Goobang National Park; an important remnant of the SW Sopes of NSW

The Central Western Slopes of NSW are part of the great grassy woodlands that once stretched from northern NSW  to southern Victoria and into South Australia. They grew on fertile deep soils which soon attracted farmers and graziers and now very little of the original woodland is left. On the rocky hills and ridges that dotted them grew a different vegetation, the open forests dominated by different trees. These were more likely to escape widescale clearing but were still heavily logged for building, fence-posts and firewood; not much of them were actively protected in formal reserves. 

In the extensive plains of the Central Western Slopes - the transition from the near-coastal ranges to the great western plains which extend to the Indian Ocean - there are just four national parks, Weddin Mountains (8300ha), Nangar (9200ha), Conimbla (8500ha) and Goobang, which is by far the largest of them with 42,000ha. Each of them comprises a mountain range, with some fringing woodland (especially Weddin Mountains and Goobang) surrounded by mostly cleared plains.

Looking west from Caloma Lookout in the northern section of the park. 
The woodland fringing the range ends right on the park boundary.

Goobang NP in the Hervey and Curumbenya Ranges, east of the busy Newell Highway
 between Parkes (bottom left of the map) and Dubbo (further north along the Newell). 
Ideally a reserve will have the minimum ratio of boundary to area (ie a circle or square)
 but we must be grateful for what was available in 1995 when the park was gazetted. 
Map courtesy of NSW NPWS.

And here's a view from the west looking across to the range. Again the island nature of the park is evident. The remnant paddock trees are all that is left of the original woodlands, that were teemingly diverse. That is the sad story of most of those woodlands.

We stayed at Greenbah campground which has only four campsites; as with all NSW (and I think now all Australian) park campgrounds, booking is essential but as with many inland parks there is only a modest booking fee to pay. You can't book a specific site, so are relying on other people not turning up without booking. However it's not a busy campground, especially during the week. The Wanda Wandong campground in the north is larger and apparently caters more to family groups, especially from Dubbo; we've not stayed there. Greenbah though was a delight, quiet except for the birds, which were abundant. At one stage I sat in my chair in our camp and counted at least 15 species in about 30 minutes.

The activity was mostly in the grassy open forest beyond our trailer; behind the camera is a large
open grassy area with tables and fireplaces (below). 

Looking across the open area towards our camp (back right).

And from now on this will mostly be a photo essay.   

In the range (where most of the road access is) the open forests typically comprise
Scribbly Gums E. rossii, White Box E. albens, Red Stringybark E. macrorhynca and some
other eucalypts, including ironbarks, plus areas of callitris pine.

Old Scribbly Gums along the Burrabadine walking track. There are relatively few 
such older trees after more than a century of local felling.

Ironbarks (both Mugga Ironbark E. sideroxylon and Red Ironbark E. fibrosa are present).

A small sheoak Allocasuarina diminuta, growing on a gravelly ridge near 
to Caloma Lookout and forming a distinct heathy vegetation type.

A small inland cycad Macrozamia secunda, which I think is the only cycad to grow
in the Central West. I used to think of cycads as being near-coastal plants
and was surprised to find it out here, but I now know that it's fairly common
in these drier forests. 

Peak flowering seems to be in September, but doubtless extends at least into early October too. Here is a Goobang bouquet for you, starting with some of the many superb wattles. 

Mudgee Wattle Acacia spectabilis, one of my favourites.

Hakea Wattle Acacia hakeoides; the name is perplexing as hakea foliage, like that of the
wattles, comes in a very wide array of forms.

A spectacular mass flowering of Western Silver Wattle A. decora.

Deane's Wattle A. deanei, which is found on the western slopes from central Queensland to Victoria.

Sandstone Boronia B. glabra, always a welcome genus to see! Family Rutaceae.

Pink Phebalium P. nottii, a truly striking plant and one which perplexed me mightily at the
time. It was only when I got home that I was able to identify it; in my ignorance I'd
always thought that all phebaliums are cream or yellow. Same family as boronia.

I think that this prostanthera is P. howelliae, but would be happy to be corrected. 
In the mint family, Lamiaceae.

Slender Westringia W. eremicola at Caloma Lookout. Also Lamiaceae.

Common Fringe-Myrtle Calytrix tetragona; a common and widespread species but always welcome.

 

Hill Teatree, formerly Leptospermum trivalve but apparently now known as
Gaudium divaricatum. A common shrub in Goobang and coming into flower
a week or so ago. Plus a bonus wasp coming in for a nectar hit.

One of the bush-peas Pultenaea cinerascens, limited to the western slopes and
here at close to its southern limit.

A hop bush Dodonaea heteromorpha; we're looking, not at the flowers which are 
wind-pollinated and inconspicuous, but at the colourful papery winged fruit.
This species is restricted to the Central and Northern Western Slopes.

 

Seven Dwarfs Grevillea Grevillea floribunda, one of my favourite grevilleas and not
just for its whimsical name. It is found in remnant forest throughout the western slopes

Hop Goodenia G. ovata, common and widespread and the only shrubby goodenia in the region.

Silky Purple-flag Patersonia sericea, with a pollinating hoverfly casting a
shadow on the petal.

Pale Sundew Drosera auriculata, which grows in nutrient-leached wet areas and
supplements its nutrient requirements by attracting insects (including many ants)
with a sugary solution in the leaves. The long sticky fibres close over, trapping the victim,
and the sweet lure now begins its other job of dissolving the body.
The flower is held high above the leaves - it doesn't want to eat its own pollinator
(at least not until it's done its job).

The sticky fibres at different stages of closing over. The black blobs in the lowest
and furthest right leaf are trapped insects.

Western Donkey Orchid Diuris goonooenis, a very handsome inland donkey orchid
of the slopes and ranges.

Pink Fingers Orchid Caladenia carnea, probably the commonest and most familiar of
south-eastern Australian orchids. But that doesn't mean we should ignore it!

Grasstree Xanthorrhoea glauca with a full magnificent flowering spike. 
This species is widespread, mostly west of the ranges. For close-ups of
the flowers, see the next two photos of pollinators.

It seems a logical segue to go from that photo to some pollinating insects.

Hoverflies, Family Syrphidae, on the grassree spike, which comprises thousands of 
tiny flowers; grasstrees are in the broad and informal lily group of families.

Australian Painted Lady Vanessa kershawi on the grasstree spike. 
(Also, inevitably, another hoverfly - they really are ubiquitous around flowers.)

Red-necked Wallaby Notamacropus rufogriseus in the campground. A common 
and widespread wallaby but I always enjoy them.

Shingleback Lizard (though I still think of them as Sleepy Lizards from my 
South Australian childhood) Tiliqua rugosa. One of our largest skinks and full
of surprises eg they mate for life! A bit more about them in an old post here. 

Male Spotted Pardalote Pardalotus punctatus, a common species that is often more
readily heard than seen. But sometimes you get lucky.

Pair of Galahs Eolophus roseicapilla. If I were inclined to anthropomorphism I might
suggest this looks like a domestic disagreement that has reached a stalemate.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita dazzlingly catching the early morning sun.

Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys on its exquisite spiderweb-bound nest very close to our camp.

OK, that's four very common and familiar birds; now for one that definitely isn't.

This little glory was the highlight of our camp. On consecutive days he flew in and 
foraged quietly on the ground for grass seeds, fluttering up briefly when I pushed
my luck in trying to get a bit closer to him. He's a Turquoise Parrot Neophema pulchella,
surely (and of course subjectively) one of Australia's most delightful birds and tiny,
not much bigger than a Budgerigar. When the English colonists began exploring the new
Sydney colony this was one of the commonest parrots they found, in the open woodlands.
Such woodlands are scarce now, but the 'Turqs' are scattered from south-east Queensland
to Victoria, though mostly in NSW

Well I hope I've managed to convince you to put Goobang on your 'to do' list, especially if you're in my part of the world. You won't be sorry. Thanks for reading.

***I'M GOING TO BE AWAY FOR A WHILE, ON AND OFF, BUT MY 
TIME BACK IN CANBERRA IN BETWEEN TRIPS WON'T BE ENOUGH TO ALLOW ME
TO PREPARE ANOTHER POST.
I'LL BE BACK THOUGH, HOPEFULLY WITH SOME NEW MATERIAL! ***

 NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER

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