Anyone considering visiting Pyampa Station in the Bulloo Overflow area of
south-western Qld in search of Grey Grasswren may find the following of
some interest and use.
The directions are given in Thomas and Thomas (and I would be happy to
provide more detail if anyone wants it). We saw the Grasswrens in clumps
of lignum more or less nearest to the bore (and windmill) - although this
is still some distance (? 1km) from the bore (we drove down to the lignum).
It is however worth noting that the large building which used to have the
name "Pyampa" painted obviously on its roof (and was an excellent landmark
when we last visited this site some 6 years ago) has now gone and has been
replaced by a new shed (with a new modern wind generator? alongside it).
The grasswren site is on private property (but seems to be relatively
freely accessible to visitors). However, both as a courtesy and because we
wanted to camp overnight, when we arrived in Tibooburra we asked to whom we
should speak to to obtain permission. We were advised to call the station
owners, Ross and Marg Betts. A phone call to Ross resulted in a welcoming
response and permission to visit and camp (I got the impression that he may
have been slightly surprised that we were asking at all).
On the way back after our successful expedition, we called in to Ross's
homestead on his property Onepah (pron. "Wun-par") - named after a nearby
waterhole (probably an aboriginal name). Ross was friendly and talkative
and in conversation we discovered the following:
He bought Onepah, in far north-western NSW (bordering the dog-fence, ie the
state border) some 16 years ago (it's a pastoral property of course). Some
years later the adjoining property in Qld (immediately north of the fence
and of Onepah - accessed via Wompah Gate in the fence) came onto the market
and the Betts bought it (and the Grey Grasswrens which live on it!). They
have since been generous about birders accessing the site on their new
property (and driving through their home property). In fact, as far as I
can tell, the road through the Betts two properties (from the Tibooburra
side to stations further north) is more or less a public road, and the
Grasswren site (or at least the windmill and bore which is the landmark and
starting point) is only a short distance off to the right of this road.
Regards.
Richard (and Diana).
_____________________
From: Dr Richard Nowotny,
Melbourne, Australia.
Tel. (w) 61-3-9214.1420
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