LOST IN THE WILDS OF BUDERIM....

The subject line is a slight exaggeration, because we didn't get lost.  But who knew about wild Buderim?   My daughter did and she took me for a walk last week in that extremely populous suburb.  I had heard of the Buderim Forest but never visited before. 

I found it to be very therapeutic and am pleased to have found such a lovely walk which is not too difficult even when you leave the board-walk.

There are steps that are easy to climb... 

although you do need to be careful in some places and when crossing the steam...

The board-walk meanders along and over a gurgling stream before finishing and then you walk up to several waterfalls using the well beaten track. 

There are other board-walks leading elsewhere from the falls.

You can get right down under the falls. Wonder what that's like after heavy rains?

 

Lots of tiny birds were seen high in the canopy but unfortunately, they were too quick and too small in the fading light to get any snaps.  I did manage to take a blurry shot of a green cat bird before he flew off.  We didn't see any snakes or lizards although my daughter has seen lizards there before.  In fact, aside from the birds, it was almost devoid of wildlife that day.

 
Plenty of interesting berries and fruit though.  The blue is a blue quandong and they were everywhere (don't you love that colour?). The red, is one of the lilly pilly varieties but I'm not sure what the tiny yellow fruit is. Perhaps a fig of some sort?

All in all, it's a lovely walk with plenty to interest most people and I will do it again, perhaps when it's a little cooler.

As a bonus, we were treated to a delightful sunset on our way home.

A BOUT OF GINGER-VITIS.....

  

I took myself off to the Ginger Factory at Yandina on the Australia Day Holiday. Mainly because I thought the Ginger festival was on; not that I am all that keen on crowds but I was at a loose end and wanted to find out the name of this beautiful red flower I recently spotted growing on the outskirts of Nambour. I suspected it was one of the ginger family but wanted to know whether I was right and what its name is.  As it turned out, the festival had been on the previous weekend (note to self: check dates before going to events). 

 Despite that, I was not disappointed, although I probably missed out on some spectacular plants that were timed to flower for the Festival.  During a wander around the beautiful gardens at the Factory, I found out its name is Red Tower or costus comosus and is a native of Costa Rica.  Other sources indicate it is a cousin of ginger and you can eat the petals of some of the varieties. 

There is a large pavillion there where you can buy lunch and I tried the wedges with ginger aoli which had been recommended by a friend and, again, not disappointed. The bowl was so big, I was unable to finish them unfortunately.  I did buy some ginger dip in the retail section as I was leaving that can be combined with mayo to make a similar dressing. I also enjoyed the ginger jubes and dark chocolate covered preserved ginger I bought.

 There is a railway line that rings the factory grounds which children love and takes you on  a tour to (and past) quite a few little shops called Ginger Town with interesting things to buy.  

 This time I decided not to ride but have done so in the past, contenting myself with a wander through the well maintained gardens instead. It is free entry to the Factory but you then have to pay for rides and tours. Read all about the place here.

This is a gold dragon ginger all potted up and ready for sale but I resisted. I have brown fingers at the moment, not green.

These gorgeous red honeycomb ginger flowers caught my eye.  They are true ginger or zingiber and come in a variety of colours including the yellow or is it orange below? 

Love those sweet little flowers peaking out of the "comb".

 Another ginger cousin is this pink Indian Head or costus spiralis and I watched a You tube video which tells us that when the flower dies, it generates another plant with roots on the cane which gradually droops to the ground where the roots, well, take root! Voila! New plant.

 I thought this very Australian tiled path I found (I know, it wasn't lost) on the walk was delightful.  

  Unfortunately, this beautiful yellow flower was unnamed, but what a stunner it is.

Another potted beauty which I snapped purely for the colour of the flower, neglecting to get the name.  Possibly called Burgundy Ice, which I found here.

 Here is a collage of other flowers found along the way. Mostly heliconias including my favourite, heliconia pendula (top left), but others which were just as colourful.  Loved the yellow flowers on the lagoon.

I even found some wildlife. I disturbed this dragon which ran off into the undergrowth.

All in all, I enjoyed my short visit.  No doubt my little outing would have been more enjoyable with a friend (who could have helped finish the wedges) but I would definitely recommend the Ginger Factory to anyone visiting the area.  

ROO THE DAY IF YOU EAT IT...

 This is the flower of the kangaroo apple or bush tomato which I'd never heard of before visiting Werribee Zoo recently. I noticed it was growing in abundance in the various enclosures and while on the Open Vehicle Adventure Tour, spotted it growing out in the fields.  Rhonda, our driver, kindly advised me of its name.

Some of the fruits were orange but from what I've read they have to be a dark orange to be edible and the green (or unripe) fruit is said to be poisonous.  We also saw them growing at the foot of Hanging Rock the following day although all the fruit was green on those shrubs, perhaps because it is a cooler area.  I read here that the flowers are hermaphrodite.  I haven't found anything to say whether animals eat the fruit although aborigines certainly did and it has a range of medicinal uses as well.