and green things would be a good idea?

"There is growing evidence that combining activities such as walking or cycling with nature boosts well-being. In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem." See the full news story here.

In Praise of Narrow Leaves

They are the trees of Kangaroo Island, the Narrow-leaf Mallee - Eucalyptus cneorifolia. As ubiquitous as they may seem, less than 11% of their original cover remains on the island, often in thin wind breaks like these. For all their apparent mop-headed vigour, they and their understorey plants are at risk - often from senescence. See here for more info. The trees will be a feature in an exhibition by Janine Mackintosh and other KI artists at the National Wine Centre 27 July - 29 August.

VALE CHRIS BAXTER 1946 - 2010

Australia's wild places lost a stout-hearted friend with the recent passing of Chris Baxter. A prolific rock climber and life-long bushwalker, Chris is best known for his work as co-founder of Wild and Rock magazines. But he was much more than a climbing legend turned self-made publisher. His passion for the bush whirled from deep within. He took nature seriously and was fearless in defending its freedoms. Yet for all his imposing presence Chris was also a steadfast and encouraging spirit. For nearly 30 years - and through thick and thin - he remained a loyal supporter of my writing. I owe him a lot and I'll miss the phone calls out of the blue - calls full of news, declarations, gossip, flights of rhetoric and that wonderful booming voice on the other end of the line.

Chris Baxter at Hanging Rock in 2006 - with the kind of sign that inflames the ire of free spirits everywhere.

HERE COMES THE COOPER

Floodwaters passing Innamincka on March 10.

HANSON SANDS

Every year the dunes of Hanson Bay on KI's south coast edge further across the boardwalk. Another little reminder of restless nature - not to mention Mother N's habit of eclipsing our efforts to protect it.

MY (NEW) ISLAND HOME

Looking northwest to Cape St Albans, Kangaroo Island

Two months into a very different life perched on the eastern end of Kangaroo Island. Day by day we are drawn closer to what's happening around us. And not just the views across Backstairs Passage, or the sudden sightings of wildlife. What seems to be happening is like a sixth sense. How the different waves sound on either side of the Cape. The draw and heave of the tides. Varied scents and textures in the sea breezes. The messaging of the clouds. The shape of waves on Scraper Shoal.  Patterns of movement by kangaroo mobs, galah flocks, finch families and goanna young. Day by day the rhythm of the place grows within.

for more about the new home see:
pinkbayblog.blogspot.com
www.seadragonlodge.com.au

ARKAROOLA & THE MYTH OF BALANCE

In an attempt to dress up its decision to allow mining exploration to proceed in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary the SA Government has produced a glossy document 'Seeking a Balance.'

It makes for depressing reading.

Not only is the document afflicted with bureacratic waffle -  "the need to further refine the existing management and regulatory framework for ongoing resource activities" - its core premise is also deeply flawed. The notion that there is some happy point of balance to be found between uranium mining and conservation within a Wilderness Sanctuary, reflects a profund misunderstanding of wilderness concepts and practise.

In the case of Arkaroola this mythical balance point is magically created by fragmenting the landscape into four different categories of 'access zones.' Of these there are more than 30 different zones marked on the map. The zones don't correspond to any natural or cultural divisions in the landscape. In truth they are simply a device to allow the discredited Marathon Resources to set up shop in the very heart of Arkaroola's spectacular highlands. By splodging some bright colours on a map to represent the various zones, the Government would have us believe they are simply trying to be 'balanced.'

This, of course, is rubbish. The reality is that the eventual mine site would be smack bang on the path of Arkaroola's acclaimed Ridgetop Tour. It would destroy the vistor experience and the integrity of the region as a declared wilderness sanctuary - a status it has enjoyed for more than 40 years. Wilderness, by it's very nature is an entity; something that can't be hacked into little pieces. To do so would be like saying 'here's the MCG - we'll just take away this back pocket and that forward flank and give you the rest."

Any argument that, because mining exploration has happened here deep in the past it should be allowed to continue, ignores the many changes of recent decades. Not just the changing attitudes to conservation. Or even the hard-won efforts of the Sprigg family - and others - to protect Arkaroola. But most of all the changing community involvement with this landscape, it's history and culture, the way it has been embraced as a region to explore and cherish.

Not that 'Seeking a Balance' gives much weight to the richness of the experiences enjoyed by thousands of overseas and Australian visitors. There's no mention of people as such or campers or bushwalkers or families. Instead, the document reduces the discussion to souless, dehumanising  terminology like "landscape values."

Even on economic grounds, it can be argued that the long-term benefit of preserving Arkaroola as tourism destination, community employer, scientific resource and wilderness drawcard far outweigh any short-term gains from yet another mine. SA already has two uranium mines and many others soon to start - but there will only ever be one Arkaroola.

Now is the time to have your say. Public comment is required by 19 December and can be addressed to:    jason.irving@sa.gov.au

And here's the plea from Marg & Doug Sprigg:


"We are appealing to all Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary friends and supporters to please examine this document very closely and to note that whilst some areas of the northern Flinders Ranges, in particular Mawson Plateau, are being afforded total protection, the majority of important Arkaroola sites are not.
We only have until 19 December 2009 by which to submit objections / suggestions to this proposal.  This could be our last chance to save the Arkaroola Sanctuary from mining and we ask everyone to carefully consider the matter and to please make written submissions in accordance with page 18 of this report."

THE LANDS OF PLENTY

Huge skies, endless space, rocks and granite ranges - the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands abound in many things. Among all the other reports we hear about this northwestern chunk of SA, it's worth noting the place is achingly beautiful, in that vivid, arid kind of way. One of the bumps on this horizon is Ngarutjara, the State's highest peak and just one crest on the mighty Musgrave Ranges.

ONE IN A MILLION

Meet Sang, one of the 19 camels who were with me in the Simpson Desert in July. Unlike the other camels - who held their heads upright when 'hooshed' down - Sang would rest his head quietly on the ground at the end of each walking day. This made it especially easy for us to give him a rub down. He seemed appreciative of the attention, which, in turn, made him a favourite among our party.
Unfortunately at the end of this year's trekking season, (his 11th in the Simpson), a vet diagonosed an inoperable tumor that had spread across Sang's jaw. Sadly, he had to be put down a couple of weeks ago.
Even though it's nearly four months since I was in the Simpson, the memories of the trip and the the special experience of sharing the desert with the camels still stop me in my tracks. Like the needle-sharp burs I inadvertently collected in the soles of my Croc sandals - and that still jab me in the foot when I walk on gravel - some of of these flashbacks feel particularly pointed.
None more so than trying to reconcile the unforced communal feeling that presided between us and each of the camels, with the knowledge that- for sound ecological reasons - a million of their wild kind need to be 'culled' from Central Australia.
In this context it seems lopsided to single out Sang's passing as noteworthy. Yet, as we all have to discover, everything can change when we come to know and respect our fellow travellers.

(For more on the Simpson experience see my stories in the latest Australian Geographic [Issue 96] and next month's issue of Wild [Issue 115].)

THE WALTER BURLEY BIO

For those who may not of caught up with the news, mild-mannered author Alasdair McGregor - seen here 'at large' in the Gammon Ranges - recently published his bio of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. Certainly worth a look for anyone interested in Canberra's troubled birth, political intrigues and a life-long creative partnership with few equals. To catch Alasdair and ye olde Phillip Adams yacking about "Grand Obsessions" visit here.

LOCO VINO

Among the rewards of our Adelaide Hills are the tasty treats grown/made hereabouts. Crunchy apples. Gooey goaty cheese. Wunderbar wursty things. And some rather agreeable wines. As well as being eminently slurpable, these local brews allow one to purchase direct from the grower - and that's always a good thing. The canny grower/maker returns the favour with exceptional value wines. No one does this better than Mike Press. A former senior plonkie at the Mildara Blass Behemoth, Mike's been making wine for decades. For the past four years or so he's been turning a range of straight varietals from his own vines under his very own label - to the delight of hardened cheapskates and picky wine buffs in equal measure. His Cab Savvie and Shiraz are extraordinary for the price. Worth tracking down.

THE DESERT GREEN

The biggest floods - in terms of extent and duration - since 1974 have wrought dramatic changes along the floodplain corridors of the eastern Simpson Desert. It was a rare privilege to witness the flush of new growth and animal life. The just completed Eyre Creek Ornithological Trek recorded 100 bird species in its 11 day camel odyssey. Organised by Australian Desert Expeditions, our party covered more than 150km, crossing high dunes to reach Eyre Creek and neighbouring billabongs. Walking the long floodplains carpeted with fragrant native cammomile and the shrubby forests of tall verbine more than 2m high was a ravishing experience for camels and humans alike - and another reminder of this mighty desert's mercurial powers.
Photos: (top) Cameleer extraordinaire Andrew Harper leading TC and the other camels on the Eyre Creek Ornithological Trek. (centre) The eastern-most of the floodplains graced by the 2009 flows. (below) Much-travelled Morgan treats the Simpson to another of his morning serenades.

EVERY CLOUD

Wet trees. Mist-heavy cloud. Showers spattering into the gorges. So much water - so many reflections.
It's more than a decade since the Flinders Ranges had an average year of rainfall. And it's been especially bad in the north.
Now, after a few good falls in recent months, the country is rebounding. A week of walking in the Vulkathunha-Gammons Ranges NP revealed lots of handy waterholes and new growth everywhere. A reminder that boom and bust- a natural form of climate change - is a fact of life in arid parts.

A WINTERY WILD

Perhaps it marks a new age of austerity. Or maybe just a sudden retro vibe. Anyway, for the first time ever Wild magazine features a black and white cover. In fact issue 113 features one of the better recent upfront pics - a shot that manages to capture that stirring, rueful 'what-am-I-doing-here' feeling you get in the back of beyond. Inside is equally provocative, with thoughtful pieces about the Victorian fires and other stories that go to the heart of being in distant - and often difficult - places. For my 'The Wild Life' column I've strayed into the delicate subject of the things we souvenir from nature.

THE OTHER ECHIDNA

pic courtesy Auscape International

Spikey but gentle monotremes seem to be turning up everywhere just lately. I've seen them in various places on each of my past three trips to Kangaroo Island. A week ago there was a phone message from a friend who'd met one wandering along a track in his olive grove. The other day I also spotted another sauntering among the stringybarks across the valley from our place. Then this morning in the New York Times, of all places, there's the rather different looking character you see above. It's worth checking out the story - and KI's very own echidna emissary Peggy Rismiller even gets in a good word or two on their behalf.

KEZZA'S COASTAL RUN

Having snapped up Balquhidder Station in 2007, it was always on the cards that billionaire businessman Kerry Stokes would top the bids for neighbouring Mt Scrub. As well as a few extra paddocks for his cattle to munch on, Kez is now the laird of an 11km stretch of beaches and headlands along the Fleurieu Peninsula's south coast. See the story here. Fingers crossed Kezza - one of Australia's most noted art buffs and philanthropists - will see fit to add these 'hidden' shores to the walking trail that honours the vision of painter extraordinaire, Sir Hans Heysen.

RITA HALL & THE HEART OF ART

"Azure Kingfishers" Oil on Canvas 77 x 84cm, 2007

Anyone with an eye for nature, painterly wonders, things creatural and the life of art has no choice but to visit the exhibition Rita Hall Museum Studies 1969 - 2009 that's just opened at the SA Museum.
Retrospectives are always among the most fascinating of shows and this one is no exception. The range of work on display, the mastery in so many different mediums, and the lineaments of style and subject are all there enjoy.
Rita's great gift is to reveal the 'innerness' and 'otherness' of things that are everywhere around us - be they birds, stones or even blow flies. She doesn't do birds cutely perched or jaunty on the wing. Instead they are lifted into the orbit of art by graphic and compositional verve. At one level, the birds simply are what they are, rendered with fidelity to their characteristics and circumstance. In her most recent paintings they are humble bird 'skins' exhumed from drawers in the museum collection and presented singly and in groups.
At the same time however, the birds serve as meditative objects, poised in their anonymous pictorial space. Thus the paintings present formal arrangements but with many teasing twists. 'It's still-life Jim - but not as we know it.'
Tenderly realised, bright and beautiful - but somehow also shadowy and quirkily disturbing, these birds are always goading us with questions about mortality and the way we see things and 'collect' the world around us as we go. In their purity and sense of purpose the paintings carry echoes of the great Italian modernist Giorgio Morandi.
To be able to view Rita's works arrayed together - and with so many of their antecedents - is a rare thrill. The other moving aspect to the exhibition is the opportunity to bear witness to a lifetime of devoted work. Morandi said "Nothing is more abstract than reality." For more than 40 years Rita has been helping us celebrate this exquisite truth.

"White Browed Wood Swallow"  2006 Oil on Canvas 55 x 60cm

OLIVE HARVEST

Five days picking olives under big skies in the late Autumn sun might just be the ultimate cure-all - especially if you happen to be in the southern Flinders Ranges. The Beetaloo Valley is a lost world kind of place, tucked away in the ranges above Laura and Crystal Brook. One of my most favourite places of all. Here the olive groves, orchards and farm paddocks are interspersed with bushland and scrub-lined creeks. It's part of an appealing - and productive - stretch of country along the eastern flanks of the ranges to Melrose. The olives and olive oils from this neck of the woods are very special. It's also worth checking out the Wirrabara Farmer's Market (third Sunday of the month).