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Visited: Autumn
Recommendation: The extensive waterways around this national park are stunning and a home to a myriad of wildlife, although it can be variable from site to site. My advice would be to visit different campsites and drive around before and after dark.
Myall Lakes National Park is about an hour's drive north east of Newcastle. The lakes are a series of freshwater Ramsar protected lakes. The national park is extensive with many picnic areas and campgrounds on the eastern side. It is particularly nice as there is easy access to the long, sandy beaches. Visiting just before the Easter weekend, it was reasonably quiet despite the campgrounds being pretty much booked out. We stayed at 2 campsites around Myall Lake itself, Boolambayte Lake and The Broadwater make up the set of lakes. Our first stop was the Stewart and Lloyds campsite at the southern end of the park. It was in cleared bush with large sand dunes very close to the edge of the area. While we heard some birds singing (most notably the Scarlet Myzomela), it was pretty quiet. A trek across the wide dunes yielded spectacular views and a few gulls.
After dark we walked for a couple of hours along the road at first and then onto a track which we hoped would take us to the river. No such luck and not much wildlife about either. We saw a Striped Marsh Frog and a couple of bats. On our return, close to the campsite, there was much rustling in the bush by the road and we suspected it was the local dingos. We had heard them howling behind our campervan earlier so we knew they were about.
Overnight, we heard the dingos on and off. It was slightly alarming but they generally stay away from people but were likely investigating the site for food scraps. Only a glimpse of one in the morning was actual evidence of their presence.
Our second night was spent at The Wells campsite, some 15km north and right on the lake shore. It was quite amazing how different it was with more open woodlands and immediately a much greater number of birds. We arrived early in the day and a quick exploration saw us find an Azure Kingfisher and White-bellied Sea Eagle. The light was terrible with early morning fog lingering so any photos were pretty poor. As the sun began to peek through and it warmed up somewhat, the birds became more active and vocal. Again the Scarlet Myzomela was present in numbers and very vocal. Glimpses of its bright plumage were all it was prepared to offer. A heron on the side of the lake was the best we could do for now.
White-faced Heron (Egretta novaehollandiae)
Male Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis)
Wonga Pigeon (Leucosarcia melanoleuca)
In the campground itself, we did find a lovely Wonga Pigeon which just sat and allowed itself to be photographed. This was particularly nice as they are usually seen in the gloom of the forest floor and photos are muddy, even with a flash. This one sat still for a while even as I shot a video of it, it was only startled when a Grey Butcherbird started cackling nearby.
Along the road were some flowering gums which attracted wattlebirds, honeyeaters and a beautiful male Golden Whistler. A lot of the smaller birds (thornbills and Mistletoebird) were more elusive but it was a very pleasant way to pass the time, chasing them about.
Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus)
Although we didn't spend too long in the lakes area, it was a very nice place to camp and the good number of sites meant that it didn't feel cramped. We ventured up to the Bombah Point Ferry and were treated with hundreds of Little Black Cormorant flying in waves over the water. There was clearly a lot of wildlife in this area and we hope to return another time to spend more time here.
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