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| The Blessington Track -a Coastal Walk at South Arm |
I had been a bit disappointed since going orchid hunting
with Peter and friends last week. Each time I went out it started to rain and I
hadn’t found a single orchid. Yesterday started much the same. As if on cue, it
rained again as I was driving over the bridge, but I kept going anyway and continued
on down the South Arm Highway.
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| This is a high level walk with views of beaches and shore platforms |
There was brilliant sunshine while I did the lovely coastal
walk from South Arm to Blessington but there wasn’t an orchid to be seen. They
don’t seem to be all that fond of the beach which is very unAustralian. I
continued on to another coastal track at Opossum Bay where a lady I met had
told me that she had seen a blue one, but the rain came back with a vengeance along
with a biting wind and I couldn’t get
back to the van soon enough. If there had been a hundred orchids, I wouldn’t
have seen them because my glasses were all splattered and blurred. Note how quickly the weather changes!!
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| Except for the Fort Beach section |
Between showers, rainbows and sunshine, I did another couple
of short walks - a bit of the Convict Trail; a look at the Cemetery –
cemeteries are often surprising repositories of rare plants, but this one
wasn’t, too well cared for obviously – all the grass mown and short, and then a
couple of forays into the Coastal Conservation Area, all to no avail, though
pleasant enough.
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| Beach below the Conservation Area |
Still vaguely disappointed with my day and reluctant to go
home, I drove some of the side roads and lo and behold, I hit the motherlode –
masses of Tiger orchids and two kinds of orchids at another spot. It’s a pity I wasn’t very
well prepared. Where’s a white umbrella when you need one? The wind simply
didn’t stop blowing and most of my pictures are blurred, but I am happy to have
seen them and hope you will be too.
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| Glossodia Major- the Waxlip Orchid, I think |
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| There were masses of Tiger Orchids |
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| Possibly Calandenia Carnea or "Fairy Fingers" | | |
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