(8/3/07) Point 156 Bina
Burra in
The approach to Bina Burra is through Beechmont, a
lush green farming area. From there, the
road, like many we traveled, follows the ridge line with drop offs to either side and little in the way of guard rails. We made it to the parking/Camping area and
found a building under construction and no camping or check in. So we used our cell phone to call the
registration number and found that it was on the other side of the developed
area only about 500m away and it was also under intensive construction. We finally got to our campsite around to the
side of the initial construction area and found ourselves between a Dutch
couple in a van to one side and a Swiss family in a Winnebago to the
other. After setting up, I sat down and
found a leech stuck to my leg. Shortly
after that, Cheryl discovered one on her foot, under a sandal strap. We switched to boots, socks and long pants
after that. We had time for a walk down
to the
Frogs and crickets competed for attention as evening fell. With it came a tremendous thunder and rain storm that washed the camp and drowned out any other noise. We awoke to a clear bright morning with the usual chorus of birds. We packed up and parked in the public parking area so we would have some time for a walk to the Bellbird Lookout. The track lead through dark rainforest where we saw some of the local padamelons (small kangaroo-like grazers). We also saw some large black lizards scurry under logs. The views from the lookout were spectacular. It looked like some people had set up to rappel down the face of the cliff. Sulfur-crested Cockatoos sailed between the tree tops below us and funny little ants and other bugs scurried over the rocks. The walk continued to Bellbird Clearing were we read a sign about Red Bull Ants. They are an inch or so long and have pincers that they use to hold their prey and sting it to death. If you kill one, they emit a pheromone that signals the rest of the colony to attack. They are aggressive, have good vision and will chase a foe of any size. Earlier Cheryl had me take a picture of one in the ladies room. Good thing we didn’t kill it. The track ran out but we made our way back to the lodge where I found another leech on me but luckily it had not set up to suck my blood yet. Some workers said there was a python that had just eaten, sunning itself in a driveway nearby, but it left before we got there to see it.
When we got
ready to leave, the Nissan Patrol Wagon would not start. We asked a couple who drove up in a new
little red car for a jump. Neither had
ever had to jump a car before but let me show them how. During the jump I noticed that one of the
terminal clamps was loose and tightened it.
We have not had any starting problems since. We headed out through some beautiful country
toward