Charleville

Charleville Native Tree Walk

After looking at the map of Charleville the helpful young man had given Karen the previous day we decided to kill two birds with one stone. (Not the two sculptured birds in the first photo!) We would take Mel for a walk and we could check out the local flora, as native Australian plants are one of our interests. So off to Charleville Native Tree Walk we drove after breakfast.

Not long after starting our walk we came upon a Melaleuca alternifolia in flower.

We could tell by looking at the bark of the tree and the bottlebrush flower it was a Melaleuca but having a (very detailed) sign nearby helped us identify it, (although there was typo on the sign saying alternifelia not alternifolia!).

Next up we came to a beautiful groundcover Grevillea. However it didn’t have a sign or tag.

Looking at this Xanthorea’s dark spike we could tell we had just missed it flowering.

There were quite a few well established Eucalypts like this Bimble Box (Eucalyptus populnea).

Further along we came to a small grouping of Bottle Trees (Brachychiton rupestris). They look a bit like the Boab trees you see in Western Australia but they are from an entirely different botanic family.

Part way around the trail there was an opportunity to sit down and take a rest. They had made sure there was room for everyone to sit!

After a short rest we continued our walk.

Next up on the walk was a White Cypress Pine (Callitris glacophylla). Now this came as a surprise to me as I didn’t realise Australia had any native cypress pines. We certainly don’t down where we live on the Mornington Peninsula.

Much of the trail was near this lake which had several water fountains at different points.

The next tree in flower was an Acacia aneura, (Mulga,) with its lovely golden flower spikes.

Being so close to water it was no surprise to see some River Red Gums (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) with their lovely white bark. This was a relatively young one. You will see older, larger ones later in this post.

As we came back to where we had started there was another Eucalyptus, a Eucalyptus microtheca (Coolabah). For those who know the famous Australian song, Waltzing Matilda, this is the tree referred to in the opening line- ‘Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong under the shade of a Coolabah tree,”

Oldest tree in Charleville

Back in our car we drove to see another botanic highlight, Charleville’s oldest tree, which is on the National register of Big Trees. It’s a Corymbia tesselaris, Moreton Bay Ash tree.

Warrego River Trail – Wadyanana

On our return drive back towards the caravan park we also stopped to do a short walk along the Warrego River, which flows through Charleville.

After lots of rain this year the river was quite full but brown. Lots of River Red Gums and other trees were doing well along the banks.

At one point of the trail along the river there was a sign from the traditional custodians of the area welcoming everyone to the walking track.

In a couple of places the trail crossed the river.

Just near the end we saw a pelican glide onto the water and paddle around: a special finish to another nice walk and another morning in Outback Queensland.