TRAVEL FEATURE - LEIGH WILKINS
Australia ’ s Coorong & Limestone Coast :
OF LAKES &
LIMESTONE
Pelicans swirled overhead in ever increasing circles , effortlessly soaring on thermals rising from the warming water . We lay amongst sand dunes that held back the angry waves of the Southern Ocean , absorbing the views of this most wonderful of places .
Eclipsed for just a moment , the sun cast a giant shadow over us as one of the circling birds descended from the squadron above . Unfolding its legs , gracefully skimming the water ’ s surface , coming to rest not far from where we lay . Mr Percival , ‘ birds like him , never die ’, I smiled with childhood memories of Colin Thieles ’ Storm Boy .
Coorong National Park . We ’ d followed South Australia ’ s Limestone Coast to its northern end and found ourselves amongst the dunes , the marshes and lagoons of this unique echo-system . Birds from as far as Alaska and Siberia flocked to the dunes looking for a mate , the fresh water ponds stretching for 140 kilometres , parallel to the Southern Ocean , a great place to roost . The wildlife of the Coorong is both unique and beautiful .
TRAVERSE 20