September 23, 2019

It’s Swag time again

vonders49
Volunteer Ranger Dazz
5 Comments

16/09/2019

The task was set, to patrol the fences to the South of the Park, including Illamurta Springs Conservation Reserve.  Along with some sign maintenance and erosion control. It required another overnight stay, because it would take the whole day getting to our final destination of Illamurta Springs, which is a conservation reserve outside the National Park (But managed by NT Parks & Wildlife Commission). So we loaded up the gear needed to complete our tasks, as well as the swags. 

We headed down Ellery Creek towards Boggy Hole. But before we hit the sand, it was time to let the tyres down (see photo above). The first job on the list was to check the fence the Northern fence on Ellery Creek. There were reports it was damaged. The fences are important in protecting the National Park from mainly wild horses and also cattle and Camels. They cause a lot of damage, including erosion and eat valuable food sources for native animals. The fences are electrified as a deterrent. But sometimes these exotic animals push their way through. We found that one section of this fence damaged and another section not electrified. After a quick fix, we continued heading South in the Park.

A little further down the track, we found a Four Wheel Drive that couldn’t handle the rigours of the journey. The lesson here is, buy a Landcruiser. Only joking. The Rego was taken and if the car was still there after a couple of weeks, the owner would try to be contacted. At least the owner attempted to do some bush mechanics, but the rope wasn’t up to keeping the front end in alignment.

Lunch was had at Boggy Hole. It is a very nice spot to stop for a rest, or even camp.

After lunch we pressed on to Illamurta Springs Reserve. Stopping a couple of times to do some sign maintenance. Once at Illamurta we did some work along it’s East side fence. The fence was in good order, but there was a bit of erosion along it, as well as some shrubs. The erosion was filled with rocks and branches to slow the flow of water and subsequent expansion of the eroded area. The shrubs were cut and pruned, mainly to create a fire break.

After a long hard day, in the heat, we set up camp. It was a beautiful clear night to view the stars. Once again viewing the Southern Cross and the Milky Way was so vivid. The Moon rise wasn’t bad either (see photo at very top of todays blog)