Bridge Over The Hastings

A visit to the Kindee suspension bridge has been on the drawing board for some time. Notably the oldest suspension bridge in Australia, it was opened in 1936 and crosses the Hastings River.The height of the bridge was apparently due to the likelihood of flooding in the area. It was difficult to find an interesting position for photographs as the bases on each side of the river are on fenced private land.

 

Nevertheless, there was an unexpected bonus. Adjacent to the bridge on the Kindee side of the river were two blossom trees in flower. Not only were they laden with pretty pink blossoms but they were deluged with intermittent waves of hungry bees and monarch (wanderer) butterflies. 

The butterflies generally eat milkweed whose poison is carried through the various stages of their life cycle, making them toxic to most predators, however they seemed particularly pleased with this alternate pink feast. 

 The following image clearly shows the curled proboscis silhouetted against the background.

With their bright orange black and white colouring serving as a warning to hungry birds, these colourful delicate creatures provided me with hours of amusement. 

Another bonus for the day was the appearance of two white breasted sea eagles circling overhead as smaller birds squealed their warnings. 

The life cycle of a Monarch Butterfly

The Three Brothers

Forests, and rainforests in particular have always entranced me since hearing the fairytale "Hansel and Gretel" as a young child. Fittingly, my new home is now deliciously shadowed by a mountain affectionately named North Brother, situated within the Dooragan National Park

image: the view from North Brother

The three Brothers are three separate mountains of the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales and situated approximately 360 kilometres north of Sydney. South Brother lies within the Greater Taree local government area, while the Middle and North Brothers are located with the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council area.  The North and Middle Brothers have been declared national parks. Part of the Dooragan National Park and Middle Brother National Park respectively.

 image: low cloud on North Brother 

There are two versions of the naming of the Brothers. The Australian Aboriginal people relate a dreamtime story of three brothers who were killed by a witch called Widjirriejuggi and were buried where the mountains stand. The youngest of the three was Dooragan the National Park which is home to North Brother mountain .When Captain James Cook passed the area on 12 May 1770 he named the mountains Three Brothers, since "the Hills bore a resemblance to each other".

Bird Tree and Benaroon, two of the biggest blackbutt trees in New South Wales are situated in the Middle Brother National Park. Scientists estimate these trees predate the arrival of Captain Cook to Australia.
Burrawan State Forest located off Bago Road on the way to Wauchope is home to 'Old Bottlebutt', an ancient Red Bloodwood . Unique in its shape, and over 200 years old, it has a large flared 'butt' with a massive girth of more than 16 metres just above the base. The access is via a 600 metre loop walk through a shady and lush rainforest.

image: the 'butt' of Old Bottlebutt"

image: "Old Bottlebutt" base to top