A chillax day. A swim in the pool followed by a visit to the pontoon jetty on the estuary for Andy to do a bit of fishing, whilst I catch up on some blogging. But the fish aren’t biting and there’ll be no fresh barramundi for dinner tonight!
There is a so-called ‘park’ of aboriginal statues in the town. The park turns out to be a tad disappointing; a bit of scrub land with a few picnic tables and five giant dreamtime statues, some of which are looking decidedly uncared for.
On the other hand 36,00-hectare Parry Lagoon Nature Reserve turns out to be well worth the 8km drive down a rather uneven dirt road just off the Great Northern Highway There are spectacular views of the huge lily-covered wetland area from the car park on Telegraph Hill; one of several small basalt hills n the Ord River flood plain.. There are also the ruins of a wireless station here, built to assist ships entering Wyndham port. A little further on and there is a metal walkway and bird hide right on the edge of he idyllic Marlgu Billabong. It’s late afternoon and the fish are jumping and there are birds galore.
Frogs, frogs and more frogs (and toads). There is certainly no shortage of frogs in the north of Australia. We hear them hopping through the grass at night and they like to congregate in the amenities block. They are partial to the toilets and it is not unusual to find one staring up at you from the bowl (cane toads especially like to sit in the bowl). It’s always advisable to check under the seat as well as they often crouch there. But small ones can go unnoticed under the rim only for their legs to dangle down when the toilet is flushed. They also like to sit on the taps and if you’re not vigilant it comes as bit of a shock to come nose to nose with a frog when cleaning your teeth. The really tiny ones can even hide up in between the handle of the tap and the tap itself. They also like the showers and we’ve often come across them waiting for us there. But the little blighters can jump great distances and touching them can kill them, so it’s best to let them be and make for a frog-free cubicle (if there is one)!