Gritty Griselda

As the day dawns cloudy over Griselda’s Hill, I am happy to tackle this shortest walk here. Not being a national park, it does not have as much useful information re the length of the walk and what it involves.

A flock of Little Corellas gathers near my camp as I leave.

I don’t know anything about Griselda but her Hill is steep and rocky, and gets steeper and rockier as I climb.

Yet plants grow on most of the harsh hillside. Here masses of Silver Mulla Mulla bloom, in greater profusion than anywhere else I have seen it.

I almost reach the top, to the level where the Rock Grasstrees (Xanthorrhoea  quadrangulata) begin.

I turn to take in the view, seeing two of the observatories in this world class Dark Sky place. They were one of my reasons for coming here, but the long weekend and school holidays mucked up my schedule.

But as I refocus on my close view, with great surprise I notice a wallaby sitting right near me. 

I say hello. We look at each other for some minutes.

I praise her beautiful striped tail and ask if it ends in a point or not.

She doesn’t reply, but instead hops up higher to show me the thick end.

I later ask at the shop for any info on the animals here, but staff seem to be all backpackers, as at Wilpena.

This is, however, a Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby. I just didn’t know about that spectacular tail.

What a special meeting…

She makes me reconsider where I am. The height is now considerable, and I am not one for heights. I start to feel that pull to falling… this is beyond my comfort height.

While I am inclined to keep going, as I am so close, do I need to?

No.

I love the rocks here, but I know the trip back down will be an issue, even with my stick to help me balance.

Each step has to be weighed up, as to whether the stones to be placed under stick or foot are loose … which many are … which part of my bifocal glasses will give me the right depth perception, and how do I see what’s growing around me if I must watch my feet so closely??

Griselda, this is not really a walking track… and it is certainly not for someone whose agile mountain goat days are clearly over. 

I turn back and gingerly make my way down, stopping often to take photos.

Harsh it may be, but plenty of plants have adapted to growing here.

This pretty lilac-flowering shrub is Limestone Fuchsia Bush (Eremophila freelingi).

There were lots of these: Tomato Bush, (Solanum quadriloculatum) from the same family as our domestic tomatoes and potatoes.

But I only saw one of this, which seems to have blue borage-like flowers, not purple as all the solanums do here. A mystery?

Now and then among the rocks is a shrub of surprising delicacy, the pale yellow of what I think are Elegant Wattles (Acacia victoriae).

I kept hearing and seeing Willie Wagtail birds, but they are mostly too fast for me to snap a photo.

A great deal of chattering drew me to what i think I also saw at Acraman campground in Flinders; the sociable White-browed Babbler. And they do babble…

I do reach the bottom of Griselda’s Hill, grateful not to have slipped on any loose rocks. It is only then that I notice the sign there which says ’Griselda’s Hill Climbing Track’.

Lack of info: sorry, Griselda, you never said it was a walking track…

En route I spot this shrub, which  has to be Leathery Senna (Senna artemisioides subsp. coriacea), a first for me.

And I am still wondering about Griselda; a gritty girl indeed if she climbed that hill often…