Walking along trails of green grass under grey clouds that occasionally drizzled rain while at other times opened to reveal glorious blue skies helped refresh my son and I. The fresh wind moistened by humidity and light precipitation was never too strong, just enough to keep us cooled while we walked along the Settlers Track in Namadgi National Park. The birdlife was around but hard to see, but there was other wildlife and natural subjects to photograph. The two well-preserved former settler’s homes seemed out of place among this natural beauty, but the lack of activity around them emphasised that they were from a time past. While we enjoyed admiring the natural surrounds of these abodes their isolation reflected a different time, and it was nice to know that we would be hopping into a car and driving back to our home with its modern connectivity to the world. Still it was invigorating to feel the surrounding world of trees, creeks and animals for a few hours. I hope that you enjoy the pictures below.
The Settlers Trail is just one of the marvellous hikes that are available for a nice ramble through the natural spaces of the lovely Namadgi National Park, which covers most of the southern end of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The trail is not long, about six kilometres, although there is an extension of roughly three kilometres that takes walkers to another homestead. My son and I were doing the shorter loop on that early January day but we will return soon enough to do the full trail.
We parked in the dirt carpark just off Boboyan Road, which by that stage was unsealed but still very drivable in a normal family car. Just 100m from the carpark the first deserted settler hut, Brayshaws Homestead, was clearly visible from the car.
While we were getting ready to walk a light drizzle began to fall but it did not discourage us because we felt it would stop soon enough. We were wrong, it rained for parts of the trip while at other times the sun came out.
Brayshaws Homestead from the rise that starts the trail
(Canon EOS 7D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 124mm, f/8.0 and 1/200 SEC])
The first animal that I could photograph was a Red-necked Wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus), just off the trail. These wallabies don’t like people getting close but this one was happy with its distance from us. It was enjoying some of the succulent green foliage that the rain had been growing.
Red-necked Wallaby
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/320 SEC])
Along this section of the track the surrounds were lightly wooded and there were examples of ring-barked trees where the initial European settlers tried to clear the land. Clearing was one of the conditions of a having land in the area, that it was denuded to improve the land’s perceived wealth. Fortunately the bush was growing back now and these stumps served as a reminder of the past, while the new trees were a hopeful sign for the future. The new trees were also evidence that the destructive bushfires that scorched the land around Canberra over the summer of 2019-20 did not get to this part of Namadgi, although other areas of this fabulous park were badly burnt.
Ring-barked tree
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 100mm, f/5.6 and 1/125 SEC])
There were so many St Andrew's Cross Spiders (Argiope keyserlingi) along the trail, and not surprisingly some of them thought that the space above the walking track was an ideal place for a web. We tried to avoid destroying their webs but it was not easy. None of the webs that we saw had the full iconic St Andrews Cross that gives this species its name, which was a little disappointing. Scientists are still not sure why the orb-shaped webs have that large white cross centred in then, with some experts theorising it is a way to warn birds so that they fly around the webs rather than through them. The spider that I was able to photograph had some small misty raindrops hanging from the silken strands of its web.
St Andrews Cross Spider on a wet web
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 800, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
What would a walk in the Australian bush be without a couple of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) looking at us. In this case a female on the right and a joey on the left. Joeys always look baby-like to me with their proportions and their shorter arms, relative to the adult. The way they stand and stare also reminds me of human toddlers. While these kangaroos are incredibly common, I always enjoy seeing this iconic species in a bush setting. These two also marked where the track broke out form the wooded area to a more open section, with scattered trees and shrubs.
Two Eastern Grey Kangaroos observing us
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Approaching Grassy Creek for our first crossing there were a number of White’s Skinks (Liopholis whitii) on the exposed, lichen carpeted rocks but only one stuck around for a photograph. This one seemed to adopt the freeze in place threat reaction strategy. It became comfortable with me pointing a camera at it but shifted its position once. This species has tremendous colour variation but I understand that the stripe down to the foreleg is diagnostic of this animal.
White’s Skink
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Just on from the very cooperative skink we had to cross Grassy Creek using one of the very sturdy bridges that have been installed just for that purpose. Unfortunately, the creek was wider than the bridge because of the rain so the approach was through some boggy, inundated ground. It was a wet crossing but there was no other choice given the swollen width of what I remembered to be a much smaller creek.
First bridge over Grassy Creek
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 200, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/1000 SEC]
Other creeks were also full, with some causing minor flooding on the dirt fire trail that was part of this track heading towards the next homestead. One of these minor floods was the base for some Red and Blue Damselflies (Xanthagrion erythroneurum). This individual that I photographed did not have the brilliant red thorax and head that gives the species its common name. It was the only one that stayed still long enough for a photograph. Interestingly, when mating the male fully submerges the female in water and then also submerges himself, and it has to be still water for them to lay eggs.
Red and Blue Damselfly
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 400, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
The wet and boggy fire trail eventually led us to the rust-red Westerman’s Homestead. This was a substantial homestead, in a relative sense to its distant neighbours. It had a few very basic, wooden board rooms and was accessible to the public. However, we didn’t go inside this time but enjoyed sitting under the veranda while the rain finished. This small, well maintained hut was the perfect place to pause and enjoy the surrounding peaceful nature. We also had the homestead completely to ourselves, in fact we had the whole trail to ourselves for the length of out walk. The hut looked out towards the way ahead for us, across some open area to a lightly wooded low rise that we would travel up.
Westerman’s homestead
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 400, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/500 SEC]
While walking around the homestead photographing I came across this Robber Fly that was grasping a plant. It seemed slightly unsure of its footing but at least it stayed still. Sorry, there was not much about this species of robber fly that I could find.
Robber Fly
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 250, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
This easy track was marked with simple wooden markers that seemed to be ideal for the surrounding. The old, dried wood was like old fence posts abandoned by the former settlers when they moved into the growing city of Canberra. The weathered, lichen-topped marker posts could at once be part of the landscape but also stand out enough to guide walkers along the track. They were a really good way to show how to mark a track, and combined with the mowing of the vegetation on the line of the track, they marked the track in a subtle but effective way to help walkers follow the correct route.
A simple trail marker shows the way
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 200, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Approaching the second crossing of Grassy Creek there were a pair of Metallic Ringtails (Austrolestes cingulatus) that caught my attention with their lovely colours. Looking at their amazing sheen it was easy to understand why they had metallic as part of their common name. These two were locked in a mating embrace. They flew between reeds and low bushes, as well as plants barely sticking out of the slow moving creek water.
Metallic Ringtails mating with the male at the top of the photograph
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/400 SEC])
Our second crossing of Grassy Creek was drier than the first and the bridge was more substantial. The creek was also more substantial, and somewhat mesmerising with the grass waving underwater in the gentle flow of the this small stream. The water course snaked through the low lying area carrying its liquid goodness to the lush grass that grew thick across the low land on either bank.
Second bridge over Grassy Creek
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 100, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/640 SEC]
Grassy Creek at the second crossing, looking north-west
DJI Mavic Air 2 [ISO 400, 4.5mm, f/2.8 and 1/800 SEC]
Across the creek it was not long before we were walking through another lightly wooded area with trees and shrubs. This section was alive with gangly orange and black coloured Hangingflies (Harpobittacus australis). They must have been making the most of the extended mating conditions brought about by the volume of rain that had led to more plant growth and therefore more insects to prey upon. These insects are not true flies because they have two pairs of wings. In the photograph I was lucky in catching this mating pair where the male on the left has caught a small insect that he is offering to the female as a mating gift. This male must be a smooth operator because he had already joined with the female but he was still holding the gift.
Hangingflies mating with the male on the left offering a gift of prey to the female on the right
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS II USM [ISO 640, 400mm, f/8.0 and 1/320 SEC])
Although the day was a bit overcast and the ground could be a little soggy in places we had a lovely walk and enjoyed being out in nature. It was also wonderful having the walk to ourselves to really revel in the countryside. I was a little disappointed that I could not photograph any birds but I did enjoy the chance to shoot some of the other wildlife along the way. All in all, it was a great way to spend a morning.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory has on offer. All the best until the next post.