WEDNESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER     CURRAWINYA NATIONAL PARK

Although the nights are fairly cool, the days are very pleasant.

The tent is certainly adequate for this type of camping, although in wet weather it would not be big enough to “live in”, unless the bedding was packed up every day. But it is fine for sleeping and the big veranda provides shade for cooking and sitting. It is definitely going to meet the purposes we intended.

Today we went driving, to the lakes area in the NW corner of the Park, some 30kms from camp. The track was good going, despite being tagged as 4WD only.

The country, of course, was fairly flat.

There were some trees in flower – we thought they were beefwoods. They were really spectacular, standing out from the predominant dull green mulga of the region.

The two lakes – Numalla and Wyara – as well as a host of smaller lakes are central to what makes Currawinya so special. They fill from local rain and run-off, some from floods when the Paroo overflows and spreads out over its floodplain. The Paroo River originates from up to the NW of Charleville.

Unusually, Lake Numalla is a fresh water lake, Lake Wyara is saline. Only about 3kms of sandy country separates the two lakes, at one point.

The lakes provide very different habitats and thus attract a wide variety of bird species. Over 200 species have been listed for the park.

We ate our packed lunch out at the lakes. looking first at Lake Numalla, then driving around to the access point for Lake Wyara.

Despite their significance, I had to admit that we didn’t find the lake scenery particularly special. Nor did we see much in the way of bird life on the lakes. Presumably, it was the wrong time of year for the migratory ones to be passing through.

Once we’d wandered about and enjoyed the lakes, drove back to the Woolshed area, where we sampled the showers. It was pleasant to feel clean again, though we did not linger – the water was cold, and I also felt quite exposed! If you were staying here with a group, you would get to know your fellow campers perhaps more intimately than expected!

Back to camp and our nightly relax by the river and the camp fire.