Hunter Wetlands

We’ve been adventuring close to home in the last week and have encountered some beautiful Aussie animals, plants, bushland, and beaches.  Our first stop was the Hunter Wetlands, a national park on the Hunter River just a few kilometres upriver from where the river enters the sea.  The area is a haven for birdlife but also home to some other more creepy creatures.

Royal Spoonbill

White Ibis

Far Eastern Curlews breed in Siberia and winter in Australia.  As wetlands disappear,

 their population is shrinking and they are listed as a vulnerable species in Australia.

Little Egret

Walking through a mangrove wetland, we quite literally ran into a few huge spider webs before we realized that the spiders were building them across the path.  Once we got the sticky strands off our faces and out of our hair, Dave and I laughed about how this experience perfectly illustrates one of our favorite Far Side comics.  Perhaps you are familiar with Gary Larson's drawing of two spiders building a web at the bottom of a playground slide with the caption, “If this works, we’ll eat like kings.”  

Jewel Spider, about the size of a dime

Jewel Spider reweaving her web after we knocked it down with our heads

Golden Orb Weaving Spider - these are quite large, about the size of a child's hand.

Fortunately, these spiders were totally uninterested in eating us and are in fact harmless to humans. They are also quite beautiful, at least to me.

Finally, I will leave you with something more conventionally beautiful, two native Australian flowers.

Grevillea

Native Hibiscus