Black Mountains, Red Hills

Rain rain rain was the headline on Friday…Broken Hill the wettest for 10 years, Goulburn, Dubbo, Orange, Parkes all getting an inch or so…oh how the farmers rejoiced in local tin sheds up and down the south east! It had stopped raining on Saturday afternoon but the sky remained threatening as I took a break in the old trusty environs of Red Hill.

The cooler weather and damp grass seems to have rejuvenated the kangaroos, a procession of 20 or so bounded along the ridge at some speed, another potential hazard to the devoted bushwalker. The sun peeked through the dark clouds once in a while, illuminating patches of the dense urban environment that is Canberra!

I walked along the ridge up to Mount Taylor, which was pretty fresh in a keen westerly wind, I guess you could say pleasantly invigorating. Black Mountain was looking black, “though every cloud has a silver lining” as thin red streaks illuminating the storm laden clouds.

It’s amazing what a difference half a day makes as blue skies returned on Sunday though the coolness was still lingering and may now last until September (when I say cool I’m talking about 16C here). Across Lake Burley Griffin, Mount Ainslie was inviting a Sunday morning stroll and it wasn’t just me who was out on the path. This, I later found out is a male red headed mouse spider, and yes, it probably does contain enough venom to make me a bit itchy but hey, let’s snap snap snap away!!

http://www.bluemts.com.au/reptilepark/animals.asp?catID=17&ID=130

I think this may be the last time I’m up one of Canberra’s hills for a while…the hills could do with a break! Sydney next weekend, probably Melbourne the next and Queensland the weekend after. Queensland in June…phew, the summer returneth!