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Well here is a whole bunch I left out...they are all taken in between Renmark and Wentworth. I had a big commentary happening but I deleted it all by mistake...sh!t happens, I may get arond to redoing it one day, but...ask any questions you like.



















There's more pics....

Spot the big duck...


Chicken Hawk...


Eagles nests....



Couple of practising adolescent Hawks......


Water Hens or "Coots"....(not very good eating, a bit gamey to say the least)


I waited and waited for him to take a run at the fence but he was smart and went under when I wasn't looking....

Cheers,
Chris.

I have some dumb questions!

1 - Those large barkless trees with the holes in them... what are they called, and are the holes the home of those big white grubs that the Aborigines consider a delicacy? Have you ever eaten those yourself and are they good?

2 - I take it the prolific kangaroo population is a lot like the many whitetail deer we have in the states. Are they good eating? Do you need a license to hunt them?

3 - In an earlier pic you showed a large critter hole with a muddy runway down to the water. Did you ever figure out what that was? Could it have been a crocodile? Do you have crocs in that area?

I really enjoyed your trip write-up, thanks!

Great report Chrisko, you've really showed off some of the best parts of this part of the world. If I'm ever in your area with my bike I'll take you up on that earlier post on joining you for a ride, you know how to find the good spots.

I rode Mildura-Renmark-Wentworth last weekend, that Wentworth dirt road is rough and a bit boring... any hints on good river tracks around there?

By the way, I ordered some front brake pads for my 2010 DR a while back (these), and accidentally ordered 1990 model pads. If they fit your bike let me know and you can have them.

#1. The barkless trees are simply dead trees. The Gums and eucalypts here are usually hollow to some extent naturally. However other insects besides grubs have also done the damage, namely termites or "white ants". Birds (mainly parrots/cockatoo's) and lizards will then clean out the debris and make a nest. Possums also call these hollow dead branches home.
The grubs you refer to are called Witchetty Grubs or Bardi Grubs. They actually live undeground in the stem/roots of Witchetty and Cooba bushes. I have tried them and would say they are an experience.....the reference to a delicacy I think stems from the fact is is a wet mouthfull in the middle of a desert!

#2. We have a large population of kangaroos here and is generally a problem in fringe areas when the climate changes markedly. IE; coming closure to towns to feed on gardens in dry times. Or an over population (like now) after widespread heavy rains. We need a licence for absolutely everything here now......but not on your own property. Roo meat is excellent and extremely lean but nowhere near as gamey as lean meat usually is. It would surely be a good supplement to our diet....but there is something about eating an animal that features on our coat of arms that stops us from embracing widespread consumption.

#3. I suspect that that burrow was from a Goanna lizard. I had spent quite a bit of time trying to capture a video of one eating the legumes from water lillies nearby. Crocodiles are thankfully not this far south. The goanna's are bad enough, they have massive sharp claws and can slice your muscles off and their bite carries infections. They are generally scavenger/carrion eaters and have a stomach for anything....


Cheers,
Chris.

If you go to google earth, enter "rufus river" and zoom in a bit. The Main Wentworth Road heading westwards out of Rufus River dips south slightly for about 4-5klms, there is a track leading almost due south that runs off the road to an island that has been used as an airstrip during WWII as a training base. There can be some 40 and 50 cal shells to be found still in the area. You can see the criss-cross marks all over the island. The terrain leading there is quite gnarly if your after a challenge. The island is accessible and has great areas for bonnet dragging and I guess, some flat track work. Further west where the Wentworth Rd is closest to the river are the black sand cliffs, pity I didn't remember them went I went past. There are/were some grouse sand dunes a few miles each side of the old Tareena Post Office, again a bit further west. The trouble is these areas can change dramatically with just one decent rain or dust storm. North of the main road between Renmark and Wentworth has plenty of indiscriminate sand dune areas, but finding them requires up to date images, they can grow over with a good rain. They might be few and far between at the moment, the area was lush with vegetation everywhere.

Best thing to do is just explore, just have a gps with ya'.........

Thanks for the brake pad offer, but I got brand new disks and pads last March....they've hardly taken to a shine yet.



Cheers,
Chris.

I was told they taste a bit like peanuts... true or false?



Here in the states we manage our prolific whitetail deer population through controlled hunting seasons. The meat is called 'venison' and is also delicious... I've heard kangaroo is similar. I eat a lot of venison instead of beef, the only reason I still hunt deer is to put a couple in the freezer every year.

We don't have a deer on any state flags that I can think of off the top of my head, but I understand why having a kangaroo as a national symbol would cause hesitation.

To be honest, it was hard to ascertain the taste as I got it down as quick as I could. I really didn't to want to gag on the darn thing in the situation I was in. I'd eaten some amazing bush-tucker up to that point and I was very apprehensive about eating grubs.

There is no point at which eating peanuts even comes close to what I experienced. The residual taste of peanuts is not a strong lasting one for me....the bardi grub was hot, very wet and had the smell of eucalypt from where it had been "cooked". By cooked I mean it had the little extremities burnt off and the act of fire killing the grub, It was tossed about on burning twigs for one minute maximum. I didn't eat the head as it was hard, a bit like a crab shell. There maybe other ways to cook or roast them and maybe they "stiffen up" like fish flesh etc., it's taste (if any) may change then too.

There is culling programs for varying wildlife here with the assorted pro and con groups raging propaganda wars. I used to shoot rabbits, foxes. goats, pigs and the odd 'roo when I was much younger. Foxes, goats and pigs had a small bounty to make it a way of earning a living and lately that has shifted to a large problem with wild dogs. Inland (or as we say The Outback) there is an estimated million and a half wild camels wreaking havoc.....

Butchers and supermarkets here sell venison, kangaroo, emu, water buffalo and further north, croc meat can be had. No witchetty grubs....... There are some local cuisines to be found in regional areas too.



Cheers,
Chris.