Ensay

Just down the hill from Omeo is the small township of Ensay. There is a recreation ground with cheap powered sites and it was lovely. We were surprised that there weren't other people there as the school holidays had started, but we didn't mind having it mostly to ourselves. There were lovely walks along the Tambo River. 

On our first walk we discovered old fruit trees. The pears were small and green but the plums were ripe and sweet! They were all about cherry size, and were a variety of colours when ripe, all with slightly different flavours. Plums are not our favourite stone fruit, but these were actually quite sweet. Needless to say, we collected some for later!

We had some rain and the clouds hung about, which made for interesting light in the afternoons.

Eastern Rosella

One afternoon when we were out walking a cyclist stopped to chat. He told us about a drive up to the Nunniong Plains, which sounded interesting. I did a bit of research and we decided it was worth doing the following day. Our first stop was the water tank in Ensay.

Moscow Villa Hut

Once we gained a bit of elevation the forest was obviously more damp and was full of tree ferns. It was quite spectacular and we've decided it's a place to come back to on a foggy day as it would be even more beautiful.

The Nunniong Plains had a fenced off area that was protecting native vegetation from the cattle. The difference was quite remarkable.

The Washington Winch

On our way back down the hill Dazz stopped suddenly because there was a blue tongue lizard on the road. As he stopped we were greeted with a sight we hadn't seen before...

A few weeks ago he bought new rope to tie the kayaks on because the old one was starting to fray. The rain in Ensay and then some lovely sun had obviously led to some loosening of the knots and after driving for a couple of hours on corrugations there was enough slack for the boats to slide off. Fortunately there were just some minor scuffs on the bonnet and the lizard was unharmed and unmoved!

Since Dazz was busy putting the kayaks back on the roof there is only a glimpse of the blue tongue from a photo on my phone. 

Omeo

Omeo is known for mountain biking, which was obvious when we went for a walk into and around the town.

The area is also full of old gold mining sites, mostly alluvial. We walked around the Oriental Claims area. The cliffs were the remnants of where they used to shoot the water (hydraulic sluicing). 

The Omeo caravan park was on the banks of Livingstone Creek, which has a lovely place to sit and watch birds coming down for a drink and a bath in the afternoon.

White-faced Heron

Sacred Kingfisher

White-naped Honeyeater (male and female)

King Parrots

Silvereye

Superb Fairy-wren

Rufous Whistler (male and immature)

White-throated Treecreeper

Red Wattlebird

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Satin Bowerbird (female)

Dazz had a lot more luck with bird photos than panning for gold...