#6 New Year's Eve in the bush

I'm not a party-goer; neither is my other half. We're both happiest when we're in the bush, so spending New Year's Eve surrounded by nature's wildlife seemed like a great alternative to the noise and dazzle of town wild life.

Our New Year's Eve dining out location

We'd spent the previous day exploring the Pilliga Forests of northwestern New South Wales, and returned to our favourite waterhole to experience the final 2007 sunset and the array of natural events occuring in that little patch of bushland.

Our choice of locations was stunning, although I am well aware that some people might only see it as straggly scrub and dry, sandy earth riddled with nasty, annoying creatures.

And in fact it is straggly scrub and dry, sandy earth crawling with creatures, some of which could be classed as annoying; but the diversity of life and natural beauty of the Pilliga is amazing.

As the bite of the sun was replaced by pleasant afternoon cool, Grahame set up his camera by the lagoon in anticipation of some bird activity, while I sat back in my chair and surveyed my surroundings.

Sacred Kingfisher, one of Grhame's captures

Birdlife is prolific in the Pilliga, and we were thrilled to spot some species we hadn't previously seen, including Turquoise Parrots, White-browed Wood Swallows, Red-capped Robin and Plumed Whistling Ducks.

Roos bounded by, having been drinking from the dam up the back, and a quick and agile little dragon lizard darted across a log on the swampy end of the lagoon. Mr and Mrs Wagtail were kicking up such a ruckus that I wandered off to investigate, only to find old man goanna clawing his way up Willie's tree. It was then that I realised why the Willie Wagtails build their nest in such a precarious position on a thin twig, for if the Wagtails hadn't succeeded in deterring the hungry goanna, the branch that supported their nest would not have supported the weight of the lizard.

Willie Wagtail nesting at our picnic spot

And goanna attempts to reach the Wagtails nest

This was our first visit to the Pilliga since our honeymoon in 1975. Yes, we honeymooned in the Pilliga Scrub, sleeping on the ground in a little orange nylon tent that was past its use-by date, cooking on a fire with a few kitchen utensils, sharing the excitement of shooting feral pigs with friends who were married on the same day as we were. Those days of camping with the bare essentials in the lignum of the Namoi environs, chasing down piglets for a campfire feed, bathing in artesian bores and relying on our combined resourcefulness to fix anything that needed fixing, were days of wonderful memories.

32 years on, much of Pilliga Scrub is now relatively protected, and is home to threatened animals such as the Koala, Mallee Fowl, Glossy Black Cockatoo, Regent Honeyeater, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Rufous Bettong and the rare Pilliga Mouse.

The forests of the Pilliga consist mainly of cypress-pine and ironbark eucalypt and is the largest remaining area of continuous semi-arid woodland in temperate eastern Australia. It forms a major component of the water recharge area for the Great Artesian Basin.

Eastern Grey Kangaroos are common in the Pilliga, as they are in other parts of inland NSW, but I never tire of seeing them in their natural environment

The Pilliga is also renowned for its bursts of wildflowers. Our visit coincided with receding floodwaters, and we were fortunate to see much interesting and colourful native flora blooming. I will be anxious to return in the height of spring to experience more of the semi-arid plants.

I am presuming this to be a species of Mulla Mulla (Ptilotus). There were many delicate and attractive flowers that seemed foreign in the harsh environment.

As the light began to fade after a glorious sunset, we moved our chairs from beneath the trees to the sandy roadside for a clear view of wildlife happenings up and down the unsealed road. We enjoyed an icy cold beer with crackers and tangy sundried-tomato dip, with the silence broken only by the occasional birdsong, comfortable in each other's quiet presence; conversation was unnecessary.