Going for a big walk

 I'd been waiting for the perfect morning to do this walk and last Sunday morning proved to be that day. With the cooperation of Steve who drove down to the end of the walk in one car, and me in the other, so I could leave one car at the end to come home in, I set off at the intersection of Sargents Road with Kyogle Road, about 8 minutes from our place. We had driven the entire length before several times, and my guess was that it was somewhere between 15 and 20kms long.

This is a photo essay over three postings of the walk.  It filled me with so much pleasure and joy and I intend to walk a number of these within the Rock Valley and Cawongla areas over the coming months. I sill share them with you through the blog.

 Not far into the walk and I get to admire this fabulous pole house which has spectacular views towards Blue Knob and Wollumbin. If we ever win lotto and this property becomes available we'll buy it and rent it out as a holiday rental (and stay there sometimes ourselves).

 Wonderful views over towards the Billen Cliffs from a westerly aspect. Our place is in the far right quarter of the pic, somewhere

 also looking back down Rock Valley to the right of the cliffs, which we drive each day we motor on down to work.

 Remnants of the forests that once covered the landscape still exist: this a very large brush box

 After about five kilometres the road faces more of a northwesterly aspect and great fields of green and golden grass dominate, with forested mountain ranges in the background, creating a lush and beautiful landscape.  The volcanic plugs and spires of several Queensland mountains can be seen in the distance. If taipans existed in the northern rivers region this is the kind of place they might like.

 Another remnant of times past - a solitary hoop pine.

 The morning was so sunny and still.  I began the walk at about 9am and the air was still cool. But after an hour of walking my jumper came off and I was very glad I had taken a hat with me. This shot is looking down towards Kyogle.

And another view towards the fascinating and spectacularly rugged ranges just over the border into Queensland.

the middle....

 About a third to maybe half way through the way the road changes name: from Sargents to Homeleigh Road.  The road in its entirety actually sweeps around Mt Homeleigh, first giving views from the east and soon from the west.

 I've long loved walking on country roads - and taking photos of them. I love the way they disappear into the distance, I love the gentle curves or the straight lines and I love the way light and shade play out on their surface. Of course I also love the thrill of discovering a lizard or snake sunning themselves along their edges as well.

 Political struggles are inscribed in the landscape in various ways - some subtle, some very obvious. Landowners in the Northern Rivers region have been determined to keep the region free of coal oil gas mining and many properties, ours included, have the 'Lock the Gate' signs defiantly attached to their gates.

 Struggles of a different kind are also evident on the walk. I am very alarmed by the growth of all kinds of foreign creepers and vines which are literally smothering native plants like this grass tree or Xanthorhea. I would think that unless someone intervenes (at a system level), many of these ancient plants will die.

 A beautiful tree

 The views along the road have been spectacular.  I am looking out to the north west here, into Queensland.

 Cattle and horses cast me curious looks as I walked past paddocks and a dog threatened to skirmish with me at one house, but these were my favourites.  A small herd of alpacas.  I still haven't given up having some of these share Maryville@Larnook at some stage.  They are just so cute.

At least this grove of grass trees was not being smothered by the nasty vines and creepers.  They looked so good.  These long lived plants that are probably older than the white occupation of the country.

Towards the end now

 The landscape for the final five kilometres or so is typically open pastures with small clumps of eucalypts or individual trees standing in the midst of grassland. However, the surrounding hills and ridges have a good forest cover.  I love the little oases that farm dams become - providing habitat for frogs and reptiles and an assortment of birds.  The trees cast welcome shade for the cattle.

 The influence of just a single tree is very obvious in this shot as the lush green grass grows under and around the base of this large fig. Rainwater is funnelled down the branches and trunk of the tree while rain also drips off the leaves, providing both additional moisture as well as shade for the grass below. It's also pretty obvious that cattle haven't been in this paddock for a while or that luck grass would be eaten down.

 Almost the entire length of the road has been unsealed and so the final few kilometres of sealed road is a welcome relief and provides a modicum of respite for my feet which have taken the brunt of the irregular and loose surfaces of the road up to now.  I rather unwisely wore anklet gym socks and ordinary flat soled shoes which in hindsight was not the best of decisions for a walk of this length.

 Oops, a little out of sequence, but we can live with that, can't we.  An old milestone now used, somewhat inelegantly, I think, as a perch for a letter box.  7 miles to Kyogle and 33 miles to M which I assume would be Murwillumbah (though I think it would be further than that, but maybe not).

 A chorus of bell birds tinting away accompanied me for the very last couple of kilometres. The thicker eucalyptus forest grew between the road and a creek, providing the kind of habitat that the birds enjoy. Unfortunately, bell birds are doing great damage to eucalpyt forests up this way and beyond.  They 'farm' lerps which are little animals that suck the sap out of the ecualypt and the birds then eat the sugary secretion that the lerps produce when they are annoyed by the birds. The bellbirds keep out other birds that also eat the lerps, resulting in too much lerp damage to the trees, and which can result in the death of large areas of forest.

And finally! The end is in sight. 17kms and 4 hours later I arrive where I had left my vehicle earlier in the morning.  I think 4 hours is a somewhat slow result, but the walk was a very relaxed one and I stopped many times to take photographs and enjoy the views, and my feet were quite sore during the last third of the walk due to inappropriate sock-ware.  Anyway, I'm very glad I did it, and I look forward to taking you along to my next long distance walk sometime soon.