Lake George, Beachport SA

We spent the best part of Sunday of the June long weekend at Lake George near Beachport. It was mums birthday, and she joined us for a barbeque lunch. Although it was cold, the sun was out which provided us with a beautiful day. Uncle George dropped in for a G'day as well.

The lake is salt water and is fed from a drain from the sea, when the drain is open. There are fish in the lake, known as Lake George mullet, and they are delicious!! We did have a go at fishing with rods, but the water in this part of the lake is not deep, so we weren't lucky this day. You can use nets on the lake if you have a permit.

The girls experienced their first kayaking adventure. Izzy is a real adventurer and went out with her dad. Summer went out with her sister later on, and did amazing after an unco start. 

The girls had a great day playing around the lake although I did bin their leggings at the end of the day and was grateful they wore rubber boots!

This section of the lake is about five kilometres out of Beachport on the Lake George road. There are toilets here, with a camp ground located nearby, which would make for a perfect camping getaway when the weather is good.

The birdlife is abundant, which is fantastic to see. The black Eurasian Coots are amazing the way they pitter patter along the surface of the water when they are startled. It is one of their identifying traits along with their white beaks. There were black swans there as well. It was good to see seagulls at the lake, in their natural habitat, hovering above the water, before diving down for small fish. It is refreshing after experiencing them scabbing for chips and food in town.

 

 

My first scaly encounter at Lake Mac

Lake McIntyre is as good as place as any to get out of the house, out into nature. I visited last week with my camera for a stroll around the walking trail.

This is when things got interesting. I walked away from the walking trail to photograph this bird. I think they are what people in other parts of the country call bin chickens aren't they? Well in these parts, so far at least, they stick to their natural environment. I've never seen one raiding the garbage, just as well when visiting here you need to take your rubbish with you as there are no bins. 

I was fairly aware there are snakes here and the weather has been pretty hot of late. This particular day last week, it had cooled off, but I was still looking around for them though as I stepped of the track to get a better view to photograph the birds.

I caught the sight of some small wrens and butterflies flittering about in the reeds and moved about four metres to the left to try to capture them. I think I should have been taking a bit more notice of what was on the ground instead of what was in the reeds, because I looked down and there I saw a snake!

In that quick moment the first thing my brain registered was a plastic toy snake to the snap fast reality I was looking at a real snake. A real snake, less than a metre in front of me! Dark brown scaly skin, which wasn't shiny at all, and a yellow underbelly. It had found a patch of sun to bask in, to warm it's cold body.

I turned on my heel and ran as fast as I could to the safety of the trail. As I turned I could hear the russle of leaves as the snake moved, in which direction I do not know. I think I startled him as much as he scared the hell out of me.

I think my brain was working much faster than my legs, as I nearly faltered running away. My heart was beating so fast and it took me a minute to register in disbelief at what had just happened. I am thankful it was a cooler day and this scale creature wasn't so active as would be normally. I'll keep telling myself that, and thank goodness I looked down and not taken a step forward or crouched down because it could have taken this story to a whole different level.

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An escape to Lake MacIntyre

When you're hubby goes out to get ONE thing from the shops and comes back an hour and a half later, you don't let it stew and fester. Sure you call him names under your breath and wonder why you never get to do the same. This is a common occurrence and happened on Sunday.

When he returned I put tea in the oven, grabbed my keys and camera and announced I'd be back in a while as I rushed out the door. I needed to get out of the house on my own. It was my turn.

I headed to Lake MacIntyre. Not the most exciting to escape to. Not as exciting as heading to a friends house for wine, or down the shops (to buy wine).

It was good though. Time to stop and notice stuff, be with my own thoughts. I had to remind myself to take my time and that I didn't need to rush. All was good and there is no guilt in spending time with me. For me. I don't demand it enough.

Lake McIntyre in August

I love walks around the lake. The girls like exploring too.

A couple of weeks ago, I got down there on my own and was shocked when I realised I had taken over 200 photos. It's no wonder the batteries went flat down the beach. Not hard to do with so much to look at and admire. Here's some that turned out ok. Well lots actually, sorry :)

This reminds me of soldiers all standing in a row

Easy to see why grevilleas are sometimes called spider flowers!