Spending a few days at Willies Retreat, gave us a glimpse of this remote and vitally important RAMSAR listed nature reserve.
The Macquarie Marshes are a true nature reserve in that this special area is reserved for the flora and fauna that live there, and the scientists who study them. You can’t just go tramping about through these wetlands, frightening the wildlife, and doing all the sorts of damage that even the most conscientious tourist brings with them. However, you can get a flavour of the Marshes from Willies Retreat, a type of eco-camp, you might call it, where you can find basic accommodation and amenities. There is access to certain areas of the Marshes, such as at the viewing platform only a short drive from the retreat itself.
And the retreat itself has plenty to offer. When we rocked up, a family of Swamp Wallabies were making the main camp their feeding area, even in the daylight; and their antics were a delight. Emus strolled through the camp at will, doing what Emus do, before heading out onto the vast dry plains that surround the camp (and which are, of course, covered by water during the regular floods), that provide such spectacular sunsets and sunrises.
We were the only campers, and we had the place to ourselves, so finding a spot was arguably easy (yes, finding the ‘right spot’ always provokes an argument). Overhead, the Coolibah trees were full of White-plumed Honeyeaters and, delightfully, Australian Ringneck parrots.
From the viewing platform down the road, we could see that water levels in the Marshes were low, so what open water there was, was some distance away. Even with low water levels we able to see flocks of Magpie Geese (a rarity in NSW) whirl overhead and see elegant Royal Spoonbills feed in the rich marsh pools. Fish (yes, they were Carp) swirled through the shallow waters of Monkey Gar crossing, and a graceful Red-bellied Black Snake slipped past us and into the thick reed-beds, that are such an important feature of this area.
A boardwalk is available to explore the Marshes more thoroughly, though access depends completely on the weather and the entire region can be cut off in times of heavy rain.
With a solid Telstra connection, I was able to work without difficulty. The new 24v system was able to cope with some 38c days and provide us with enough power to run the a/c, as there was certainly no shortage of solar power.
Full details of Willies Retreat can be found at https://willieretreat2824.wixsite.com/willie-retreat
