Day 25 - Mornington Wilderness Camp

Mornington Wilderness Camp is a 1 million acre ex-cattle property which is now owned by Australian Wildlife Conservacy who own about 20 similar properties around the country.  As the front gate is about 80kms from the road, there is a satellite radio in a booth near the road and visitors have to ring ahead to see if there is a camp site available. Only 50 visitors are allowed on the property at any one time.  There is also a handful of safari tents with ensuites available at about $500 per night.     This giant boab tree was just inside the front gate.  They lose their leaves in the dry season to conserve moisture and sprout again when it rains.    We visited two of the gorges on the property - Sir John which is the second photo and Dimond Gorge.  Jim swam at a waterhole but the water was a little murky for me and I didn't fancy sharing it with a freshwater croc.

There is just one main building which is admin/bar/restaurant which we should have photographed.  It is open on two sides and we spent both evenings there having drinks before dinner and then a meal under the stars.  A very pleasant change from our camp meals and very nice to have two nights where we didn't have to go to bed as soon as the sun went down!!

The property is home to the endangered brightly-coloured Gouldian finch and many of our fellow campers were keen 'birders'.  Jim and I thought we saw a pair, but as they were flying and we were driving, who knows!  When we told the rangers, they said we were in the area where some had been seen recently so maybe we really did see them.   It's a good story.