First season sun orchids in Ku-ring Gai Chase NP: August 22 2026
A different start to a Saturday - walked up to the church for the fortnightly op shop sale. It is a busy gathering of bargain hunters. Not my idea of fun. We wandered into the centre for a cooked breakfast. Bumped into friends on the way back through the centre. More coffee and plans hatching for dinner
Took my wife's car to retrieve stuff for her from the storage unit. Then drove up to walk Bobbin Head Track in Ku-ring Gai Chase NP. Have a few orchid targets
First up a known spot for blunt-tipped greenhood - could only find one flower where there were many last year. The grassy knoll is somewhat overgrown and crowding them out
Front on showing the twisted labellum of pterostylis curta
Matching rosette
Hibbertia
Pea flower close to ground
Sundew flower - background shows the lattice shape that holds the flower
Small waxlip orchids found under the powerlines
Snow wreath flower. These are tiny - maybe two matcheads across
A different colour for tiny
Found a few more caladenia glossodia - all in ones and twos rather than the more normal clusters.
This one has had its edges trimmed off
A bit like this sun orchid - chomped also. First open for the season
Did see this flower first - the chomper here - a weevill. Note no spots on the sun orchid
Sun orchid with spots - thelymitra ixioides - they open when temperature is around 24C and plant is in direct sun. Got both
Always exciting to find a new season opener - orchid three for the day. Kept walking the track hoping to find three others at the far end
Tiny flash of purple off track - I call them tear drop flowers because of the shape. It is a violet - for my granddaughter Violette
Another flash of purple - patersonia iris - always a good indicator of sun orchid openings
Another hibbertia - looks the same
Flower spike emerging - probably bearded orchid
Grand scale pea flower. No luck on the other orchids - not a spike. Turned back
A few more orchid spikes on the way back.
Good light for hibbertia flower shots
Heard a creaking noise above. Stopped. Walking up the track toward me was the lace monitor lizard. Made a video. And it walked right by me without stopping
A few leptospermum squarrosum emerging - a fun photo focusing at the back flowers
A few drumstick flowers coming along
Bud forming on this one - no bracts down below the spike - probably a sun orchid
Checked on a snake orchid location - one small plant in a fork of a scribbly gum - they like living here
A bigger collection just above. Hard to know how it is they start up a tree somewhere. Maybe a bird eats the seed pod and does its business when it rests in a fork.
Got more steps than I had in mind and only got 3 out of 6 orchids. Enough reasons to come back. Track work is extracting a price.
Traffic was busy going out and worse back. They are doing rail trackwork north of my station. Everyone has gone by car
The dinner plan was to meet at a local Thai restaurant walking distance from home = more steps. We did a shared dinner - 3 entrees and 2 mains and egg fried rice-. Good food with friendly service and chef did not have to cook - a bonus
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Height183 cm | Weight90 kg | Body Fat% | |||
Waistcm | Thighscm | Chestcm |