Blue Mountains lunch and orchid walk : July 2 2026

carrinm(75)
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A different day lining up. We are heading to Springwood in the Blue Mountains for the annual Christmas in July lunch. My wife's former colleagues meet once a month for a lunch and the tradition is to head to the mountains for the first Thursday of July. Forecast was iffy but it turned into a fab blue sky day. My wife chose to drive - 1 hour vs nearly 2 hours on the trains.

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We were early enough to give me time to walk 30 minutes down Magdala Gully. Enough time to check on orchids found there in previous years - first up nodding greenhoods

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Was a photo challenge as I forgot to bring the macro camera. Working how to shoot on the normal phone. Somehow got movie photos. Test one passed - photo in the light and the shade of pterostylis nutans

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Chiloglottis leaves - no buds. Going to guess these are also Ch formicifera I saw the day before

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A lot more pterostylis nutans than I have seen before. Walked this track a few times this exact week

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Day before theme comes back - mushroom and orchid leaves

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Next orchid leaf up is acianthus orchid

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This shot got me interested. It is a seeded orchid which is a bit different as it has leaves on the spike. One of two types I know of

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Success. Cobra greenhood - pterostlyis grandiflora. Leaves on the spike. Had seem them before on a side track from here. Just saved me that walk

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Mushroom and moss

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Nodding greenhood rosette. Saw a lot more flowering than I recall - maybe a recall matter. But we are working into a great winter orchid season

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Pixie caps orchid - always hard to photograph - worse without macro

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A few more camera tests on nodding greenhoods

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Add across the light as a challenge

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Pterostylis nutans in the morning high up sun

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The staircase of ghost mushrooms presented their own challenge. They grab the light. Hard to find a focal point on a snap and shot moment

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Path junction where I turned around. Reminds me to come back up here with time to spare to walk some of the side tracks - maybe even the 11 kms up to Faulconbridge. They say 6 hours

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Cobra greenhoods on the way back

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Standing tall

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Moss and webs

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View back up the gulley with grand trees above


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02/07/2026
6194
Daily Activity,House Chores,Photowalking

Height
183 cm
Weight
90 kg
Body Fat
%
Waist
cm
Thighs
cm
Chest
cm
Blue Mountains lunch and orchid walk : July 2 2026 | Ecency