6/3 Kioloa

Today was an introduction to the surroundings of our camp at Kioloa. John Reid took us to the coast, which is just over the ridge from our cabins, just a short walk away, and then into the woods where we saw many spotted gums (type of eucalypt). We saw evidence of ancient man-made grooves in a sandstone riverbed. These were possibly to used to ground Macrozamia fruit into flour after leeching out their poisons by soaking them in the river (Macrozamia is the spiky-leafed plant that looks like a big fern or low-growing palm in some of the pics). The forest looks utterly primeval. The spotted gums shed their bark to reveal a bone-white skin, which makes its snaking branches easily visible even from a great distance. We came across several 5+ ft. tall termite mounds. At the waterfront, waves were massive, and a recent storm had washed ashore innumerable Bluebottles — tiny, bluish Man-of-War. The Rainbow Lorikeet is without question the most brightly colored bird I've seen in the wild, and that's just one of the many exotic birds one can see here. I'm amazed at how many kangaroo there are here too. More pics.