we still remember yardie creek from our first visit here (in late 2005). it’s one of those ‘could have been worse’ things: worse, as in ‘the car could have been swept out to sea’ which i don’t think would have qualified as covered under the ‘normal use’ insurance policy. we got stuck trying to drive across the creek, but luckily far enough away so the water didn’t threaten us. much.
as it were yardie creek let us off with a warning and after a few hours of digging we spent a really nice night in the bush.
we also did the boat cruise along the river back then, hoping to see rock wallabies – which of course we didn’t. just another reason to come back.
the creek looked decidedly more peaceful this time and the crossing would have been almost dry due to the sand bank across. not like last time when the creek actually connected with the ocean and the tides would definitely have caused a lot of damage to the car.
and given we got to yardie creek late in the afternoon we thought we had a much better chance to find rock wallabies, too. like many australian animals they like to avoid the heat of the day and come out in the morning and evening to feed.
we were in luck. just a bit in from the car park we spotted our first wallaby. no wonder they are so difficult to find: they are tiny, maybe half a meter tall. they also blend in really well with the rocks, despite, or maybe because of, their distinctive black and white stripes.
they also have this cute long & fat tail.
it’s almost impossible to see them unless they move. check out the video a bit further down: there is a rock wallaby in (almost) every frame but i bet you can’t spot them first time.
this one looks like it might want to dive in to cool off. natalie would say something like ‘they are sooooo the cutest things in the whole world like evs and tots’. and she would be absolutely right (and i will still get in trouble for writing this). she also says that the rock wallabies are masters at applying mascara and she is right about that, too.
i added that they look like they are all called rocky except the one that’s called wally and the rehactor would tell me off for my lame dad jokes. i miss that.
they are not the only masters of blending in (although they really are very good). see the two roos there?
that little guy was a bit easier to spot. he didn’t mind having his picture taken.
not like this wedge-tailed eagle. they are massive but don’t like to hang around on the ground. i think they feel a bit vulnerable. this one was just eyeing up his dinner in the form of a dead kangaroo.
we understood the warning and drove on carefully; it was getting dark. good thing we have these spotties, they are really worth their money. we had to dodge a few roos and dingos on the way home.
it was still absolutely worth visiting yardie creek again, especially at dusk.